Ms. Rachel doubles down support for children in Gaza
Popular kids' content creator Rachel Griffin Accurso, known as Ms. Rachel, addressed the ongoing backlash over her advocacy for Palestinian children, saying in a recent interview that 'it should be controversial to not say anything.'
Known for her YouTube series 'Songs for Littles,' Accurso's channel — which has 14.7 million subscribers — focuses on teaching youngkids nursery rhymes, first words and basic educational concepts like colors and shapes. But elsewhere on her social media platforms, the educator has been outspoken about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that has taken shape since Israel began its military response to Hamas' deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
'It's sad that people try to make it controversial when you speak out for children that are facing immeasurable suffering,' Accurso said in an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan, founder of the independent publication Zeteo.
Accurso did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment on Monday.
The interview comes on the heels of intensified scrutiny of Accurso, who has been accused of antisemitism by some online critics who take issue with her posts about Palestinian children.
Last month, the pro-Israel group StopAntisemitism requested that Attorney General Pam Bondi investigate whether Accurso is 'being funded by a foreign party to push anti-Israel propaganda to skew public opinion.' They accuse her of being 'an amplifier of Hamas propaganda,' claiming some statistics and images she has shared about children in Gaza are false.
Accurso did not address the probe request in her interview with Hasan. But she rejected claims that she is antisemitic because she advocates for the lives of children in Gaza. As an educator, she said, her empathy extends to all children around the world.
'I've been blessed to get this platform. And kids feel that I care about them all deeply, and that's why I have the platform. Because they feel it through the screen, because it's genuine,' Accurso said. 'And kids know when things aren't genuine. And that care doesn't end with the kids that are watching, or any kids.'
Accurso, a mother to two young children, said her background in early childhood education made her aware that many of the youngest children in Gaza are being malnourished and traumatized in ways that harm their brain development during the crucial first three years of life. But mainly, she said, her concern is simply fueled by empathy.
Since she began working with the humanitarian nonprofit Save the Children, Accurso said she learned more about situations faced by children around the world, from the U.S. to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Gaza.
She said she was 'horrified' by Oct. 7, as well as the 'distressing, horrific images' of suffering in Gaza. She has since used her platforms to raise awareness and call out human rights violations against children.
Last year, Accurso posted a tearful Instagram reel in which she shared that she was being bullied online after she held a fundraiser for Save the Children's emergency fund for kids in conflict zones like Gaza, Sudan, the Congo and Ukraine. She wrote in her caption that she cares for 'Palestinian children, Israeli children, children in the US — Muslim, Jewish, Christian children — all children, in every country. Not one is excluded.'
'The idea that caring for a group of children in an emergency situation means you don't care about other children is false,' Accurso reiterated in Monday's interview. 'And I just don't understand it.'
Accurso has continued her advocacy this year, highlighting the stories of Palestinian children like Hind Rajab. In recent months, she spotlighted a family whose home was destroyed and a 3-year-old who lost both her legs in an airstrike, among others.
'Our compassion doesn't have boundaries or borders,' she told Zeteo. 'We just love kids.'
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