The official Instagram account of British actress Emma Watson has posted a new message of solidarity with Palestinians, evoking widespread sympathy from pro-Palestine followers while also drawing sharp condemnation from Israeli officials.
A image from a pro-Palestinian march was published on Monday by the actress’s Instagram account, which included the statement “Solidarity is a verb.” The actress is best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movie.
The image was first uploaded on the Bad Activism Collective’s Facebook page in May of last year, following Israel’s 11-day deadly onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip. There were a lot of celebrities who had expressed their opinions on the situation at the time, with individuals such as Bella Hadid and Susan Sarandon expressing messages in support of Palestinians.
There is a comment by British-Australian activist Sara Ahmed in the caption, which reads in part: “Solidarity does not presume that our fights are the same struggles, that our grief is the same pain, or that our hope for the same future.”
In addition to commitment and hard work, solidarity requires the realisation that even though we do not share the same feelings, live in the same lives, or have the same bodies, we still share a common platform on which to live.
“My Instagram account has been taken over by an unknown Feminist Collective,” according to Watson’s bio.
Pro-Palestine social media users praised the post, which had received almost one million likes and more than 89,000 comments by Tuesday. Many others expressed gratitude to Watson for her assistance, while others used the hashtags #FreePalestine and #PalestineWillBeFree to express their support.
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, on the other side, expressed his displeasure with the appointment.
The author remarked on Twitter that “fiction may work in Harry Potter, but it does not work in reality.” “If it did, the magic used in the wizarding world could be used to erase the horrors of Hamas (which oppresses women and desires Israel’s annihilation) and the Palestinian Authority (PA)” (which supports terror). “I think that would be a good idea!” he exclaimed.