Celebrities are posting ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ in their stories. Around 40 Palestinians in Rafah have died since the retaliatory attack was launched. This attack has claimed an equal number of lives of men and women, boys and girls, alike. It has also brought the debate of ‘human shield vs collateral damage’ to the forefront. On one hand, while Hamas continues to use Palestinian civilians as human shields, Israel disregards this and considers the innocent lives lost as collateral damage. The consensus on whether the blame should fall on those using human shields, or those who cause collateral damage, is not yet resolved in the international courts in prior international cases.
The war is garnering more attention than most other wars in the world due to the ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ posts, mainly because of the stakes that the two global superpowers, USA and China, have in this. On one hand, the USA sees it as a ‘Christian responsibility’ to protect its holy sites in Israel and in Jerusalem; the former empire of Israel being mentioned several times in the Bible, and also where the Indic word ‘Isai’ comes from. On the other hand, the Chinese have inherited the former USSR foreign policy of the Communists, who supported Palestine to oppose the capitalist West and Israel, a policy China continues to abide by. As such, a non-aligned country like Bharat would see no reason to support either of these two. Neither side is good, and supporting either outwardly forces us to back either China or the USA on the global stage.
As we can see, this issue is quite complex and has multiple layers of complexity. There is common consensus on the global stage that the loss of innocent lives during such a war is tragic. This must be condemned regardless of Israel or Palestinians losing lives, and not pick sides with ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ posts.
‘All Eyes on Rafah’ and Bollywood
So why has there been controversy regarding this ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ post in Bharat? Recently, several celebrities from across the entertainment world, including Bollywood, Desi Hip Hop, Sports, etc have posted an AI generated image of settlements which reads “All Eyes on Rafah”. This includes high profile, and mostly Millennial celebrities, such as Varun Dhawan, Sania Mirza, Tripti Dimri, Samantha Prabhu, Sonam Kapoor, clothing store Studio Chaap, Raftaar, Raga, Madhuri Dixit, Rawal and many more, who have posted the same ‘All Eyes on Rafah’.
A rather Gandhian post was made by the 40 year old rapper Honey Singh, where he said “Bholenath mehr karo”.
A Twitter user by the name of Incognito_gfs made a list of 30 celebrities who have added the AI generated poster on their Instagram Stories, along with the ‘add your own’ sticker to enable reposting and resharing.
This ‘add your own’ sticker is an easy way for many celebrities to gain engagement and views. Many people, especially Millennials, see these catchy trends and are eager to post about it. Due to the outrage in political circles and by world leaders globally over this retaliatory attack on Rafah, there is a sentiment which is being cashed in on by celebrities to increase their engagement online. This gives celebrity management companies incentive to report on the same.
Another twitter user, Sunanda Roy, traces the AI generated posted to a PR company “Cornerstone Sports & Entertainment Ltd. The owner of this PR company, Bunny Sajdeh, is the cousin of Ritika Sajdeh, Rohit Sharma’s wife. This company manages more than 250 celebrities in Bollywood, Sports and other fields. Bunny Sajdeh and Ritika Sajdeh are yet to provide an explanation to this controversy.
Alternatives to ‘All Eyes on Rafah’
Further, several users on Twitter and Instagram have expressed disappointment over the silence of Bollywood celebrities when it comes to issues in their own subcontinent, but make repeated posts for issues such as Black Lives Matter and Palestine.
Instagram and Twitter users have constantly asked celebrities to post about other Indic issues as well, especially during the IPL and other events.
These issues include the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir, about the ongoing conflict in Manipur, the statehood of Ladakh, illegal immigration from Bangladesh, the Sandeshkhali incident, missionaries in Punjab, illegal settlement of Hui Muslims in Tibet, destruction of Hindu temples in Sri Lanka, communal riots in Nepal, as well as the ongoing crisis of Hindus in Pakistan and crisis of Hindus in Bangladesh. With several socio-political crises surrounding us in the subcontinent, it would be a lot more empowering globally for Indic people to see these issues raised by big stars and entertainers.
Journalist Ajeet Bharti summarizes several of these comments in a reel of his.
Which Side To Pick in the ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ Fight?
The Israel and Palestine war is a complex subject that celebrities must not milk for engagement. Bharat has taken a neutral stance, not supporting either Israel or Hamas. Bharat has stood against war. It has recognized a Two State Solution recently as well. It is a Bharat-first and Peace-first strategy.
To see a large number of Gen X and Millennials support a polarizing stance does not reflect well on the country’s neutral reputation. Further, it alienates an Indian audience that is more interested in the issues of their own neighborhood.
There are several issues in the Indian Subcontinent that demand the attention of the media and the public, both domestically and globally. It would be a breath of fresh air to see the newfound confidence our nation has, translating from the common man to the celebrity class in the future, by taking up local issues and causes of the common Indian man.
We as Indians should not get divided over a war fought in another country.
