Celebrities stir passions with Gaza views

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Pop idols and professional athletes are going public with strong views about Gaza, putting their relations with fans on the line while stirring up a social media frenzy.

More often than not, celebrity sympathies have been leaning in favor of Palestinians as the Israeli assault on Hamas rolls into its fourth week and the death toll keeps rising.

Zayn Malik of the British boy band One Direction was the latest boldface name to voice his concern when he posted "#FreePalestine" on his Twitter account Sunday.

As of Tuesday, his message had been retweeted 220,000 times, and favorited just as often, among his 13 million followers worldwide.

But it also angered Israeli fans -- with some going so far as to make death threats against the 21-year-old heartthrob, a British-born Muslim of Pakistani heritage.

"People who don't live in Israel don't have any right to say their opinion out loud," tweeted one young woman, Shaked Erez, who added the hashtag #freeisrael for good measure.

"Your Tweet really broke me& I'm sure all the Israeli directioners 2. U made us very sad," added Stav Ben Shushan, who urged Malik to delete his tweet. He did not.

The roster of celebrities -- many not known for political activism -- weighing in on Gaza has grown since pop diva Rihanna and basketball star Dwight Howard tweeted #FreePalestine.

Social media gives celebrities unprecedented power to engage directly with millions of fans worldwide, said George Washington University media professor William Youmans.

"But when they wade into political matters, they run the risk of alienating a certain number of their fans," Youmans, who's been monitoring celebrity Gaza tweets, told AFP on Tuesday.

Deleted within minutes

Rihanna -- who performed in Tel Aviv last year -- deleted her post within minutes, as did Howard who declared that he'd made a mistake and that he would never comment again on global affairs.

Dance-pop songstress Selena Gomez meanwhile caused a stir with an image on her Instagram account that began: "It's About Humanity. Pray for Gaza."

Her post generated 654,000 likes -- but got the racy TMZ.com gossip website asking if the 21-year-old former Disney child star was "pro-humanity or pro-Hamas."

"Maybe she doesn't realize Hamas has launched an untold number of missiles in an effort to destroy Israel, or maybe she supports it," it said. "We don't know."

"I am not picking any sides," she responded on Instagram. "I am praying for peace and humanity for all!” more

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