Noah Schnapp, famously known for his role as Will Byers in the Netflix hit series Stranger Things has caused controversy once again for his posts supporting Israel amid the conflict with Palestine. The actor has been so vocal that he has even sparked some heated debates on social media.
The backlash comes from a video of the Jewish-American actor that was recently posted on social media. In it we can see Schnapp joking and laughing with a friend holding some stickers that read “Zionism is sexy” and “Hamas is ISIS.” Besides the message of the stickers, what has sparked more outrage is the fact that he’s laughing as if there wasn’t a genocide happening in the territory.
Noah Schnapp Sparks Debate on Social Media
“Seeing these rich people with huge smiles on their faces as they support a genocide from the comfort of a cute little coffee shop is disgusting,” commented a user to the video. “He’s so open about this it’s actually concerning & scary. He needs to stop,” said another netizen.
Most of the comments are asking for the cancellation of the actor and wish his moves have consequences in his career the same way some people supporting Palestine have lost their jobs. For instance, another user points out this: “The way someone like Bella Hadid gets fired for showing support to Palestine while Noah Schnapp is openly supporting and calling a genocide ‘sexy’ without consequences is literally filling me with sm rage.”
Although it’s been clarified that Bella Hadid didn’t lose her job as Dior’s brand ambassador as it was spread on social media, other people in the industry have been punished for supporting Palestine.
What Is Zionism?
One of Noah Schnapp’s stickers read “Zionism is sexy.” Many believe that those who are supporting Palestine in this violent and gruesome conflict are anti-semitic or simply siding against the Jewish community; but in reality, the stand is mostly against Zionism.
Zionism is a nationalist movement of the Jewish people that seeks to establish and maintain a Jewish nation-state in the Land of Israel. The term was coined in 1896 by Nathan Birnbaum in his article “Der nationale Gedanke im Judentum” (The National Idea in Judaism). Zionism is based on the belief that the Jewish people have a right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. This belief is rooted in the Jewish historical connection to the Land of Israel.
The most prominent controversy surrounding Zionism is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Palestinians argue that Zionism is a colonial ideology that has led to the dispossession of the Palestinian people. They also argue that the State of Israel is an apartheid state that denies Palestinians their basic rights.
Zionists argue that the State of Israel is a legitimate Jewish state that has the right to exist and defend itself. Zionists argue that the use of violence was sometimes necessary to defend themselves against persecution and to achieve their legitimate goals. So, no, a group that promotes violence and colonialism isn’t sexy.
Noah Shnapp’s Inaccurate and Ignorant Stances
The other sticker that reads “Hamas is ISIS” didn’t cause as much outrage as the other, but it still spreads ignorance and lies. Although both groups are Muslim they are not the same. Hamas has existed for many more years than ISIS; so, no, they’re not the same.
On the one hand, Hamas was created as a charity movement in Palestine in 1973. It’s the main power in Gaza. On the other hand, ISIS, which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is a Salafi jihadist transnational terrorist group and formerly unrecognized quasi-state that was founded in 2013. The group emerged as an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq but was later disowned by al-Qaeda due to its extreme ideology and tactics.
Israel started dropping pamphlets with the same stance as Noah Schnapp’s stickers claiming that Hamas was the same as ISIS and hence a terrorist group. However, this approach is likely to be ineffective in Gaza and throughout the Arab world, where most people see Hamas as a religious-nationalist Palestinian resistance movement that directly opposes Israel’s ongoing blockade and occupation.
More importantly, what many people don’t like to mention is that Israel supported and funded Hamas for a long time to weaken and create more division in Palestine with the West Bank territory ruled by the Palestine Liberation Organization.
