Gene Simmons and Michael Buble are among the 140 entertainers and showbusiness leaders who have signed an open letter urging celebrities and influencers to stop spreading misinformation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Days after Halsey and Rihanna were hammered online for wading into renewed tensions in the Middle East via social media, Kiss star Simmons, who was born in Israel, Buble, Sherry Lansing, Selma Blair, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Diane Warren have taken part in a new Creative Community For Peace initiative, calling on their peers and fellow executives to use their platforms to “combat misleading and one-sided accounts of the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian Territories”.
The open letter urges those in the entertainment community to use their voice to call for the de-escalation of violence and the end to divisive rhetoric, while also acknowledging the pain and loss impacting all parties involved in the conflict.
The joint statement comes amid a wave of renewed violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, including indiscriminate rocket attacks targeting metropolitan areas throughout Israel as well as Israel’s retaliatory response in Gaza.
“We are deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories,” the letter reads. “The loss of life and violence is heartbreaking. We call on the leaders of all parties to end the violence, urge calm, and work toward de-escalation.
“We also call on our colleagues and friends in the entertainment community to stop posting misinformation and one-sided narratives that only work to inflame the conflict instead of bringing about peace.”
The letter continues: “While we may have differing opinions on the conflict, it is never okay for Hamas to publicly call for the killing of civilians, use civilians as human shields, and rain down missiles indiscriminately on civilian populations with no care about who is killed – Arab or Jew.
“When lives are at stake, we all bear responsibility to unite rather than divide. Incendiary language only benefits those at the extremes who have no interest in peace. Our thoughts are with all Israelis and Palestinians who are experiencing unfathomable levels of fear and violence, and hope for the day when both peoples can live side by side in peace.”
