This Saturday, New York Times featured Dua Lipa, Gigi, and Bella Hadid in a full-page advertisement and accused them of antisemitism. The three women have raised their voices against Israel to support Palestine.
A cease-fire between Hamas and Israel had been reached on Friday. Upon further investigation, it was found that the full-page ad was paid by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s World Values Network. The ad pointed out the three influencers who have a great global influence have defamed the Jewish state and blamed the state of Israel for “ethnic cleansing”.
this full page ad published in the NYT today??? pic.twitter.com/NGtygtEinD
— Matthew (@matthewduchesne) May 22, 2021
Dua lipa spoke out against the advertisement on her Instagram story stating,
I utterly reject the false and appalling allegations,” she added, “This is the price you pay for defending Palestinian human rights against an Israeli government whose actions in Palestine both Human Right Watch and the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem accuse of persecution and discrimination. I take this stance because I believe that everyone — Jews, Muslims and Christians — have the right to live in peace as equal citizens of a state they choose.
She also addressed the World Values Network for wrongfully using her name to accomplish their ugly campaign with falsehoods and misinterpretations of who she is and what she stands for.
Dua Lipa stated,
I stand in solidarity with all oppressed people and reject all forms of racism.
Mohamed Hadid, father of Bella and Gigi, has not yet directly responded to the advertisement. However, the elder sister, critics on social media were addressed by Gigi stating,
I condemn anti-Semitism, what I do want is equal rights for Palestinians.
There have also been rumors that the 24-year old sister, Bella, who joined public protests against Israel’s occupation, has lost her Dior Beauty contract. However, sources from Dior deny any such news and claim that her contract is intact.
Bella was also wrongly accused by Israel’s official Twitter account of supporting the idea of throwing the Jews in the sea, as she joined the pro-Palestine chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
New York Times has faced criticism for running such an advertisement. However, it isn’t the first time the Newsagency has featured a controversial ad.
The World Value Network is a highly Jewish supporting network which has its mission statement as,
To disseminate universal Jewish values in politics, culture, and media, making the Jewish people a light unto the nations.
The World Value Network is firm on its stance as well and describes the three women as,
An unholy trinity of anti-Semitic bile to demonize the Jewish people.
The World Values Network had previously been funded by the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson who was pro-Israel. Adelson used to run complete page attack advertisements in national newspapers, highlighting politicians and celebrities who were critical of Israel.
Support our ads against those demonizing Israel – https://t.co/4qjuKpyaon https://t.co/Mq5xZjkkFy
— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) May 21, 2021
