On the occasion of her father's birthday this week, American-Dutch supermodel Bella Hadid honored her father's Palestinian heritage with a unique Instagram post. The post featured a photo of Bella and her father, Mohamed Hadid, taken last year at the "Labour of Love" exhibition in Doha, which explored the significance of the Palestinian thobe, a traditional garment.
In her caption, the 27-year-old model extended birthday wishes to her father, Mohammed Hadid, who was born in Nazareth, Palestine, on November 6, 1948.
Bella recently spoke out about Israel's military campaign in Gaza and expressed sorrow over the loss of innocent lives. She also voiced her concerns about the ongoing persecution and uprooting of the Palestinian people. In a brave move, she revealed that her personal phone number had been compromised, resulting in hundreds of daily death threats. Despite the danger her family faced, she emphasized her commitment to breaking her silence, highlighting the dire situation faced by the people and children of Palestine, especially in Gaza. She credited them as the real heroes in this struggle.
Bella shared her father's personal story, noting that he was born in 1948, during the Nakba, or "The Catastrophe." Just nine days after his birth, he, along with his family, was forced to leave their Palestinian homeland, becoming refugees, and could never return. Her family bore witness to 75 years of violence against the Palestinian people, including brutal settler invasions, the destruction of entire communities, cold-blooded murders, and the forced eviction of families from their homes.
During this week, Mohamed Hadid offered a glimpse into his own childhood by sharing family photographs and a picture from his parents' wedding on his Instagram account. He recounted that in 1942, his parents had three daughters, and he was the last to be born in Nazareth, Palestine. He shared the story of how his mother left Safad to her parents' home in Nazareth, where he was born, just a few meters away from the place where Jesus was conceived. He also described how, when he was only nine days old, his family was locked out of their home in Nazareth by guests they had hosted for two-and-a-half years, who had become refugees themselves. This unfortunate event forced them to leave Nazareth behind.
