Palestinian Solidarity and Fandom
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Ongoing prior to late 2023, but increasing beginning in late 2023, the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip as part of the Gaza–Israel conflict, and the resultant Gaza Strip famine and Gaza humanitarian crisis, as well as the subsequent uptick in Israeli settler violence and general movement for Palestinian Liberation has had a particularly influential impact on fandom.
Fans have held fannish fundraisers for humanitarian relief, engaged in political activism in a fannish context, had significant arguments about the crisis, and implemented rules about discussing the crisis in fannish spaces such as forums, subreddits, discord servers, and message boards. The fannish response to the unfolding crisis has varied from hopeful to combative.
Brief Context
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the early 20th century, even before the state of Israel was officially created.
Over the years, some pro-Palestinian advocates, including Palestinians themselves, have variously criticized and called for boycotting media and fandoms that support or legitimize the Israeli government or the Israeli state, in protest of the displacement and violence directed at Palestinians.
In late 2023, the conflict intensified in a phase that has been called the 2023 "Israel-Hamas War". The intensity and casualties of the violence have attracted much international attention. At this point, the discussion and politics regarding the conflict have become prominent and popular in fandom communities across the world.
Fandom
Palestinians have been frequently felt alienated by and within fandom.[1]
Fundraising
During the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza beginning in 2023, fans held many charity fundraising events occurred to raise money to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza.
These fundraising events have primarily taken the form of charity auctions and charity zines. Commonly selected charities include the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Additional fundraising activities include charity gaming streams.
Fundraisers/Charity Auctions
Charity Zines
Notable Fandoms
K-pop
Media Coverage
- BTS’ Indian Fans Raise Over Five Lakhs for Assam Flood Relief Funds
- BTS fans in India raise over ₹3 lakhs for Palestine medical aid on J-Hope's birthday
- Indian BTS fans raise INR300,000 for Palestine
- BTS and BLACKPINK face Blockout Call from award-winning Palestinian Journalist; fans respond
- BTS J-Hope's album sales decline amid fan boycott over HYBE's support for Palestine
- Why is ‘Cancel SUGA’ trending? BTS fans' petition misnomer debunked
- BTS fans demand removal of HYBE America CEO for supporting Israel
- Indian BTS ARMY Donate ₹3 Lakhs for Palestine Relief On J-Hope Birthday
- BTS fans tell K-pop label Hybe to sack its American boss for backing Israel’s war in Gaza
- Fanbases of BTS's V actively donate to help Palestine
- The K-pop stans fighting for a free Palestine
- "My heart really hurts": BTS' V's fans heartbroken to find photocard of Tae-hyung from under the rubble in Gaza, confirming ARMY's demise
- BTS Fans Under the Rubble: The Plight of BTS Palestinian ARMYs
Blue Eye Samurai
After the creator of the show, Michael Green, liked and retweeted various posts on Twitter, fans began to call for a boycott of the show Blue Eye Samurai.[2][3] Some fans have pointed out the irony of his support for Israel, arguing that since anti-colonialism is a theme of the show, supporting the coloniser goes against his own show's message.[4][5]
In response, the fanzine Bubbles on the Water was created to raise money for 'Care for Gaza'.[6][7]
Dune
A primary criticism of Dune, both the original Frank Herbert book and its adaptations, has been its orientalist incorporation of various SWANA cultures, made arguably worse when the latter have few actors of SWANA descent. In November 2023, the lead actor, Timothée Chalamet, also appeared on an SNL sketch featuring a joke about Hamas that some viewed to be insensitive. With this, and given the release of Dune: Part Two and its timing during the ongoing situation in Palestine, many Palestinians encouraged a boycott of the film. This was further exemplified when Anya Taylor Joy, an actress in the film, wore what resembled to many to be a hijab during the film's premiere.[8]
Eurovision Song Contest
- It’s funny that this caused Russia to get kicked out of Eurovision but everything Israel does to Palestine doesnt warrant that somehow
- You must be fucking kidding me, what do you mean that Eurovision 2021 is happening right now
- I still don’t understand how society has not only allowed a literal Israeli soldier, Gal Gadot, to play a pacifist superhero
Activists intiially demanded the disqualification of the Israeli broadcaster from the competition, with comparisons made to the previous disqualification of the Russian broadcaster. Following confirmation that Israel would be participating, there were calls to boycott the competition, including from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), part of BDS. The boycott was also fueled by the inclusion of Azerbaijan, responsible for the 2023 flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians from the Republic of Artsakh.
