The war in Gaza and the ongoing discourse over the historical context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have reached as far as the remote and isolated Iceland in the North Atlantic.
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Singer Björk shared a post on her Instagram account in which she claims to detail the displacement of the Palestinian population from Israeli territories from the mid-20th century up to today.
In the post captioned "is this what you call sharing?" four maps are presented, depicting the progressive reduction of Palestinian living areas since the first map dated around 1946, where the Palestinian presence appears widespread, to the last map dated around 2012, in which it is concentrated in Gaza and sporadic areas of the West Bank.
As of writing these lines, the post that garnered over 460,000 likes in less than two days has sparked angry reactions from both Israeli and non-Israeli fans, who claim that the singer is confusing historical facts and aligning with a distorted Palestinian narrative.
Considerable criticism is directed at the second map in the post, which represents the UN's 1947 Partition Plan. The explanation that the partition proposal, offered as a political settlement, was rejected by Arab states and the Arab community—who instead launched attacks on the Jewish population leading to the War of Independence—is omitted from the historical context according to Björk.
The same is true for the third map, which depicts the distribution of Jewish and Arab populations between the years 1949 and 1967. Björk omits the fact that Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 following the Six-Day War, which was initiated by Arab states.
Among the reactions from both Israeli and non-Israeli commenters, some have accused Björk of disseminating historically inaccurate information in favor of the Palestinians.
Regina Spektor, who has frequently cited the Icelandic singer as a substantial influence on her own music, stands out among the critics. The American-Jewish musician, who has been vocally supportive of Israel on social media since October 7 and advocating for the return of the hostages held in Gaza, issued a strong rebuke of her former idol.
"How does one go from being silent about the worst progrom [sic]/massacre of innocent Jewish life, rapes, murder, and torture … and jump right in with only a false info graphic based on the imagination of propaganda pushers?" Spektor wrote in the comments.
"I don’t envy this level of disheartedness mixed with ignorance. To have it displayed by one of my heroes is just extra painful on top of the sorrow of mourning our dead and worrying for family and friends in Israel and the world over.
"May we stay strong in the face of lies and may we destroy Hamas, so that the Palestinians in Gaza, and the rest of the world can breathe easier."