Israel’s first national Black beauty queen, Yityish “Titi” Aynaw, has criticized the Black Lives Matter movement for not taking a stand against Hamas after the organization’s attacks on the country.
Aynaw, who represented Israel as Miss Israel from 2013 to 2014, expressed her disappointment in BLM’s perceived silence on the Israel-Hamas conflict in a video on her Instagram page.
In the video, she pointed out BLM’s vocal stance against police-involved violence against Black people in the United States but noted their apparent silence regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Aynaw passionately implored BLM to address the alleged war crimes committed by Hamas, sharing images of victims and atrocities.
She highlighted how Hamas had taken Israeli hostages in Gaza and was causing harm to innocent civilians, including children, mothers, and entire families.
Aynaw also mentioned the 2023 Tribe of Nova music festival attack, where Hamas killed approximately 260 people and took hostages, making it the deadliest civilian massacre in Israeli history.
Aynaw boldly stated, “Hamas is ISIS,” and asked her followers to pray for Israel, emphasizing that “we can’t breathe.”
Speaking with the New York Post, Aynaw stressed the importance of understanding the facts and implications of supporting certain groups.
She suggested that BLM needed to learn more about the organizations they align with and their actions. Aynaw pointed out that Hamas does not uphold human rights, as they not only target Israelis but also kill their own people and Muslims who serve in the army.
A week prior to Aynaw’s video, Hamas conducted an attack on a group of 1,400 people inside Israel’s border, leading to casualties, including Americans.
The U.S. State Department reported that they were working to locate 13 American nationals who were unaccounted for and collaborating with the Israeli government in hostage recovery efforts.
In response to the attacks by Hamas, Israel declared war on the organization and prepared for a ground incursion into Gaza, putting over 2 million Palestinians at risk. The United Nations expressed concerns about the plight of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, citing the impact of Israel’s siege on resources like water and the civilian population’s well-being.
Palestinian officials reported casualties and injuries in Gaza as a result of Israel’s military response to Hamas, underscoring the complex and tragic nature of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
