A chorus of supportive voices has resonated through Hollywood, with many celebrities voicing their solidarity with British actress Emma Watson, who has triggered heavy criticism from Israeli politicians after her social media post of empathy for Palestinian protesters in the occupied territories.
Many famous names, including Charles Dance, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and Peter Capaldi issued a statement containing a message of solidarity with Palestine and Emma Watson, the star of the "Harry Potter" movie series.
"We stand by Emma Watson and join the meaningful solidarity with the Palestinians who fight for human rights within the framework of international law," the statement that was signed by more than 40 film industry notables said.
Last week, Watson shared a photo on her Instagram account, which read “Solidarity is a verb” with pro-Palestinian protesters in the background. Watson's post drew the reaction of Israeli officials, including from Danny Danon, a former minister in former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, who accused Watson of anti-Semitism.
In the tweet, Danon also mentioned Watson, who is well-known as a human rights advocate and humanist, by adding her handle.
“10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite,” Danon said, in a reference to the "Harry Potter" movies in which the actress played the role of Hermione that led to her fame.
After tweeting the hilarious accusation, the envoy was blasted by social media users, even by pro-Israel ones who criticized him for harming the Middle Eastern country's reputation.
"Ratio," many users said, using the well-known Twitter jargon to refer to tweets so unpopular that they get only a handful of likes and thousands of negative comments.
Hollywood celebrities in their statement acknowledged "the imbalance of power between the occupying power Israel and the Palestinians under the military occupation and apartheid system," referring to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that underlined Israel's sundry crimes of apartheid and persecution. In the statement, the artists expressed their opposition to Israel's attempts to forcibly remove Palestinian families from East Jerusalem and other occupied Palestinian territories.
False accusations of anti-Semitism have long been used by Zionist politicians in attempts to quash any dissent to Israeli atrocities, no matter how illogical the claims are.
