Justin Bieber has sparked fierce backlash after posting – and then deleting – a ‘Pray for Israel’ post which featured a photo of the destruction in Gaza.
‘Praying for Israel,’ he wrote simply, along with a heartbroken emoji and a green background.
The error did not go unnoticed by numerous by the Internet, who slammed Bieber over the inaccuracy on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Celebs are so out of touch it’s actually embarrassing man,’ one Twitter user remarked of the error.
Justin Bieber has sparked fierce backlash after posting – and then deleting – a ‘Pray for Israel’ post which featured a photo of the destruction in Gaza
Backlash: Bieber was slammed on X, formerly Twitter, for sharing a post supporting Israel – which featured an image of Gaza
‘Another example of celebrities knowing absolutely nothing and reposting the first thing they see,’ one account posted.
‘Just embarrassing. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then don’t talk at all. And didn’t he say just yesterday that he wasn’t going to pick sides and look what he’s doing now… picking the wrong side while he’s at it too…. Smh,’ another wrote.
‘Giving me “idk whats going on but i just wanna be apart of it” vibes,’ another wrote.
‘A simple google search could’ve saved him from this embarrassment….’ another wrote.
‘Instead of rushing to post online, maybe take a few minutes to actually learn what is happening. Especially when you have millions of fans,’ another wrote.
‘Justin Bieber praying for Israel yet showing a picture of Gaza,’ another wrote with an eye rolling emoji.
‘Justin Bieber posts “Praying for Israel” over a picture of Gaza. Y’all can’t even be wrong properly,’ one tweeted with two crying emojis.
It came after Justin posted on his Instagram Stories a statement on the conflict.
‘Truly hurting for both my Israeli and Palestinian friends. Im pretty sure we all instinctively know evil when we see it. To vilianize 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,’ he wrote in his Instagram Stories.
Hamas, which controls the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, attacked Israel on Saturday in the worst breach of the country’s defenses since Arab armies waged war in 1973. Israel has responded with air strikes on Gaza.
Justin is one of many celebrities weighing in on the conflict.
Among them is Gal Gadot, was one of the first Hollywood names to show their support for Israel. On Tuesday she revealed her heartbreak over Hamas’ attack on Israel which left at least 1,400 Israelis and Palestinians dead. She pledged her support to the victims of terrorists.
The post was taken down from his Instagram Stories and replaced with another message expressing his support for Israel
It came after Justin posted on his Instagram Stories a statement about the conflict
The Israeli actress, 38 – who previously said the ‘world must not sit on the fence’ over the war in Israel and Palestine – urged her followers to donate funds for those affected by the weekend’s attacks and slammed people reacting to the atrocities with ‘justification not empathy’ on Tuesday.
Sharing a post which read ‘Israel is under attack and we need your support’, she wrote: ‘Whoever can, and willing to donate, these peoples lives changed forever yesterday. They’ve lost so much and need help. Only if you can.’
She later wrote on her stories: ‘Whoever can and wiling to donate, these people’s lives changed forever yesterday
‘They’ve lost so much and need help. Only if you can. If you have less empathy towards victims because of how you feel about their government, propaganda is working on you.
‘The goal of propaganda is to dehumanize. It works to dehumanize Israelis and works to dehumanize Gazans
‘I like to think most of us are above propaganda. But this weekend reminded me how widespread it is. Because a lot of people reacted to this violence with justification, not empathy.
Called out: ‘Giving me “idk whats going on but i just wanna be apart of it” vibes,’ one X user said of Justin posting the wrong photo
‘I guess it’s not surprising but it’s still heartbreaking. Propaganda is everywhere. It seeps into us over time. It seeks to block our empathy receptors. So when we see violence, we rationalize away our human response
‘Killing innocent Palestinians is horrific. Killing innocent Israelis is horrific. If you don’t feel the same I think you should ask yourself why that is.’
On Saturday, she also posted a screenshot of an article that detailed how Israeli soldiers and civilians had been taken hostage by militants.
She wrote: ‘At least 250 Israeli have been murdered and dozens of women children and elders held as hostages in Gaza, by Palestinian military group Hamas.
‘Starting early morning more than 3,000 rockets were fire. Hamas is holding hostages, controlling bases and settlements in Israel. There have been more than 1,500 injured and heavy fighting is still ongoing. ‘I hear their voices and they are banging on the door. I am with my two little children. My heart is aching.’
The former Miss Israel 2004 was among the first celebs to support Israel, writing: ‘I stand with Israel you should too. The world cannot sit on the fence when these horrific acts of terror are happening!’
