Bella Hadid says ‘proud to be Palestinian’ after Instagram deletes story showing her father's birthplace

Bella Hadid has hit out at Instagram after the site deleted a Story post of her father’s expired passport, which listed his place of birth as Palestine, saying she’s “proud to be Palestinian”.

Hadid, 23, shared the picture last week, writing, “My baba and his birthplace of Palestine”, but revealed yesterday Instagram had removed the post for violating “community guidelines”.

The 23-year-old supermodel, who is of Dutch and Palestinian descent, explained yesterday why the Story had been removed, writing: “Instagram removed my story that only said, “My baba And his birthplace of Palestine”, with a photograph of his American passport. @instragram exactly what part of me being proud of my fathers birth place of Palestine is “bullying, harassment, graphic, or sexual nudity”?”.

Adding, alongside a screenshot of the notification from Instagram:

Are we not allowed to be Palestinian on Instagram? This, to me, is bullying. You can’t erase history by silencing people. It doesn’t work like that.

“Do you want him to change his birthplace for you? I am proud to be Palestinian”, Hadid added alongside a repost of the picture of her father’s expired passport.

READ: Gigi Hadid’s dad and his childhood home in Palestine

It was not immediately clear the exact reason Hadid’s post was removed under Instagram’s “community guidelines on harassment or bullying”, but the supermodel’s fans were quick to show their support on Twitter.

One user praised Hadid, writing: “Too many Arabs allow society/Hollywood/social media to shut them down & then they participate in their own erasure. You said, “not today.” And the rest of us say, “Not ever.”

Thank you @bellahadid for being a visible & vocal advocate of Palestine. Too many Arabs allow society/Hollywood/social media to shut them down & then they participate in their own erasure. You said, “Not today.” And the rest of us say, “Not ever.” #FreePalestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/NBFp6vVAFH

— Philistine Ayad 🇵🇸 Free Palestine (@PhilistineAyad) July 8, 2020

While another wrote: “I am absolutely here for a young woman as prominent and influential as Bella Hadid openly discussing Palestine and the struggles of the Palestinian people. She’s the only “A-lister” I’ve seen do it”.

Bella Hadid, along with siblings Gigi, Anwar and father Mohamed, have been vocal advocates of Palestinian rights for years, using their platforms to promote the cause.

In December 2017, the 23-year-old reportedly spontaneously joined a Palestinian solidarity march in London. While, in the same month, the supermodel condemned the US’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, writing on Instagram: “Watching the news and seeing the pain of the Palestinian people makes me cry for the many many generations of Palestine… the treatment of the Palestinian people is unfair, one-sided and should not be tolerated. I stand with Palestine”.

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