Video posted by Tiffany Haddish
American comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish, who often celebrates her Jewish roots, posted a video on Tuesday from a flight departing from Los Angeles, informing her 7.4 million Instagram followers that she’ll be arriving in Israel to see the atrocities that took place on October 7 firsthand. She also mentioned her plans to visit Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea.
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"I said I’m going to go see with my own eyes. Gotta go to Israel first," she said, adding, "This is an educational trip for me. See, I feel like I can’t believe I see everything on the Internet... I need to go see for myself, I’m one of those people.”
“I’m gonna go see for myself, I’m gonna go see, I’m gonna go see all of it, I’m gonna ask questions - see with my own eyes,” Haddish explained. “I’m gonna go talk to people, I’m gonna go find out why is this happening? Why is this going down?”
Haddish’s post stirred mixed reactions from many of her followers, garnering over 66,000 likes and thousands of comments. Some of the responders expressed their support, including Israeli actress Noa Tishby, who wrote, "Yes, yes, yes, yes" and added a blue heart emoji.
On the other hand, pro-Palestinian activists attacked her for her planned trip. "The fact you can fly and ‘holiday’ in Israel but Gaza is pretty much destroyed gives you all the information you really need," wrote one user. Another added, "This isn’t a war, it’s genocide." A third user replied, "You're on the wrong side of history."
Some users also urged her to visit Gaza, with her responding, “Who said I wasn't going to Gaza? I said I was gonna see with my own eyes, got to go to Israel first and isn't Gaza in Israel? Ain't it all on the same little piece of land, same... surrounded by water?”
Some asked her to stay safe during the trip, to which she said, “I know a lot of people that have gone; so many people have gone and then come back alive, come back fine. So I want to go see - I want to go see, and we gonna see what it is and I’ll show y’all some of it while I’m there.”
The 44-year-old comedian and actress discovered that her father was Jewish Eritrean via a DNA test she took five years ago. Following the discovery, she embraced Judaism and even celebrated her bat mitzvah on her 40th birthday, alongside a stand-up comedy show entitled "Black Mitzvah."
Haddish told Ynet in a 2020 interview that, "I'm still the same person but it changed me. I learned the Torah and all the new songs, and it lifted me up. And prayers? That's my thing. I love 'Shema' and say it every evening before I go to sleep. Judaism grounded me, and I have a better understanding and a spiritual connection with God. Me and God are the best friends. He’s my dad."