RSS
Actress Fired From ‘Scream’ Franchise for Anti-Israel Posts Says ‘Silence Is Not an Option for Me’
Melissa Barrera pictured as The Cast of Scream VI will visit the Empire State Building to promote the film’s upcoming release on March 6, 2023 in New York City. Photo: IMAGO/MediaPunch via Reuters Connect
Mexican actress Melissa Barrera has continued to promote accusations that Israel is guilty of genocide and said that she will not stop criticizing the Jewish state during its war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza since being fired from the latest film in the Scream franchise for her social media activity.
Barrera, who was expected to have a starring role in Scream VII, was fired after she uploaded a series of posts on Instagram that described Israel as a “colonized” land and suggested that the Jewish state controls the media. She wrote in one post on her Instagram Story: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp. Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING [sic].”
On Thursday, Barerra shared a number of posts on her Instagram Story about residents in Gaza being displaced because of Israel’s defensive war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. She also reposted a screenshot of a message critical of Israel that was originally shared on X/Twitter from an account called “Free Palestine.” The post said, “I will never forget,” and then went on to criticize the United States for sending “billions of dollars to fund a genocide,” accused the country of being led by Israel, and blasted “the way world leaders watched and did nothing” as atrocities unfolded in Gaza.
The screenshot Barerra shared was taken from an Instagram post that featured a carousel of messages from various X and Instagram users who demonized Israel. Some accused the Jewish state of genocide, occupation, apartheid, and “land theft,” and even called for “every civil institution” to boycott Israel. One X user wanted to boycott books from “Zionist publishers” and said they “don’t need to see any movie that’s lining the pockets of a studio firing people for supporting Palestine.” Another post in the carousel said about Israel: “[It] is a false country like the US built on mass graves of ‘savage natives’ who needed to be exterminated to make way for the democracy & modernity of colonizers … I do not recognize their legitimacy. Jewish *people* have the right to exist, settler-colonies do not.”
In a post on her Instagram Story on Wednesday, hours after her firing was announced, Barrera wrote, “I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence, and for peaceful co-existence. I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom.”
The actress added, “Silence is not an option for me.” She also said that she condemns antisemitism and Islamophobia, as well as any kind of hate and prejudice
“As a latina [sic], a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard, and therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need,” she continued, noting that everyone “deserves equal human rights, dignity, and, of course, freedom.” She also wrote, “I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism.”
Barrera joined a long list of celebrities who signed an open letter last month, addressed to US President Joe Biden, that called for an immediate ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war, a release of the hostages taken by the terrorist organization after its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, and an end to “the bombing in Gaza.”
It was also announced this week that actress Jenna Ortega has dropped out of Scream VII, but her decision was due to a scheduling conflict. She is set to shoot the second season of the Netflix show Wednesday starting in April. Ortega and Barrera played sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter in the Scream franchise.
The post Actress Fired From ‘Scream’ Franchise for Anti-Israel Posts Says ‘Silence Is Not an Option for Me’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
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.”
RSS
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.
RSS
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.