Emma Watson expresses solidarity with Palestinians

JERUSALEM – Harry Potter star Emma Watson is among a slew of celebrities weighing in on the Palestine cause as systemic violence perpetrated by Israeli forces continued in besieged Gaza.

As the Jewish state keeps Gaza under blockade, tightly restricting movement out of the territory that is home to two million Palestinians, the British actress has voiced solidarity with pro-Palestinian activism on the photo-sharing platform.

Emma re-shared a post on Instagram that shows Palestine activists marching with the placards stating ‘Solidarity is a verb’.

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A post shared by Emma Watson (@emmawatson)

UN Women’s goodwill ambassador also mentioned a quote from British-Australian scholar Sara Ahmed. “Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future”, the post reads.

It further added, “Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground”.

As the post that garnered around 1 million hearts gets acclaim from many human rights activists, current and former Israeli officials took to social media to slam the actress.

Israel's UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, also reacted to her post saying “Fiction may work in Harry Potter but it does not work in reality”, while a former envoy of the Jewish state accused the 31-year-old of being an ‘antisemite’.

Fiction may work in Harry Potter but it does not work in reality. If it did, the magic used in the wizarding world could eliminate the evils of Hamas (which oppresses women & seeks the annihilation of Israel) and the PA (which supports terror). I would be in favor of that! pic.twitter.com/u1TrP3sqSS

— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) January 3, 2022

10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite.@EmmaWatson pic.twitter.com/Qaqkx36JSg

— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) January 3, 2022

Meanwhile, countless violations continued in the besieged strip as officials terrorized families, launched grenades inside homes and their surroundings. These atrocities are said to be war crimes and violations of international law.

Little Women actor is not the first celebrity who faced criticism as earlier top model Gigi Hadid faced backlash for supporting the people of Palestine over Israeli attacks.

The US-based model was also accused of anti-Semitism after she voiced support for the people of Palestinians amid Israeli aggression.