Fannish discussion in spaces like /r/eurovision was focused on the various controversies of the 2024 edition of Eurovision, including
- the banning of Palestinian flags, symbols and the EU flags at the event
- censorship of artists who wanted to reference the conflict
- the disqualification of the Dutch entry due to an alleged altercation with a member of Eurovision staff
- The high percentage on votes to Israel by the public compared to the jury
- Jewish Insider: "Israeli and Jewish artists face threats, boycotts at U.S. shows"
During the event, fans who were in attendance booed the Israeli entry during her performances.[9]
The crowdfunded event FalastinVision was created as an alternative to Eurovision 2024, calling itself 'The Genocide Free Song Contest'.
Our Flag Means Death
- Criticism of Renew the Crew
Stranger Things
There have been calls to boycott the show in response to some actors voicing support for Israeli government. how are stranger things fans reconciling their fandom identity with the israel gaza conflict? With the news of TLOU 2 remaster, this is a reminder not to buy it or ANY tlou content. Neil Druckmann is a zionist
Undertale
- n updated policy on the Palestine - Israel discussion (tl;dr keep it under this post and please read it before yelling at us or each other)
- What do people expect to get from "Pro-palestine" posts?
Taylor Swift
- Swifties for Ceasefire
- #SwiftiesForPalestine Trends As Fans Try to Bully Taylor Swift Into Opposing Israel
[quinnfebrey]
remember when taylor speaking about voting led to a 1226% increase in vote.org activity within just an hour?
it’s been just 2 hours and her instagram post announcing the new album already has over 7 million likes.
i wonder how many phone calls to reps, money to feed starving people in gaza, emails to government officials, and awareness could be brought about if she were to do literally anything to acknowledge the ongoing genocide that has murdered over 10,000 children!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [10]
Other
- Lana Del Rey[11]
- Marvel Comics and Marvel Cinematic Universe - Sabra[12]
- DC
- Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman 1984
- What's wrong with Zionism? I tried googling it but didn't really get any definitive answers
- What really pains me about how morally fucked up and bluntly racist the Wonder Woman movies are
- This might look long and all over the place, but please bear with me here
- What really pains me about how morally fucked up and bluntly racist the Wonder Woman movies are
- Wonder Woman 1984 was racist, sexist, and all around awful
- “Wonder Woman 1984″ is straight-up an Israeli imperial propaganda
- Tom Taylor and Injustice comics
- Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman 1984
- LegitTayUpdates - In 2019, the Twitter account LegitTayUpdates posted after a period of inactivity, explaining she had been in prison. Upon questioning, she explained she was in prison due to refusing to join the IDF. The exchange went viral, and subsequent interviews revealed the Twitter user to be an Israeli teenager who refused to join the IDF out of moral objections to the oppression of the Palestinian people. Many found it humorous and inspiring that a teenage Swiftie--who would be expected to be a frivolous young person--made such a principled stand.[13]
- Fail-Fandomanon has banned discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,[14] possibly in relation to the rule banning religious discussions, although some users have complained that FFA still allows threads discussing USA, UK, and Ukraine-Russia politics.
- "The Israel/Hamas War" is one of few discussion topics banned on /r/hobbydrama.[15]
- Just got a second official warning (post by le-bjorn) - OTW volunteer le-bjorn wrote this callout post of the OTW, describing their resignation from the OTW following being reprimanded for their use of the political slogan "from the river to the sea, palestine will be free" as their status on the OTW volunteer chatting app.
