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Will Beyonce Fire Creative Director Who Called for ‘Death’ to All Zionists?
Beyoncé, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, June 1, 2023. Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
According to Beyonce, if you like it, you better put a ring on it.
But what if you don’t like it? What if you are her creative director and you don’t like Jews or Zionists?
According to The New York Post, that’s the case for Andrew Makadsi, Beyonce’s creative director, who has come under heavy fire for his comments about Israel.
According to screenshots, he called for “death” to all Zionists, “and their followers.”
Beyonce Knowles, the iconic star who first became famous as part of “Destiny’s Child,” could do a number of things in response to Makadsi’s comments, depending on the nature of her relationship with him. She could act motherly and try to figure out what is wrong with him. When someone is antisemitic, it is a sign of rot within their soul.
In a society where people call Trump Hitler, hyperbole is unfortunately becoming acceptable. But words of hatred should not be. Beyonce knows she is one of the greatest talents in America, and she doesn’t look like she has a mean bone in her body. She should drop him with no severance pay, and take a firm stance on his unacceptable rhetoric.
With the war in Israel possibly escalating, we should expect more online vitriol. Beyonce has a song called “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” but she’s hurt herself by having Makadsi in her employ.
Beyonce is a smart person, and we can hope that she’ll get rid of Makadsi. But it’s not just about one person. There is freedom of speech in America, though one may not incite violence. While this may not meet a legal standard for inciting murder against Jews and Zionists, one has to wonder how someone with this degree of hatred was ever employed by Beyonce in the first place — and how many more like him are out there.
Perhaps Makadsi, who is Lebanese, should make a music video about why Hezbollah should stop shooting rockets at Israel.
To understand the genius of Makadsi’s mind, we can look no further than a quote he gave in an interview in GQ, in which he said, “When you work on something, make sure you are going to be proud.”
With an intellect like that, I’m sure he can tour schools across the world, sharing his words of wisdom.
We should not forget that he must love his home country of Lebanon, and we can understand that his heart must be hurting. But we can’t forget that it is Hezbollah terrorists who have brought pain to Lebanon, dragging the country into violence, and that the people of Lebanon allow Hezbollah to effectively run the country.
Despite this, no Israelis called for the death of every person in Lebanon and all their followers. But that is what Makadsi is calling for against Israelis and all who support them.
Like it or not, we live in a world where celebrity matters and affects what people think.
Beyonce has 317 million Instagram followers. Will all of them be swayed by Makadsi? Of course not, but even if a small number are, it is horrible for Israel — and all people who support human rights.
There is free speech, but there are also consequences for hatred. You don’t need a great doctor to diagnose this disease. And Beyonce knows what the cure is.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Will Beyonce Fire Creative Director Who Called for ‘Death’ to All Zionists? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.