Latest news with #PalestinianArabs
Buzz Feed
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Amelia Dimoldenberg Embraces Bella Hadid's Heritage
Bella Hadid has always been incredibly proud of her Palestinian heritage, and is one of the biggest celebrities to regularly speak out in support of Palestine. The 28-year-old model uses her public profile to advocate for Palestinian rights, raise awareness amid Israel's occupation of the country, and donate generously to relief efforts. For reference, Bella's dad, Mohamed Hadid, was born in Nazareth back in 1948, but he and his family were forced to flee to Lebanon before settling in Syria due to the 1948 Palestinian Nakba. This saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs flee their homes or get expelled from their country by Zionist paramilitaries, Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi, which later merged to become the Israel Defense Forces once Israel was established. In December 2015, Mohamed shared a childhood photo of himself with his parents and three siblings on Instagram as he opened up about his family's history. He wrote at the time: 'Thats how we became refugees to Syria and we lost our home in Safad to a Jewish family that we sheltered when they were refugees from Poland on the ship that was sailing from country to country and no one would take them... they were our guest for 2 years till they made us refugees and they kicked us out of our own home. That my history.. Strange thing. That I and my family would do it again.' And while Bella's Palestinian pride has always been a huge part of her public image, the star has faced severe backlash from Israel's supporters in recent months. With that in mind, people were delighted by her recent appearance on Chicken Shop Date, where interviewer Amelia Dimoldenberg subtly let the star know she was in a safe space to discuss and embrace her heritage. 'You are half-Dutch, half-Palestinian,' Amelia began. 'So, out of your mom and your dad, who makes the best food?' 'My dad,' Bella immediately replied. 'Growing up, it'd be, like, spreads… He doesn't cook for four people. Anybody that's Arab knows Arab parents cook for 50 people, and that's pretty much it. My dream for him one day would always be to open a restaurant.' 'Take care of his heritage,' Bella continued, before appearing to hesitate over how to phrase what she said next. 'And, like, the legacy of our, uhm… You know, who we are as people, and… And what our food is to the world.' 'I think the Palestinian restaurant sounds amazing,' Amelia quickly and enthusiastically interjected, at which point Bella visibly relaxed and smiled as she said: 'It would be incredible.' Viewers were quick to pick up on this sweet moment between Amelia and Bella when the interview clip was shared to X, with one particularly viral tweet reading: 'I think Amelia let her know this was a safe space to say Palestine and I actually love that. You can see the hesitation a bit.''She was lowkey avoiding saying Palestinian, then Amelia said it,' a similarly popular tweet added. Somebody else wrote: 'Bella seemed so nervous to say the word so she just didn't (I don't blame her given the disgusting attacks on her), meanwhile Amelia made a point of saying the word Palestinian twice, making it really clear where she stood. Makes such a difference.''I really appreciate Amelia saying Palestine out loud bc watching Bella mince her words is actually painful to witness, she should never have to be so careful just talking about where her family is from,' another more theorized: 'bella wasn't afraid to say palestine for her sake but rather didn't want to create any controversy for amelia and her show but then amelia let her know she was an ally and i think that's wonderful.'While somebody else circled back to the original topic as they tweeted: 'I encourage anyone to try Palestinian cuisine if you ever wanna try some of the most incredible food you will ever eat in your life."
NDTV
28-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Who Is Bishara Bahbah, The Palestinian Academic Connecting Trump To Hamas
A Palestinian-American academic has unexpectedly become a key backchannel between the Trump administration and Hamas to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. Though not an official diplomat, Bishara Bahbah helped facilitate the May release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander after being contacted by a senior Hamas operative. Since then, the activist has worked with US envoy Steve Witkoff on secret talks for further hostage releases in exchange for a temporary truce. Who Is Bishara Bahbah? Bishara Bahbah's family fled to Jordan during the 1948 Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs. He was born in 1958 in East Jerusalem, which was then a part of Jordan after it was annexed following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. It also occupied the Golan Heights from Syria and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. Mr Bahbah's family moved and settled permanently in the US in the 1970s. A Harvard-educated scholar, Mr Bahbah earned his Master's and PhD in finance and went on to teach at the university, where he also served as the associate director of Harvard's Middle East Institute. Mr Bahbah also worked in journalism as the editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem-based Palestinian newspaper, Al-Fajr. He served as a Palestinian delegate during the 1992-1993 Arab-Israeli peace talks. Until recently, he was the vice president of the US Palestine Council. In a 2018 interview, he said that Palestine would always be his home and that he registered his US-born children with UNRWA. "It will always be my home, no matter where I live," he told Arab News. "When I die, I want them to say I was Palestinian. That's our eternal right." Originally a Democrat, Mr Bahbah publicly broke with the party in 2024, criticising former President Joe Biden's handling of the war in Gaza. In May 2024, Mr Bahbah joined the Trump campaign to help form the PAC 'Arab Americans for a Better America' and later founded 'Arab Americans for Trump' to rally Arab-American Republican support in Michigan. He worked closely with Trump envoy Richard Grenell and businessman Massad Boulos. He publicly opposed Trump's February proposal for Gaza to be turned into a "Middle East Riviera" by expelling its population. Following that statement, Mr Bahbah rebranded his group to 'Arab Americans for Peace'. Mr Bahbah also played a behind-the-scenes role in drafting a congratulatory letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Trump after his re-election. This made way for the first direct phone call between the two leaders. Mr Bahbah also helped broker a ceasefire in Gaza on 19 January before Israel unilaterally ended it, resumed its assault, and blocked all aid from entering the war-ravaged strip. In April, Mr Bahbah was pulled into informal diplomacy after Hamas official Ghazi Hamad asked him to relay a message to US officials. This led to secret talks with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and the release of US-Israeli national Edan Alexander from Gaza on 12 May.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pro-Palestine protesters chant ‘from the river to the sea' at Cannes
