July 19, 2014
In Blog
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Selena Gomez seems to have created an international (fan) incident after she posted an Instagram message on Friday (July 18) that read “It’s About Humanity: Pray for Gaza”. The comments quickly poured in, with some fans vowing to unfollow her in protest, while others rushed to her defense.
The “Come & Get It” singer posted a message urging her followers to “pray for those families and babies today,” seemingly referring to the casualties of Israel’s ground attack on the volatile Palestinian region of Gaza.
But while her intention may have been to encourage peace — writing “Please always remember what’s important in life. It’s not any of this. We are here to help, inspire and love.” — the post seems to have left Selenators divided, with many rushing to attack or defend their idol, turning the comments section into a spirited debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Instagram user nicolenourian wrote, “Are you serious Selena?… posting this goes against all your Jewish fans. I am so insulted and disgusted right now.” Lily.Kh kept it short: “Unfollowed.” Still, many others rushed to her defense, arguing Selena was merely calling for peace, while others simply repeated the hashtag #prayforgaza.
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu ordered land, air and sea attacks on Gaza in an effort to destroy underground tunnels that Hamas — the Islamic terrorist organization in Gaza — has been using to attack Israel. According to reports, nearly 300 Palestinians have been killed, including around 80 children.
In addition to the recent tunnel attacks by Hamas on Israel, the attacks come less than a week after three Israeli teenagers were killed — allegedly by Hamas militants — after they were kidnapped in the West Bank.
Earlier this week, Rihanna came under similar fire after tweeting “#FreePalestine,” a message that a source told TMZ “was never meant to be tweeted.” NBA star Dwight Howard received backlash for posting the exact same message on Saturday.