04 Jan 2022; MEMO: Israeli officials attacked Harry Potter star Emma Watson after she uploaded a pro-Palestinian post on her official Instagram page.
Watson, who played the lead role Hermione Granger in the global franchise, shared an image which read "solidarity is a verb", imposed over images of a Palestinian solidarity demonstration, and stated it was a 'repost' from the 'Bad Activist Collective'.
The image was shared with a quote from UK activist 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. 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."
The post was liked by nearly one million users and was met with an outpouring of support in the tens of thousands of comments thanking her for her solidarity with the Palestinian people.
However former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon was quick to accuse Watson of anti-Semitism in a tweet, sharing a screenshot and saying: "10 points from Gryffindor for being antisemitic".
Twitter users were quick to call out Danon for equating Palestinian solidarity with anti-Semitism.
One user said: "How is showing solidarity to an oppressed people anti Semitic ???? If you are guilty of inhumane practices regardless of what nation or that nations faith people have a duty and a right to call out these injustices!!"
Another said: "Minus 10,000 points from Slytherin for Israel being an apartheid state using its ethnofascism to steal everything from the Palestinians including their lives."
Conservative Party Peer Syeeda Warsi also jumped to Watson's defence, saying: "Repeat after me Mr… Showing solidarity with Palestinians is not antisemitism. Appalling comments from former Israeli Ambassador to the UN. These constant attempts to stifle any and all support for Palestinians must be called out. Solidarity @EmmaWatson."
Current Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan also hit out at Watson with an attempt at a Harry Potter reference, saying: "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!"
This comes as Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz hosted Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in his home, as the ties between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Israeli state seem to be deepening.