- JU from hatsune. Yet another sub infected once more
- Recently, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement has called for a boycott of all Marvel products (it looks like this zine was never completed)
- Posting in Splatoon 3 - Decided to boot up Splat3 and holy SHIT the community is really coming together in support of Palestine
- Use of fandom in activism including stickers - Sticker seen in Zurich, Switzerland
- Creation of separate/private spaces for pro-Israel fans
- Related Do Not Interact
- dhobi ki kutti's fanworkers international coalition statement of solidarity with palestine Fanworkers International Coalition Statement of Solidarity with Palestine (ggole doc) Updates about the Statement of Solidarity, and the OTW
- Haaretz: "Musicians: Boycotting Israel Fans the Flames of Conflict" (2015)
- 76 Musicians Stand for Justice for Palestinians
- Radiohead frontman appears to curse pro-Palestinian protesters at show
- Radiohead withstands pro-Palestinian jeers at Glastonbury Festival
Some online spaces and fandoms have been used for virtual protests such as the pro-Palestinian protests on Roblox in 2023.[16]
The Palestinian artist and JJK fan, Noury (@Noony_Boony), on Twitter was injured in an attack on Gaza during the 2023-2024 Israeli operation against the region. In response, fans on the site began to draw Gojo with sunflowers in honour of her and as a gesture of solidarity.[17][18]
#Blockout2024
- Time: "Calls to Boycott Celebrities for Silence on the War in Gaza Spark a Debate Over Online Activism"
TPTB
Fans of celebrities - actors and singers etc - have responded in several ways whenever their favourite celebrity has voiced their thoughts on the situation. Some celebrities and real people have shown support for Palestine:
- Macklemore has been to Pro-Palestine protests and in May 2024 released a protest song, Hind's Hall, sampling Fairuz. His reputation in wider fandom was that he was generally considered to be cringe, in a similiar sense to the likes of Imagine Dragons or Nickelback but for rap. Some folks apologised for their previous opinion on him, some insisted he was still cringe but it didn't matter.
He’s still a cringe artist but that doesn’t have anything to do with him being a great activist[19]
- Artists4Ceasefire
- Hunter Schafer was arrested at a Pro-Palestine protest.
Discussion
- Whither the pro-Pals a year from now?
- Antisemitism in fandom spaces[20]
- aita for not wanting the zine I'm in to be explicitly pro-palestine / wibta for therefore not promoting the zine?
- A favorite YouTuber of mine is Pro-Palestinian :( What do I do now?
- i feel totally isolated from the fandom I used to be part of
- I saw a fan fiction writer whose stuff I really enjoyed tag something with “from the r*ver…”
- Another bit on the pro-Pal fandom, this one axiomatic
- I think my issue with the “draw blorbo holding a watermelon or Palestinian flag” trend thing
- Israel wants you to believe the only casulaties from their relelentless 75 year long campaign against Palestinians are all terrorists
- Would love it if people stopped fandomising the war
- some of you don't understand what it means to "fandomize" geopolitics.
- Jewish Insider: Jewish music fans question artists’ silence after Oct. 7 (archive link)
Maybe it's a controversial take, but I don’t think popular fandoms (or any fandom period) should be hijacked to spread/encourage antisemitism, call for Jewish genocide, spread disinformation, or promote revisionism/erasure/whitewashing of Jewish history. Especially since the I/P conflict has already been heavily trivialized by western leftists. Human lives are not toys or pawns to be used at people's leisure.
literally cannot reblog a single post by random fandom accounts on this webbed site because every single time i search israel on their blog it’s always blood libel misinformation o’clock. meanwhile they don’t have a word to say about any other geopolitical issue to have ever happened.
i know i’ve complained about this before but jesus christ[22]
Fandomisation
Some folks have compared each side of the movement with fandom or sports teams.
Whither the pro-Pals a year from now?I feel that "fandom as politics" most adequately covers the behavior of pro-Palestinians on Tumblr, and being an Old Hand At Fandom, this gives me some impressions on what the future holds. I know this is a matter of great concern for those of us on Tumblr who are their favorite targets.
My estimates are not scientific, and are based on experience in seeing the rise and fall of many fandoms. I am not psychic and make no guarantees.
1. The Old Guard: The smallest contingent of pro-Palestinian activists will be permanently, irrevocably radicalized by propaganda, and they will not go back. Truthfully, there is nowhere for them to go. They have burned all of their online goodwill invested in this fandom, and as the rest fall away, they will rage at their own allies, burning those bridges as well. These people are just as hateful and insufferable IRL as they are online, so they will know nobody who isn't also pro-Pal. They will remain behind in the fandom.
