English pop superstar Dua Lipa is fiercely rejecting allegations made by an organization that called her antisemitic over her support of Palestinians.
The head of the World Values Network, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, named the “Don’t Start Now” singer, alongside the models Bella and Gigi Hadid as three “mega-influencers” who have “accused Israel of ethnic cleansing” and “vilified the Jewish State.”
According to The Associated Press, Boteach criticism came in the form of a full-page “rambling ad” that was published in the Saturday edition of The New York Times.
“This is the price you pay for defending Palestinian human rights against an Israeli government whose actions in Palestine both Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem accuse or persecution and discrimination,” she wrote.
Lipa was likely referring to a recent HRW report condemning Israeli authorities of “committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.” Earlier this year, B’Tselem released a report titled, “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid.”
The singer accused the organization of “shamelessly using my name to advance their ugly campaign with falsehoods and blatant misrepresentation of who I am and what I stand for.”
“I stand in solidarity with all oppressed people and reject all forms of racism,” she added.
The highly volatile situation in the Middle East has led celebrities around the world to post messages in support of Palestinians on social media, including The Weeknd, Mark Ruffalo and Zayn.
On Friday, a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas went into effect, after 11 bloody days of fighting that have left more than 250 dead, most of them in Gaza.
