Left: Rachel Riley / Right: Rob Rinder. Photo credit: Getty Images
1,200 Israelis and 1,055 Palestinians have been killed since Hamas launched its unprecedented multi-front attack on Israel.
Hamas – which is all classified as a terrorist group by the UK, US and EU – fired thousands of rockets into Israeli cities and towns on October 7, before gunmen broke through heavily fortified borders, stormed homes, attacked civilians and people – including Children – taken away – hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then declared that Israel was “at war” and launched retaliatory aerial attacks on Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes and displaced. There are also reports that Gaza is running out of electricity after its only power plant ran out of fuel.
The ongoing crisis has drawn responses from various celebrities, world leaders and public figures who have shared their thoughts on social media. These include some of the leading Jewish figures in the UK who have released their own – often personal – messages of support for the people of Israel.
Here some examples.
Rachel Riley
Countdown presenter Rachel Riley spoke about her personal experience in London over the weekend, expressing her “shock” at seeing other Londoners “partying” and “dancing”, apparently to celebrate Hamas’ violent and brutal attack on Israel.
On Saturday afternoon (October 7), the Jewish TV personality wrote on seemingly celebrating as if they were having a party. Make no mistake, this is a dangerous and terrible time for all Jews everywhere.”
Left: Tracy Ann Oberman / Right: Robert Peston. Photo credit: Getty Images
Then, a few hours later, she shared a video of another scene she came across, writing: “Acton, half an hour ago. We went to a cafe with the kids and our Ukrainian friends to eat baklava.
The story goes on
“People have been brutally murdered and kidnapped and people are dancing in London. I just had a reassuring call to the police. If anyone is scared, please call them.”
Riley has continued to express her dismay at what is happening in Israel, and particularly her horror at how people have responded to the conflict.
In one post, she wrote: “Lynchings, beheadings, torture, rapes, kidnappings… and yet even people with a public profile scream for ‘resistance’ and ‘freedom’ without thinking about condemning Hamas, terrorists or any of these crimes against them .” innocent young, old, black, white and everything in between. For. Shame.”
In another video, she shared a chilling video of protesters chanting “gas against the Jews” outside the Sydney Opera House with the caption: “When terrorists say they want to kill all Jews, believe them.”
Rob Rinder
Rob Rinder, better known as Judge Rinder, also joined X to give his thoughts on the attack on Israel. On Monday (October 9), he posted a black image with the text: “If your attitude towards their government makes you less compassionate towards victims, the propaganda will affect you.”
Elsewhere, the Jewish lawyer shared others’ tweets – including condemnations of Hamas by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, news of the demolition of a kosher restaurant in north London and a post from a woman called Yasmine Mohammed who wrote: “Too many people on this stupid app can’t tell the difference between innocent Palestinians and terrorists like Hamas.”
“Stop confusing the two. You’re not helping. I have family in Gaza. They hate Hamas. They do not torture women or display their corpses. The people who do this are not “innocent Palestinians.” They are evil and monstrous terrorists. This shouldn’t be difficult.”
Tracy Ann Oberman
Actress Tracy Ann Oberman, who starred in “It’s a Sin,” “Eastenders” and “Friday Night Dinner,” also shared her anger and irritation, writing: “Hamas is a death cult. It has one goal: destruction [of] Israel. There is no intention to negotiate. It has no intention of improving the lives of Palestinians. She doesn’t care about her homeland. It simply doesn’t want a Jewish homeland. She doesn’t want Jews to break up.”
She also wrote about Iran’s involvement with Hamas, noting: “This horror that is unfolding is NOT about the rights of Palestinians. This is Iran’s support for the Hamas death cult that aims to destroy Israel.”
Robert Peston
Meanwhile, ITV journalist Robert Peston, who recently highlighted the fact that he is Jewish through a post shared on X, has shared various reports from Jewish news outlets such as Jewish News.
These include a report on “the tripling of reports of anti-Semitic incidents” and a Jerusalem Post video of the Jewish community in Paris singing a rendition of HaTikvah while standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, which was lit with the flag of Israel.
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