When it later repopularizes as Tumblr rediscovers the fandom due to future content being released in the form of another war, the Old Guard will snark and brag about how they carried the torch while everybody else abandoned the fandom of The Great Cause. The Old Guard will constitute the BNFs of the pro-Pal fandom and their closest friends, at most 10% of the current fandom.
2. The Fond Recollectors: A lack of new, shiny, emotionally-evocative content for the pro-Pal fandom will drop it, the same as how many fandom members abandon a fandom once it is cancelled or after endless delays for new material. These folks will not think of their time in the pro-Pal fandom as wasted. They will look back on this time of trauma, war, and upheaval as one of the most exhilarating and joyful times of their lives. They will generally act as though they weren't part of the fandom, but when they find people who used to be in the fandom, it will be like finding somebody who shares a fandom you used to adore. They will whisper, with smirking conspiratorialism, of how one time they got a Jewish--uh, Zionist--person to deactivate their Tumblr account. They will confess among one another how many times they sent "kys" messages to Zionists, and giggle. It will be like ex-Johnlockers lol'ing among themselves about having stalked the actors IRL.
If the fandom gets new content in the form of a war, then the Fond Recollectors will rejoin with glee. They will accept the Old Guard's hostility ("Where were you all this time?") as their just punishment. Otherwise, Fond Recollectors will be mid-grade antisemitic in whatever new political or media fandoms they join. They will constitute roughly 30% of the current pro-Pal fandom, and will mostly be composed of folks who post extremely prolifically but are not currently BNFs.
3. The Shamefaced Ex-Fans: Whether we like it or not, most folks get caught up in a fandom cycle due to hype from friends and socmed pressure. This creates a peak of interest which is followed by burnout. A person in this category engaged constantly and thoughtlessly with pro-Palestinian fandom content for hours every day, yet never engaged with purpose or by creating transformative works. Once the fandom fails to produce enough new content, they will look around, dazed, and wonder what the hell they even liked about it in the first place.
Now out of the hype cycle, Ex-Fans will be able to look more critically at their behavior. They will not recognize their Jew-hate, but they will recognize the silliness of a lot of their behavior. "Gosh, I can't believe I thought reblogging on Tumblr would end a war" will take the place of phrases like "... would make that ship become canon" in their lexicon. They will look back at this time with embarrassment; again, not because they understand the harm they have done, but because they understand it's "cringe" to care about stuff that's not pluperfect and doesn't achieve the stated goal. They will be the least apparently-antisemitic and the most likely to make friends with Jewish people online, because they will change their names and will not admit what they were doing during the Hamas/Israel war.
If the pro-Pal fandom gets new content in the future--again, in the form of a new war--the Ex-Fans will primarily fall silent. They will be overwhelmed by shame (not guilt, and not responsibility). They will not rejoin unless dragged into it, but they will not speak out to support Jewish people. They will constitute roughly 60% of the current fandom.
These are bleak estimates, because a newly revitalized pro-Pal fandom will not need the Shamefaced Ex-Fans. The core of the fandom, the Old Guard and the Fond Recollectors, will do what all passionate cores of fandoms do in these situations: recruit. And while most of these recruits are destined to become Ex-Fans in the far future, many will join the other two categories, being partially or permanently radicalized into a movement of antisemitism.
In a sense, what we are seeing is what Tumblr would have been like if Moffat had said "Johnlock will never be canon, and it's all because of the Jews".[23]
However, this way of looking at a geopolitical issue, especially one that has resulted in mass displacement and killings of Palestinians has been extensively criticised.
The term 'Pro-Pal' has been heavily criticised not just by the pro-Palestine movement, but by Palestinians themselves.
yourfavispropalestine Tumblr blog
In the line of other yourfavis blogs, a Tumblr user created 'yourfavispropalestine' in March 2024, a decision that was criticised by many. Once it became clear the blog was run by a Palestinian, opinion stayed mixed, with some criticising the judgement of Palestinians' means of mourning and engaging with fandom, and others maintaining the inappropriateness of fandomising the situation in that manner.[24]
who-is-the-worst-palestinian Tumblr blog
In April 2024, a poll blog titled who-is-the-worst-palestinian was created on Tumblr that drew massive backlash. The blog owner's reasons for doing so allegedly included that in their view, Palestinians on Tumblr had been bullying fandoms.[25] The blog was taken down very quickly after it appeared.
