Justin Bieber faced a backlash after sharing a message of support for Israel alongside a photo of Gaza City destruction online.
The Canadian singer, 29, took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday and posted the words “Praying for Israel” overlayed on an image of ruined buildings in the Gaza Strip.
Residential buildings, markets and mosques in Gaza have been destroyed in retaliation for the attack launched by Hamas terrorists on Israel’s territories on Saturday.
The Baby singer’s post was deleted within an hour and he then reshared the message with the same wording but this time with no background.
Justin Bieber deletes and reposts ‘Praying For Israel’ story after the original post he shared had the words over a photo of destruction in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/5yHoXC8Ilr
— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 11, 2023
Prior to that, Bieber had shared another message on the subject, writing: “To vilianize [sic] all Palestinians or all Israeli people to me seems wrong.
“I’m not interested in choosing sides, but I am interested in standing with the families who have been brutally taken from us.”
It comes after Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis posted a picture with the caption “Terror from the skies” with an Israeli flag on Instagram on Monday, but deleted it after followers pointed out the picture was actually of Gazan children.
Other celebrities who have used their online platforms to voice their opinion on the conflict include Madonna and Gal Gadot.
Material Girl singer Madonna called the situation in Israel “devastating” in a statement posted on Instagram, adding that “conflicts can never be resolved with violence” and her heart “goes out to Israel”.
Meanwhile, Israel-born actress Gadot, who served two mandatory years in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) before launching her Hollywood career, shared several posts over the weekend.
“I stand with Israel you should too. The world cannot sit on the fence when these horrific acts of terror are happening!” the Wonder Woman star wrote on one of her posts.
