Amelia Dimoldenberg Embraces Bella Hadid's Heritage
For reference, Bella's dad, Mohamed Hadid, was born in Nazareth back in 1948, but he and his family were forced to flee to Lebanon before settling in Syria due to the 1948 Palestinian Nakba. This saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs flee their homes or get expelled from their country by Zionist paramilitaries, Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi, which later merged to become the Israel Defense Forces once Israel was established.
In December 2015, Mohamed shared a childhood photo of himself with his parents and three siblings on Instagram as he opened up about his family's history. He wrote at the time: 'Thats how we became refugees to Syria and we lost our home in Safad to a Jewish family that we sheltered when they were refugees from Poland on the ship that was sailing from country to country and no one would take them... they were our guest for 2 years till they made us refugees and they kicked us out of our own home. That my history.. Strange thing. That I and my family would do it again.'
And while Bella's Palestinian pride has always been a huge part of her public image, the star has faced severe backlash from Israel's supporters in recent months. With that in mind, people were delighted by her recent appearance on Chicken Shop Date, where interviewer Amelia Dimoldenberg subtly let the star know she was in a safe space to discuss and embrace her heritage.
'You are half-Dutch, half-Palestinian,' Amelia began. 'So, out of your mom and your dad, who makes the best food?'
'My dad,' Bella immediately replied. 'Growing up, it'd be, like, spreads… He doesn't cook for four people. Anybody that's Arab knows Arab parents cook for 50 people, and that's pretty much it. My dream for him one day would always be to open a restaurant.'
'Take care of his heritage,' Bella continued, before appearing to hesitate over how to phrase what she said next. 'And, like, the legacy of our, uhm… You know, who we are as people, and… And what our food is to the world.'
'I think the Palestinian restaurant sounds amazing,' Amelia quickly and enthusiastically interjected, at which point Bella visibly relaxed and smiled as she said: 'It would be incredible.'
Viewers were quick to pick up on this sweet moment between Amelia and Bella when the interview clip was shared to X, with one particularly viral tweet reading: 'I think Amelia let her know this was a safe space to say Palestine and I actually love that. You can see the hesitation a bit.''She was lowkey avoiding saying Palestinian, then Amelia said it,' a similarly popular tweet added. Somebody else wrote: 'Bella seemed so nervous to say the word so she just didn't (I don't blame her given the disgusting attacks on her), meanwhile Amelia made a point of saying the word Palestinian twice, making it really clear where she stood. Makes such a difference.''I really appreciate Amelia saying Palestine out loud bc watching Bella mince her words is actually painful to witness, she should never have to be so careful just talking about where her family is from,' another said.One more theorized: 'bella wasn't afraid to say palestine for her sake but rather didn't want to create any controversy for amelia and her show but then amelia let her know she was an ally and i think that's wonderful.'While somebody else circled back to the original topic as they tweeted: 'I encourage anyone to try Palestinian cuisine if you ever wanna try some of the most incredible food you will ever eat in your life."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
2 days ago
Pro-Palestinian protest prompts onstage scuffle at Royal Opera House in London
LONDON -- A performer holding a Palestinian flag touched off a brief scuffle on stage at the Royal Opera House in London as cast members were taking their bows following the season's final performance of 'Il Trovatore.' Images posted on social media show what appears to be a member of the chorus holding the unfurled flag in front of his chest while the lead singers bask in the audience's applause on Saturday night. After a few moments, someone backstage tries to grab the flag, but the performer holds onto it and snaps back into place. 'The display of the flag was an unauthorized action by the artist,' the opera company said in a statement on Sunday. 'It was not approved by the Royal Ballet and Opera and is a wholly inappropriate act.' The opera company declined to comment when asked whether the performer would face any disciplinary action. 'Il Trovatore,' which translates as 'The Troubadour,' is an 1853 opera by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Director Adele Thomas' production reinterprets the story of desire and an all-consuming curse, the opera said.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Review: ‘To a Land Unknown' at Facets is an absorbing refugee crisis drama
Sitting on an Athens park bench with their skateboards, with pigeons scouring the ground for food at their feet, the cousins at the heart of 'To a Land Unknown' scan their surroundings for their next target. They need money, badly. They need a purse to steal. Palestinian refugees, Chatila and his younger cousin Reda have been stranded here a while. Chatila's wife and two-year-old son, stuck in their own limbo in a Lebanese refugee camp, live with uncertain hopes of meeting up with the cousins in Germany. This is the universal lament and staggering human cost of refugee displacement, dramatized in Danish-Palestinian filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel's tense, coolly heartbreaking debut narrative feature. 