The blog mostannoyingfandom-poll received and answered the following ask:
mostannoyingfandom-poll answered:oh jesus fucking christ. nows the time to note there was an influx of about 20 submissions of "hamas fandom" and "free palestine" fandom which were all deleted (obviously) so I'd guess it's the same people
should go without saying but I'll say it anyway. fuck zionists. fuck israel. all love and support to palestinians and their inevitable freedom, israel cannot keep a hold over your people forever and I believe palestine will see freedom. and the people running that blog are cunts.[26]
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan art
The Palestinian artist and JJK fan, Noury (@Noony_Boony), on Twitter was injured in an attack on Gaza during the 2023-2024 Israeli operation against the region. In response, fans on the site began to draw Gojo with sunflowers in honour of her and as a gesture of solidarity.[17][18]
Some fans began drawing characters with the Palestinian flag or wearing a keffiyeh. Additionally, watermelons (or slices of the fruit) are also used as symbolism for support.
Gallery
by @Hero_DZN, featuring Roier from QSMP holding the Palestinian flag for QSMP for Palestine
by @FeralSimi, featuring Bagi and Tina, from QSMP, wearing Palestinian keffiyehs and eating watermelons
Further reading
- Judaism and Fandom
- Islam and Fandom
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wikipedia
- Mashable: "Why fandom wars aren't helping pro-Palestine organizing — This is a people's movement, not a celebrity one." by Chase DiBenedetto and Elena Cavender on May 6, 2024
Notes
- ^ OfMonstersAndWerewolves says: Haven't yet managed to find evidence as to whether it was OFMD specifically or if this is an extrapolation on anon's part, if anyone has any links
References
- ^ I think my issue with the “draw blorbo holding a watermelon or Palestinian flag” trend thing
- ^ Nov 19, 2023 nitter post - Twitter via Nitter to show thread
- ^ [1]
- ^ Nov 19, 2023 Tweet by smallpog4
- ^ One of the creators for Blue Eye Samurai, Michael Green, posted Israeli propaganda on his Twitter
- ^ Nov 25, 2023 Tweet by Tokiimon
- ^ bubblesonthewater caard
- ^ The Hijab Obsession in Hollywood and High Fashion
- ^ Vid of Israel's performance at Eurovision being disrupted
- ^ remember when taylor speaking about voting led to a 1226% increase in vote.org activity within just an hour?
- ^ Nov 3, 2023 Reddit thread
- ^ I just know the Zionist propaganda that Marvel will do with Sabra
- ^ Taylor Swift megafan goes viral after prison stint for dodging IDF draft, April 2, 2021 Tweet by jvplive, Meet the Taylor Swift Stan Who Went to Jail, 60 – Fuck You, Goku is Real, Before you mock stan culture, look to the Taylor Swift fan account which proved its wokeness in one viral tweet
- ^ Every main post on FFA, such as this one, includes "discussion about current events in Israel and Palestine" under a short list of banned topics.
- ^ "List of banned topics on r/HobbyDrama".
{{cite web}}:|archive-url=requires|archive-date=(help) - ^ Kids are attending pro-Palestinian protests on Roblox
- ^ a b Nov 8, 2023 tweet by butnotamermaid
- ^ a b Fanart of Gojo
- ^ I apologize for calling Macklemore cringe
- ^ WBM
- ^ Maybe it's a controversial take, but I don’t think popular fandoms (or any fandom period) should be hijacked to spread/encourage antisemitism
- ^ cannot reblog a single post by random fandom accounts on this webbed site
- ^ Whither the pro-Pals a year from now? WBM archive.ph
- ^ muppethole via visualnovelboyfriend (2024-03-12). ""yourfavispropalestine" can we be normal? can we take anything seriously for ten minutes?". Archived from the original on 2024-08-24.
- ^ Apirl 18, 2024 Tumblr post by trans4trans
- ^ Did u see that some freak copied ur poll idea but did it to attack palestinian bloggers