Pro-Palestine demonstrators chanted 'from the river to the sea' as they staged a rally against 'genocide' at the Cannes film festival – despite a ban on political protests. For the first time in almost 10 years, the festival is hosting an official Palestinian Pavilion. The pavilions serve as a base for filmmakers and producers to show off opportunities in their countries. However, on Thursday, the site was used to host an event in which activists criticised what they described as Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza. It was held to coincide with the annual Nakba Day, which marks the expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from the region in 1948 and laments the founding of the state of Israel. Speakers at the event railed against the 'ongoing atrocity' suffered by Palestinians and declared 'end this genocide', with one chanting 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'. International festival-goers, including British and American citizens, and some members of the press attended while wearing keffiyeh Palestinian scarves. A Greek journalist tearfully called out 'free Palestine', while a South African delegate led chants of 'free, free Palestine'. The event was billed as a gathering to 'remember lives shaped by genocide' and 'the people of Gaza, their martyred children, women and men'. It was organised by the Palestine Film Institute, which is leading the Palestinian delegation in Cannes. The institute states on its website that there is a 'relentless genocide perpetrated against our people in Gaza'. Film Workers for Palestine also helped with the organisation. The international group has characterised the current conflict in Gaza as a 'US-backed genocide', and has led calls for a boycott of Disney and Marvel over their 'whitewashing' of the violence. Activists with the group have claimed on their website that the films Captain America: Brave New World and the recent Snow White remake were attempts 'to normalise anti-Palestinian racism and cover up Israel's ongoing carnage in Gaza'. The Snow White film starred Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress, who the group branded a 'propagandist'. The gathering took place on the seafront grounds of the Cannes film festival, despite rules prohibiting 'political, militant or electoral events or demonstrations'. The ban was introduced for this year's festival to 'not to offend the participants' various sensitivities'. Those who breach the rules run the risk of being thrown out of the festival, and each national pavilion is responsible for the events that it hosts. A spokesman for the festival said it had 'this year... made explicit in its charter certain rules that have long been in effect.' They added: 'The Festival de Cannes does not ban political expression. However, our focus must remain on the films and the creative teams presenting them. 'For this reason, we have a long-standing rule that prohibits any demonstrations or protests that have not been expressly authorised in advance. 'The Marche du Film hosts pavilions from a wide range of countries around the world. Each pavilion is managed autonomously by the institution it represents and bears full responsibility for the events and activities organised within its private spaces.' The ban on political activity came after nearly 400 stars signed an open letter calling for the film industry to take a stand on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Actors including Australian Guy Pearce and British star Ralph Fiennes supported the call, which stated: 'We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza.' The festival's jury president, Juliette Binoche, used her speech at its opening ceremony to touch on both the plight of Gaza's civilians and the Oct 7 massacre. Her remarks would have been signed off in advance. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The Israel-Hamas war grinds on. It's time to try something actually different
As the IDF intensify their campaign in Gaza while 59 hostages remain in Hamas captivity it is time for some fresh thinking. Eight thousand Palestinian prisoners held by Israel should be committed into deradicalisation programmes outside the country. Their families can go with them. In return – release all the hostages. On its face that might sound crazy, but such programmes have worked elsewhere and, if successful, large-scale deradicalisation of prisoners could also pave the way for wider stability, beyond the failed Western 'solutions' which have been no such thing. The Israel-Palestinian conflict is not a war over land, sovereignty or civil rights. That would be a lot simpler to deal with. Throughout history, societies and nations at war have adapted and reconciled, learning to live in peace with neighbours with whom they have fought vicious, long term conflicts. The root of today's problem in the Middle East is a radicalised Palestinian population that for decades has been indoctrinated to hate Jews and taught that they have a religious duty to exterminate them and destroy their state. This has come from within Palestinian society and across the Middle East, often wittingly or unwittingly encouraged by the Western world. In truth the Palestinian Arabs have been used and abused as a weapon against the Jewish state and that remains the case today. Consequently, the Palestinians are now one of the most radicalised societies on earth. How often have we heard the lazy aphorism that you can't defeat an ideology? Tell that to the Nazi Party and Imperial Japan. As they were, Hamas and its fellow jihadists in Gaza are in the process of being militarily defeated, and when that is complete their ideology will no longer have the direct capability to inflict harm on their enemies. But the ideology itself will remain and what is left of its leadership will do their utmost to rearm and rebuild what they have lost. The same is true in the West Bank.
