Australian actress Cate Blanchett attended the premiere of “The Apprentice” at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on Monday wearing a gown that, according to some observers, appeared to be a show of solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The Oscar winner, 55, wore a custom color-blocked gown by Colombian-French designer Haider Ackermann for Jean Paul Gaultier from the Spring 2023 Haute Couture collection, which was released after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. Blanchett’s dress had a blush pink silk satin back and emerald silk satin lining. She added a necklace made from repurposed pearls and diamonds while attending the premiere of her film at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France. While posing on the red carpet, the actress lifted the back of the dress to draw attention to the emerald green lining.

The original dress that walked the runway in January was shorter and had a lime green back and purple satin lining. Blanchett changed the colors of the gown for the Cannes Film Festival on Monday and, against the backdrop of the red carpet, some people claimed it looked similar to the black, white, and green Palestinian flag — especially since the blush pink part of her gown photographed as white.

Several social media users suggested that the actress “coordinated her outfit to look like the flag of #Palestine” while others called it a “Palestine-inspired dress.” One social media user who shared a photo of Blanchett in the Jean Paul Gaultier gown said the actress was “using one’s influence for a good cause [and] reminding where good humans stand: for liberation, against genocidal occupation.”

THIS WOMAN

Cate Blanchett aka Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings knew that the carpet at Cannes Film Festival would be red, so she designed her outfit in Black White & Green, so that when she stands on red carpet, it looks like the flag of Palestine pic.twitter.com/mXvDkzn9zz

— Waseem ವಸೀಮ್ وسیم (@WazBLR) May 21, 2024

Cate Blanchett aka Queen Hela showing solidarity with Palestine at Cannes Film Festival. We stan. pic.twitter.com/Zw7hzfnltB

— Ikhwan (@JatIkhwan) May 21, 2024

Vogue Arabia‘s Editor Livia Giuggioli Firth also seemed to think Blanchett’s gown was a nod to Palestinians. She posted on Instagram a picture of Blanchett wearing the gown on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival and wrote in the caption, “I LOVE U CATE cannes #cannesfilmfestival when the carpet has meaning.”

In October, after the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, Blanchett joined other celebrities in signing a letter addressed to US President Joe Biden that urged him to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza. The following month, Blanchett — who is a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) — called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip while addressing the European Parliament Plenary Session.

“I am not Syrian. I am not Ukrainian. I am not Yemeni. I am not Afghani. I am not from South Sudan. I am not from Israel or Palestine. I am not a politician. I am not even a pundit. But I am a witness,” she said. “And having witnessed the human cost of war, violence and persecution visiting refugees from across the globe, I cannot look away.”

Blanchett and Ackermann have not commented on the dress and if it was intentionally made to resemble the Palestinian flag.

The post Cate Blanchett Appears to Show Palestinian Solidarity With Gown on Cannes Film Festival Red Carpet first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Lisa Goldman reported on Israel-Palestine through the Second Intifada, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the Arab Spring. In 2010, she was part of the founding team of the independent reporting outlet +972 Magazine. She ended a decade-long reporting hiatus shortly before Oct. 7. Today she is based in Montreal and works as a contributing editor at New […]

The post Lisa Goldman, a Canadian who has reported on Israel for years, takes a frank look at the state of journalism and the prospects for stability in the region appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

The strange tale of our times is that Ebrahim Raisi — coincidentally — could not escape justice. He was responsible for a signature machine that executed at least 5,000 prisoners and opponents — reported to be 10,000 or more — in the 1980s, along with a host of other crimes during his four decades within the Iranian Shiite establishment.

Amidst the chaos of the news that Raisi’s helicopter had crashed, the Iranian media gradually mentioned that it was an accident. Of course, no signs of emotion or prejudice were seen on Supreme Leader Khamenei’s face. It is now believed that the helicopter may have exploded, and that its GPS malfunctioned. Regardless, Raisi’s death was announced and, according to religious propaganda, the government’s propaganda machine declared him a martyr — which is absurd.

The news of his death brought joy to the survivors of the 1980s murders, and to the families who have been killed and executed in these last three years under his presidency, or reign of terror.

What will happen next is anyone’s guess — though there’s likely to be no visible change at the moment. The clerical regime in Iran fears nation-wide protests by the dissatisfied and oppressed population, who might openly express their joy or distribute candy. There is a huge rift between the Iranian people and the crisis-stricken government, and the balance could be disrupted at any moment.

Interestingly, the pro-regime reformists outdid the conservatives in mourning Raisi’s death. Former president Khatami, who had previously written a eulogy for Asadollah Lajevardi — a notorious criminal of the infamous Evin prison — wrote a heartfelt condolence for Raisi.

Although the mullahs’ regime in Tehran still commits murders, their regime of death and terror is losing its base of power more and more each day. Gradually, both internally and internationally, society has invalidated the Islamic Republic.

Since the rise of the mullahs to power in 1979, Iran has been emptied of identity and authenticity, and has become closer to the Arabian Age of Ignorance in Islam’s emergence. The hostility and vendetta of the clerics against the history and culture of Iran is undeniable. But the culture of hatred, prejudice, mourning, ignorance, and stupidity of the clerics does not — and has not — stood against the high value of Iranian culture.

The Shiite Islamic caliphate is an unpleasant phenomenon in Iranian history that, in 45 years, has reintroduced the sword of barbarism — opening a new chapter of death, bloodshed, and destruction in the historical records.

After 1979, which was a collective suicide of a nation and a deceptive revolution, a destructive and bloodthirsty mullah came to power. And without any conservatism or discretion, it must be said that the 1979 uproar was actually a terrorist riot by Khomeini, a masterpiece of stupidity that has rarely occurred in the history of revolts and revolutions. The Iranian nation became a lab for fanatic leaders that have led a nation to the brink of destruction. The deceptive title of the republic was initially a trick, but it has actually become the Islamic caliphate of the rule of the jurist.

Still, the rebellious and defiant Iranian people — who don’t accept this theocratic and tyrannical rule — are seeking a regime change that would send the mullahs into the mire of history. They have suffered 45 years of frustration, hopelessness, confusion, clean loss, broken helm — and after 45 years of disastrous existence, they prefer an honorable government to lead them forward.

After the death and removal of Raisi, the mafia regime may turn to moderate conservatives who might quickly hold a sham election — or perhaps the government will give up on participation. Still, Khamenei needs an obedient and compliant person.

Eventually Khamenei — one of the bloodthirsty villains of this century — will go. But Raisi’s name was recorded as a criminal executioner in contemporary Iranian history. No human being who believes in humanity is praying for his forgiveness.

In the pages of history, the mullahs in Tehran will leave memories of blood, death, executions, injustice, theft, violence, and warmongering. But the terrible fall of the disaster-stricken country of Iran is also not far from the imagination. Iran might lose much more in the mullahs’ gamble.

Erfan Fard is a counterterrorism analyst and Middle East Studies researcher based in Washington, DC. Twitter@EQFARD.

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