As you may already know, Bella Hadid is one of the most known US supermodels of this generation. The 27-year-old woman has 61,3 million followers on her Instagram account and is often vocal about her political views, especially when linked to her heritage. But why is it so crucial to have a large number of followers, which is often seen as a shallow fact in real life, in the current Israel–Palestine scenario?
Well, with Bella’s Palestinian ancestry on her father’s side, and given the current situation that the people living in Gaza are suffering, the supermodel is making every effort that she has to help the people that share the same nationality, motivations and causes as her.
The celebrity and her sister, Gigi Hadid, also a well-known supermodel, donated one million dollars to support Palestine’s relief efforts. The money was distributed between four humanitarian organizations: Heal Palestine, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, World Central Kitchen, and United Nations Relief and Works Agency. The NGO’s are focused on helping children and families in Gaza that have been affected by the ongoing Israel-Palestine war.
As you can see, the supermodel doesn’t try to hide her blood connection with Palestinian people – having been seen giving support, in a lot of ways, to the situation that Palestinian people are going through. Bella is mostly seen showing this support through her social media, posting a lot of informative and historical content. This way, the celebrity is able to show the reality of the people living in Gaza, and the importance of the acknowledgment that these people need from the world’s population.
In one of Bella’s Instagram posts, she begged: “Please look into the eyes of the Palestinians suffering and look into your own heart to understand the pain of what it means to live through a genocide, being deprived of basic rights, homes and history being stolen in plain sight, starvation, consistent military occupation…”
Furthermore, in an interview for DailyMail, the celebrity said: “There have been so many brands that have stopped working with me. A lot of friends have also turned their backs on me”. The supermodel further explained that the reasons for these abrupt actions were her beliefs and the cause that she was defending.
We hardly see North American artists showing support to this population that has been culturally, socially and politically oppressed in the past decades. But, because of Bella Hadid, many people see a side of the history that so many of them hadn’t even heard before, even at school or on social platforms.
Another situation where she showed her roots and culture was when the supermodel appeared wearing a Kiffiyeh dress – a piece of clothing that is part of the Palestinian culture – during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival week. “Palestine in my mind, in my blood and my heart. Always… While I still have to go to work, even through this horror, to wear our culture makes me a proud Palestinian & I want the world to continue to see Palestine, wherever we go”, wrote Bella in an Instagram post.
Taking into account that she has millions of followers and that she is publishing and reposting, on a daily basis, content about the Israel-Palestine war and the current situation that people who lives in Gaza are suffering, it is certain that the reach of the real Palestinian history has been bigger, thanks to the supermodel.
It’s important that more and more artists show what their real humanitarian beliefs are, without fear of judgment. Famous people have such an influence and impact on society and, if they are able to convey credibility, many people can be influenced in a rather positive way. Sometimes, the major media platforms and all-round influencers do not fulfill their roles. But it’s their job to help tell the side of the history that has been historically silenced.
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The article above was edited by Clara Rocha.
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