Emma Watson. Photo: Instagram.com/macksfilms
Palestine‘s current climate has been on the radar for several celebrities around the world, including Susan Sarandon, John Legend, and Bella Hadid. Although their voices have been amplified via their fans, their fame does not shield them from the criticism of opposing forces. This time, it’s Emma Watson who’s in the spotlight for reposting a quote from The Bad Activist Collective.
The visual read “Solidarity is a Verb”, backdropped by a picture of a crowd of demonstrators taken at a ‘Free Palestine’ rally. In solidarity with Palestinians, the photo was captioned with a quote from the scholar Sara Ahmed that reads, “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.”
However, the post was criticized by Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations who said, “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 favour of that!”. Despite his clear opposition to the post, Watson does not count as the first to stand up for Palestinians.
Musician @johnlegend speaks out for Palestinian rights: “there should not be a whole group of people… just because of their nationality or religion, being held in open-air prisons, denied freedom of movement and having their land annexed by settlers" pic.twitter.com/NPrqvB6ReB
— PACBI (@PACBI) February 18, 2020
Standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people who are facing ethnic cleansing and being terrorized at the hands of the Israeli government and Jewish settler organizations.
THE WORLD IS WATCHING. #SaveSheikhJarrah #StopJerusalemExpulsions pic.twitter.com/pfdUwqIxEk
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) May 12, 2021
This is not the first time Watson makes a bold political statement. Earlier in September, she was also among the British celebrities who called on ministers to rescue Afghanistan’s creative professionals. The group wrote a letter to The Times titled “Safe passage plea for Afghan performers”, asking the British government to open a “humanitarian corridor” for artists, writers, and filmmakers in the country.
Over a year ago, Emma Watson moved away from social media and stepped back from her acting career to put her public appearance on hold—indefinitely. What’s more, Emma Watson’s Instagram is no longer run by her. According to her bio, her COP26 account has been taken over by an anonymous feminist collective.
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