DUBAI: This week, megamodel Bella Hadid called out social media platform Instagram for taking down her post that stated that her father, real estate mogul, Mohammed Hadid was born in Palestine.
A few days ago, the 23-year-old, who is of Dutch and Palestinian descent, shared a photograph of her father’s expired American passport, which stated his place of birth as Palestine on her Instagram Story, writing “My baba and his birthplace of Palestine.”
On Tuesday, Hadid revealed to her 31.4 million Instagram followers that the post was taken down, as it allegedly breached Instagram’s company guidelines.
Bella Hadid called out social media platform Instagram for taking down her post. (Instagram/@bellahadid)
The California-bred model explained to her followers: “Instagram removed my story that only said ‘My baba And his birthplace of Palestine’ with a photograph of his American passport. @instagram exactly what part of me being proud of my father’s birthplace of Palestine is ‘bullying, harassment, graphic or sexual nudity?’” she wrote.
“Are we not allowed to be Palestinian on Instagram? This, to me, is bullying. You can’t erase history by silencing people. It doesn’t work like that,” she added alongside a screenshot of a notification she received from the social media platform that stated that her post was removed for going against community guidelines.
Instagram took down the post for allegedly breaching community guidelines. (Instagram/@bellahadid)
Not one to back down, the model re-posted the passport photo, which currently remains on her social media feed, and wrote “Do you want him to change his birth place for you? Everyone should post where their mother and fathers were born today! Remind them how proud you are of where you come from! I am proud to be Palestinian.”
It is not entirely clear why Instagram deemed the post to go against its community guidelines, but Hadid was flooded with support from fans on social media. “Bella Hadid just ended Instagram and we love to see,” wrote one user.
bella hadid just ended Instagram and we love to see! pic.twitter.com/tzOrWR8PnG
— morsal is back (@bizzzleschanges) July 7, 2020
It’s not the first time Hadid reaffirms her pride of her identity. The model is extremely vocal about her roots, and often takes to social media to show her solidarity with Palestinians.
She even joined a group of demonstrators gathered in London for a “Free Palestine” protest in 2017. The model reportedly saw the protest as she was driving to her hotel and decided to get out and join the marchers.
