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Published 04 Jan, 2022 02:05pm

Harry Potter star Emma Watson takes pro-Palestine stance

British actress Emma Watson has expressed solidarity with the Palestinians in a post on her verified Instagram account.

The Harry Potter star, whose account is now run by an anonymous Feminist Collective according to the bio, shared a picture from another Instagram page called Bad Activist Collective with the title "Solidarity is a verb".

In her message, she shared a quote by British activist Sara Ahmed: "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."

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan lashed out at Watson for her post.

"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 favor of that!"

Watson's post has already gone viral, closing in on one million likes, and close to 85,000 comments.

She is not the first international celebrity who expressed solidarity with the nation. Earlier Palestinian-Dutch model Bella Hadid joined a rally in New York to protest against violence in Palestine.

Singer John Legend also raised voice for the oppressed nation while responding to a series of tweets by Canadian journalist Ali Velshi about Palestine. "Palestinian Lives Matter," the singer, who has more than 12 million followers, tweeted.

At another event when the 40-year-old singer was taking part in a live podcast recording, he said whatever is happening to the Palestinians in "wrong", reported Middle East publication The National.

"Clearly it's wrong what is happening to the Palestinians, it's so obvious. Anyone who doesn't believe that is the case is being wilfully blind, I believe," Legend said.

American actress Susan Sarandon in a tweet last year said the nation was facing "ethnic cleansing". "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," read her tweet.

Israel and Palestine have a long history of conflicts with the Jews planning major settlement projects in East Jerusalem. Both the Jews and Arab nations consider the holy place their respective historical religious site.

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