By Danielle Arfin
On August 16, 2025, real-estate developer Mohamed Hadid, father of American models Bella and Gigi Hadid, posted on Instagram that “We no longer demand a ceasefire. We demand an end to the state of Israel. A state that produces such violence is one that should not exist,” as first covered by JNS. The message circulated widely on X and drew a public condemnation from the American Jewish Committee.
According to JNS, the upload also included a second image with a protest placard reading “You only target journalists when your enemy is the truth.” Subsequent pickups repeated the language and imagery, including Action and Protection League Europe and the Heritage Florida Jewish News. Arts nonprofit Creative Community for Peace also criticized the post.
The episode follows earlier controversies. In March 2024, The Jerusalem Post reported that Hadid called President Joe Biden a “Zionist criminal” and wrote that such officials would be “hunted down” and brought “for court,” with related language noted again in an April Jerusalem Post item. In April 2024, the New York Post published screenshots and reported that he sent racist and homophobic messages to Rep. Ritchie Torres; a subsequent New York Post article noted that Torres rejected the apology.
In February 2024, The Jerusalem Post reported that Hadid compared Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler and referenced Auschwitz in a social-media post. In May 2024, The Jerusalem Post reported that he claimed Israeli Jews have “no genetic connection to ancient Hebrews.” Earlier, in October 2022, The Jerusalem Post noted that he shared a “Globalize the Intifada” message on Instagram. For additional background, the Jewish Chronicle reported in 2023 that Hadid posted and later deleted an infographic likening Israel to the Third Reich.Advocacy groups frame the August 16 wording as significant within antisemitism discourse because calling for the elimination of Israel aligns with examples used by many institutions to identify antisemitism. The IHRA working definition lists “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” among its examples; some scholars point to complementary guidance like the Nexus Document to distinguish criticism of Israeli policy from antisemitism.
