“Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder used her acceptance speech at the Emmy Awards to voice support for “Free Palestine” — a moment quickly picked up by Quds News Network, a media outlet long accused of acting as a Hamas mouthpiece.While the group praised Einbinder’s remarks, it also heavily censored the video, blurring her bare shoulders and chest and even covering the pin she wore to show support for Palestinians.“Hannah Einbinder explains that her decision to say ‘Free Palestine’ during her Emmys acceptance speech came from her belief that, as a Jewish person, she has a responsibility to distinguish Judaism and Jewish culture from the ethnonationalist project of the Israeli state,” the outlet wrote on X before deleting the post Monday morning.
Backlash on censorship
The blurred footage quickly drew mockery online. One X user commented, “The people you scream on behalf of think so little of your rights as a woman that they CENSOR your entire upper body.”Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, managing director of the American Jewish Committee in Europe, added, “There, in one image, is all the absurdity,” as quoted by The New York Post.Quds News portrays itself as an independent outlet, but critics say it routinely amplifies Hamas messaging. Human rights groups have also condemned Hamas for restricting women’s freedoms in Gaza, including enforcing a so-called “Code of Modesty.”
Critics condemn Einbinder’s remarks
Einbinder’s speech also triggered criticism from Jewish commentators who accused her of normalizing anti-Israel sentiment.Israeli writer Hen Mazzig told The Hollywood Reporter, “When celebrities make it trendy to vilify Israel, it fuels the climate that leads to Jewish schools under police guard, synagogues set on fire and children beaten on their way to class.”He continued, “True bravery would have been using that Emmy stage to call for the release of the 48 hostages still held in Gaza and end of the war.”
Einbinder explains
The actress later said she felt compelled to speak out, stressing that the issue was personal. She revealed she has friends working as doctors in Gaza, helping refugees displaced by the war.Alongside her Emmys remarks, Einbinder also signed the Film Workers for Palestine pledge, which calls on members to avoid collaborating with Israeli film institutions. Organizers compare the pledge to the cultural boycott that helped end apartheid in South Africa.