'To a Land Unknown,' premiering this week at Facets Film Forum, focuses on these loving, sometimes hating cousins, who dream of opening a cafe in their chosen land unknown. Realizing this dream will require a series of anxious gambles and bargains with their lives, and the lives of others. It's an existence balanced between 'what is and what must be,' as another refugee says, quoting 'Praise for the High Shadow' by Mahmoud Darwish. That's the poetry; Fleifel's film favors well-paced if slightly schematic prose, though the actors are more than good enough to keep you with these people every fraught minute. It's a movie of many deadlines. The first is the two weeks that the cagey, quietly ruthless Chatila has to secure fake passports for himself and the softer-hearted addict Reda. Early in the story, the cousins encounter 13-year-old Malik (Mohammad Alsurafa), a Gazan refugee whose human trafficker, he tells the men, dumped him in Greece instead of reuniting him with his mother, now living in Italy. Everyone in 'To a Land Unknown' seeks some distant shore they can call home, with the promise of reminding them, in some way, of three simple words heard at the very end of the story: 'the old neighborhood.' Chatila's the emergent protagonist in the script by Fyzal Boulifa, Jason McColgan and director Fleifel, and in the compelling, un-showy performance by Mahmoud Bakri, the story's escalating tensions never feel actor-engineered. Cousin Reda, whom Chatila patronizes one minute and loves like a brother the next, may well be the biggest obstacle to a further shore. Aram Sabbah makes this sweet, lost soul a dimensional presence. Much of 'To a Land Unknown' deals with the cousins' entry into human trafficking, by way of the hard-drinking Greek national Tatiana (Angeliki Papoulia, 'Dogtooth') who becomes Chatila's lover. She's lured, with a promise of pay, into posing as the orphan's mother, accompanying him to Italy. It's a long shot. But it might get the cousins where they're headed, in Germany (a proper European nation, argues Chatila). There are only so many ways 'To a Land Unknown' can conclude its storytelling business and not sell itself short, along with the omnipresent refugee crisis stories we live every minute on this planet. Yet the co-writer and director, who earliest years in a Lebanese refugee camp are the subject of his 2012 documentary 'A World Not Ours,' knows where he's going. The focus tightens ever more effectively on two ordinary men, searching, yearning, stealing, surviving however — and if — they can. 'To a Land Unknown' — 3 stars (out of 4) No MPA rating (language, sexuality, some violence) Running time: 1:46 How to watch: Chicago premiere at Facets Film Forum, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave.; 3 and 5 p.m. Sat. July 19; 1 and 3 p.m. Sun. July 20; 7 p.m. Thurs. July 24. In Arabic, Greek and English with English subtitles.
CNN
4 days ago
- CNN
Massive Attack, Brian Eno among UK and Irish musicians banding together to speak out on Israel's war in Gaza
A group of musicians from the United Kingdom and Ireland say they have formed a syndicate to advocate for artists speaking out against Israel's war in Gaza and the role of foreign governments in funding it. 'Because of our expressions of conscience, we've been subject to various intimidations from within our industry' and 'legally via organised bodies such as UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI),' read a social media post by the band Massive Attack, a version of which has been shared by Kneecap and Fontaines D.C., as well as musician and producer Brian Eno. The musicians said they are aware of 'aggressive, vexatious campaigns operated by UKLFI and of multiple individual incidences of intimidation within the music industry itself' designed to censor and silence artists. CNN has reached out to UKLFI for comment. The posts come after Northern Irish rappers Kneecap and the British rap-punk duo Bob Vylan drew criticism for their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel rhetoric. Both are facing police investigations for their performances at Glastonbury music festival, following reports by UKLFI. UKLFI said it reported a singer in Bob Vylan to the police for chanting 'Death to the IDF' during their Glastonbury set, referring to the Israeli military. It also reported UK public broadcaster the BBC for showing the set. The BBC later called Bob Vylan's performance 'antisemitic' and said it should not have been broadcast. A member of Kneecap, which has been a vocal critic of Israel and the war in Gaza, was charged with a terrorism offense last month for allegedly displaying a flag 'in support of Hezbollah,' according to London police, following a report by UKLFI. UK counterterrorism police said they were investigating the group after videos emerged allegedly showing the band calling for British politicians to be killed and shouting 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah,' in apparent support for the militant groups from Gaza and Lebanon, respectively, both enemies of Israel. Kneecap has previously said it has never supported Hamas or Hezbollah and that the footage circulating online has been 'deliberately taken out of all context' as part of a 'smear campaign' following their criticism of Israel and the United States over the former's 20-month war in Gaza. Both Bob Vylan and Kneecap have faced widespread gig cancellations. UKLFI said it had written to the UK venues where Kneecap was due to perform this summer and warned them 'of the risks of allowing them to perform.' The US State Department banned Bob Vylan from performing in the US. In their joint social media posts, the musicians in the newly-formed alliance encouraged other artists who wish to speak up but are afraid of repercussions to contact them. 'The scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description,' said the post announcing the formation of the syndicate, which calls for a ceasefire; the 'immediate, unfettered access' of aid to Gaza; the end of UK arms sales to Israel; and other measures. 'Having withstood these campaigns of attempted censorship, we won't stand by and allow other artists – particularly those at earlier stages of their careers or in other positions of professional vulnerability – to be threatened into silence or career cancellation.' The English singer Paloma Faith lent her support on the post shared by Kneecap. 'Keep going everyone it's going to eventually change! Hang in there,' she wrote in a comment via her verified account on Instagram.
