Alicia Keys has been accused by an anti-Semitism advocacy group of writing a “sick ode to Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel” after she asked fans on Instagram if she should take up paragliding.
The 42-year-old singer, whose music producer husband Swiss Beatz (real name Kasseem Dean) is Muslim, quickly deleted the post and responded to the controversy on Monday night, saying it had “TOTALLY nothing to do with the brutal war.” .
Alicia was accused of using an encrypted message to signal her support for Hamas after she uploaded a photo to her 27.1 million followers wearing a green leather racing jacket with black and white accents, in colors some of which were said they were reminiscent of the black, white, green and white red on the flag of Palestine.
She captioned the post: “Question: What would you do if you weren’t afraid of anything???” “Tell me your truth…I had my eye on paragliding” (sic) and added two sets of eye emojis .
StopAntisemitism claimed it was making a subtle reference to the paragliders used by Hamas in its October 7 attack on Israel.
Anger: Alicia Keys has been accused by an anti-Semitism advocacy group of writing a “sick ode to Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel” after she asked fans on Instagram if she should take up paragliding
The artist responded to the controversy in an Instagram Stories post on Monday evening, denying any connection between the paragliding post and commentary on current events
On October 7, the deadliest attack on Israel in decades occurred at the Supernova music festival.
Armed Hamas fighters flew in on paragliders. They killed 260 people and brought prisoners back to Gaza.
The advocacy group reshared Alicia’s post on
“Is this a sick ode to the Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israel, killed over 1,300 people, beheaded babies, raped women and kidnapped Holocaust survivors @aliciakeys?”
The music artist quickly deleted her photo. Friends said she was “appalled” by the interpretation of her post.
Alicia responded to the controversy in an Instagram Story on Monday evening, denying any connection between the paragliding post and comments about current events.
“The post I previously shared had COMPLETELY nothing to do with the recent devastating loss of innocent lives,” she said. “My heart is broken… I pray and stand for peace.”
Alicia and her husband, who are based near San Diego, according to TMZ, live near a popular paragliding spot.
“She was horrified when she found out what the word meant”: The 42-year-old singer, whose husband, music producer Swiss Beatz (real name Kasseem Dean), is Muslim, quickly deleted the post
StopAntisemitism asked whether Keys was making a subtle reference to the paragliders used by Hamas in its October 7 attack on Israel. Before the attack, Hamas was seen training with paragliders
Famous music manager Guy Oseary, who was born in Israel, defended the singer on Instagram
A number of Oseary’s followers expressed skepticism that Key’s initial post had no cryptic meaning, suggesting that she publicly condemned Hamas
In response to StopAntisemitism’s post, some users believed that Keys intended to signal their support for the anti-Israel effort
Some said the colors on the jacket Keys wore were intended to resemble those of the Palestine flag. Last week in Rome, a protester was seen holding the flag
Famous music manager Guy Oseary, who was born in Israel, defended the singer on Instagram.
“There is talk of an anti-Semitic post that my dear friend Alicia Keys posted on her Instagram,” Oseary wrote. “I can confirm that to everyone in my life [Star of David emoji] Community that needs to hear it: It is NOT true.’
Regarding the use of the word paragliding, he continued: “There was a particular word in your post that our community found very triggering during this very painful time, but it had absolutely no connection to it.”
Oseary added: “I spoke to Alicia and she was horrified when she learned what the word meant and picked it up straight away.” Alicia has always been a fighter for all human rights.
“I have had a front row seat to her positive impact on the world for over a decade.” “Her humanitarian work reflects her compassion and heart.”
Podcaster Sara Foster expressed skepticism about Oseary’s defense of Keys, writing, “Crazy. What a coincidence.”
Comedian Elon Gold responded to Oseary: “She has to prove it herself.” She has to speak out against Hamas after seemingly winking at it. I’m sure her heart is good. But she cannot remain silent after this massacre, this mass rape and the beheadings of babies…”
Podcaster Jordana Horn Gordon responded to Oseary that Keys “should put out a post correcting the original post,” adding, “It came across very, very differently than what you’re saying.”
Some users said the advocacy group went far in suggesting that Keys was subtly signaling his support for the Hamas attacks on Israel that began on October 7
Horn Gordon added: “Respectfully: In the age of screenshots, simply deleting them is no excuse, nor does it mean having a Jewish friend appear on your behalf.”
In response to StopAntisemitism’s post, some users believed that Keys wanted to signal her support for anti-Israel efforts with the combination of words and images in her initial post.
One user said: “The… the colors of their jackets.” Too many coincidences to be a coincidence.
Another said: “Look at the colors she’s wearing, the reference to paragliding, even with the eyeball emoji… she knew EXACTLY what she was doing.”
One user said of her outfit: I see people saying this is over the top, let Alicia be the one to respond. But this account @StopAntisemites pointed out her outfit. After all, colors have meaning [Thursday] I wore blue and white for a reason. Sometimes people choose outfits to send [subtle] Announcements. Let’s wait.’
On October 7, Palestinians were seen bringing a captured Israeli hostage into the Gaza Strip
An Israeli soldier was seen walking among the rubble of a kibbutz in Israel after the Hamas attack last week
Supporters of Palestine gathered at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Saturday
More than 30 people were arrested after a protest in front of the White House on Monday
On Monday, protesters were seen outside the BBC headquarters in London, expressing their anger at the broadcaster’s stance not to describe Hamas as a terrorist organization in its coverage
Other users said the advocacy group was reaching out in its suggestion that Keys was subtly signaling his support for the Hamas attacks on Israel that began on Oct. 7.
“Take this, there’s nothing wrong with using the word paragliding,” one user said, while another said that while they supported StopAntisemitism and its efforts, “that goes a little too far.”
Another user pointed out the undisclosed geographical elements, noting that Keys’ home in Southern California borders the Torrey Pines Gliderport, a center for recreational paragliding.
“To be fair, her house in San Diego is by the glider airfield in La Jolla (that’s public knowledge) and she sees the gliders every day,” the user said. “Maybe she doesn’t mean Hamas.”
Keys’ post came on the 10th day of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, in which more than 4,000 people died and more than a million people fled their homes in the Gaza Strip.