Emma Watson pro-Palestinian post sparks antisemitism row

Source: The Guardian

Emma Watson pro-Palestinian post sparks antisemitism row

Israeli officials attack actor’s message, and are accused of ‘cynical weaponisation’ of term

Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent
@nadiakhomami
Tue 4 Jan 2022 17.28 GMT

Emma Watson has been accused of antisemitism by Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations after she posted a message of support for the Palestinian cause.

Watson, best known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, posted an image on Instagram showing a photograph of a pro-Palestinian protest with the banner “Solidarity is a Verb” written across it. It was accompanied with a quote about the meaning of solidarity from the intersectional feminist scholar Sara Ahmed.

While the post elicited widespread support from Palestinian activists, it drew strong criticism from Israeli officials. The most combative was Danny Danon, who formerly held the posts of science minister in Binyamin Netanyahu’s government and Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. Sharing Watson’s post on Twitter, Dannon said: “10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite.”

Israel’s current ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, was also critical. “Fiction may work in Harry Potter but it does not work in reality,” Erdan wrote. “If it did, the magic used in the wizarding world could eliminate the evils of Hamas (which oppresses women and seeks the annihilation of Israel) and the PA (which supports terror). I would be in favor of that!” PA refers to the Palestinian Authority.

Danon’s comments were met with a backlash, ...

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/04/emma-watson-pro-palestinian-post-sparks-antisemitism-row