Tiffany Haddish visits the Western Wall
(Video: Instagram)
American comedian Tiffany Haddish, who is Jewish on her father's side, arrived in Israel on Wednesday after previously announcing on Instagram her plan to personally explore the country's situation, telling TMZ from the plane, "I can’t believe everything I read. I need to go see for myself."
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In the last few days, she has kept her promise, starting her visit to Israel on a light-hearted note by participating in a stand-up show on her first evening. Her surprise guest appearance thrilled the audience. American actor Michael Rapaport, who was also visiting Israel, performed that evening.
The next day, Haddish's visit took on a more serious tone when she explored the southern kibbutzim, the Nova music festival site and Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, sharing her experiences live on Instagram.
Later in the week, she toured the country, including stops at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Masada and the Dead Sea, with guide Maor Perry leading the way.
Content creator Lilaq Logan, a member of the African Hebrew Israelite community in Dimona and an Israeli Air Force servicemember, accompanied Haddish on her trip.
Logan shared with Ynet, "On Friday, we visited Jerusalem, exploring the City of David where she learned about its history. We then enjoyed a Friday dinner at her rabbi's house before returning to Tel Aviv for the night. On Saturday morning, we visited Masada and then went to the Dead Sea."
Did you talk to her about the war?
"Because she said in advance that she wanted to learn, I asked her how she felt after she was already here. She answered that she learned that the media was lying about what was happening and that she was glad that she came. It was more important for her to see the people and not politicians, so she talked to ordinary people to learn more."
How did she respond to online criticism about her visit to Israel?
"She doesn't give too much time and energy to the hatred and criticism she receives, and if someone is angry with her and if she loses friends because she decided to see for herself, they weren't friends in the first place. While I'm with her, she asks a lot of questions and is very interested. It seems that she really came to learn; as opposed to other people who came here, she is interested in the people and not the government and the VIPs."
Since the outbreak of the war, Logan has been dedicating her content to international advocacy in English, with the aim of responding to false anti-Israeli propaganda spread by supporters of Hamas.
How did you and Tiffany meet?
"She reached out because she connected to my content and sees me as family. This week, I was honored by the Peres Peace Center for my contributions, although I'm more recognized abroad than in Israel."
Haddish's team expects her to depart Sunday, hoping to explore Israel's north and the Hebrew Israelite community in Dimona beforehand.
She discussed her trip in a TMZ interview. "I went to talk to the people who experienced for themselves what happened on October 7, with the people whose family members were kidnapped," she said.
"I learned a lot, that people were taken from their homes, people were taken from an event that had just taken place, many people were murdered and many people were kidnapped to Gaza - I didn't know that before."
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Tiffany Haddish and Lilaq Logan at the Western Wall in Jerusalem
(Photo: Private album)
Haddish's visit sparked significant attention, receiving considerable criticism from pro-Palestinian activists who responded en masse to her video shared en route to Israel. In it, she informed her 7.4 million followers about her destination.
"This is an educational trip for me. I'm going to learn about politics. Understand, I don't believe everything I read on the Internet. I need to come and see for myself, I'm one of those people," Haddish said then.
Tiffany Haddish on her way to Israel
"I know that many things on social networks are not true, because I see things that people say about me and they are not true, so I am going to see for myself and tell you what I think. I said I’m going to go see with my own eyes. Gotta go to Israel first."
She added, "I want to talk to people, find out why this is happening? What is the reason?" Eventually, the video in question was removed from her page.
Among the pro-Palestinian commenters was former porn star Mia Khalifa (who was fired from Playboy after expressing support for Hamas), who mocked Haddish in a tweet in which she wrote, "I'm on my way to North Korea to see what's happening there for myself."