Some Israelis Are Mocking Palestinians Suffering In Gaza In A New TikTok Trend, Causing Outrage
In the videos, Israelis wear makeup that thickens their eyebrows and blackens their teeth, as well as headscarves and keffiyehs, and dance to the song “This Was My Home”.
Some Israeli social media users are posting videos online mocking Palestinians’ struggles.
Since war erupted between Israel and Palestinian militant group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, there has been a rise in social media posts mocking Palestinians’ inability to access water, electricity, food, and other essentials in Gaza.
In the videos, Israelis of various ages appeared to be wearing makeup that thickens their eyebrows and blackens their teeth, as well as headscarves and keffiyehs, a checkered headscarf that has become synonymous with the Palestinian freedom cause.
The people in the video can be seen dancing to the song “This Was My Home” by the Israeli comedian group Mah Kashur Trio.
“This was my home, without electricity and the gas was home. It was mine and also yours and also Ahmed’s and Fatma’s and Abed and Salim,” read the lyrics to the 2005 song.
Hundreds of people have criticized the videos.
Meanwhile, an Israeli influencer, Eve Cohen, a VFX producer, sparked further outrage after she dressed up as a Palestinian and suggested that Palestinian mothers were faking their grief over their deceased child.
These social media videos appear to be spreading the idea of “Pallywood” – a portmanteau of Palestine and Hollywood – a derogatory term that was coined in 2005 to accuse Palestinians of faking their deaths and struggles.
Fact checker, Logically Facts, said that the number of social media posts mentioning “Pallywood” tripled after Israel ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza within just 24 hours.
Pro-Israeli accounts and even top ranking Israeli officials have weaponized the concept of “Pallywood” in their propaganda since the war began.
Several of the “Pallywood” claims have been debunked as fake, but experts say it is diluting and dehumanizing the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
“The intent is to plant a seed of suspicion in the minds of agnostic observers about the truth of the media they are consuming,” Logically Fact’s head of research said. “This can have a significant impact on timelines related to things like humanitarian aid and negotiations.”
