Riz Ahmed speaks out on “horrific and wrong” Israel-Palestine conflict

16 October, 2023

Riz Ahmed

Actor Riz Ahmed has spoken out about the Israel-Gaza conflict in a lengthy new post on social media.

Earlier this month (October 7), Hamas launched an early morning attack on southern Israel that has gone on to trigger an Israel-Hamas war. At the time of writing, 1300 Israeli citizens have died in the attacks, while Gaza’s health department says more than 2215 Palestinians have now died.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Ahmed said: “As storytellers we out ourselves in other people’s shoes and ask audiences to go on that journey with us. The reason this works is because underneath our differences, we feel the same fear, joy, grief, and hope. Stories work because there is no “us” and “them”. There is only “us”. Any story that says otherwise, that some people aren’t like is, aren’t human, is a lit.”

He continued: “We are told that there are two sides to what is happening in Israel and Palestine. But in my heart, I know there is only one – the side of our humanity.

“What happened in Israel last week was horrific and wrong. The pain and fear so many are feeling is deep and real. What’s happening in Gaza now, and has been happening in Palestine under the Occupation for decades, is horrific and wrong. The depth and reality of this suffering cannot be ignored.”

 

“If we look in only one direction, we will go even deeper into darkness,” Ahmed continued, adding: “But that is exactly what is happening right now. We are being asked to look away while the civilians of Gaza, half of them children, are running out of time.

“If we are on the side of humanity we must urgently speak up to try and avert the loss of innocent life. This means calling for an end to the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza’s civilians and infrastructure, the denial of food, water, and electricity, and the forced displacement of people from their homes. These are morally indefensible war crimes.”

You can see his full posts above.

Meanwhile, Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Mark Hamill and Jamie Lee Curtis were among 700 Hollywood figures who signed an open letter voicing their support for Israel amid the ongoing Hamas war.

Figures including Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, and Mayim Bialik have also added their names to the “first of its kind” letter, condemning the actions of Hamas as acts of terrorism.

Elsewhere, Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp spoke out against Instagram users for celebrating violence against Israel.

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