Beauty influencer: ‘Israel behind World Wars I and II, Oct. 7’

Beauty mogul Huda Kattan claimed Israel was responsible for October 7 and “every world war,” leading Jewish advocacy groups to ask cosmetics giant Sephora to drop her products from their shelves.

By World Israel News Staff

A top beauty influencer’s best-selling cosmetics line may be dropped by a major makeup retailer after she went on a rant accusing Israel of being behind “every world war” and the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacres.

Huda Kattan, a U.S.-born makeup artist of Iraqi descent now living in Dubai, has dominated the online beauty industry for years.

Last week, she posted a TikTok video to her 1.7 million followers in which she claimed Israel was the root of major global conflicts.

“All of the conspiracy theories coming out and a lot of evidence behind them — that Israel has been behind World War I, World War II, September 11, October 7 — they allowed all of this stuff to happen. Is this crazy?” Kattan said in the clip, which TikTok later deleted.

“Like, I had a feeling — I was like, ‘Are they behind every world war?’ Yes,” she added.

Notably, both World War I and World War II occurred before the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.

Kattan’s cosmetics brand, Huda Beauty, is sold by Sephora, a leading U.S. cosmetics retailer.

Jewish advocacy groups, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and StopAntisemitism, contacted Sephora, questioning whether it wanted to be associated with an influencer spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories.

“Huda Kattan built a brand around beauty, but these antisemitic conspiracy theories are nothing short of ugly hate,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

“Spreading vile myths about Jews to millions of followers isn’t just reckless — it’s dangerous.”

Sephora issued a statement saying that “promoting hate, harassment, or misinformation does not align with our values or code of conduct” and confirmed it is “actively reviewing this issue internally.”

However, the company did not say whether it would drop Huda Beauty. The brand’s products are among the most popular items sold at Sephora.

Responding to the backlash, Kattan doubled down on her remarks, claiming she is being “silenced” and falsely labeled as antisemitic.

Kattan said criticizing Israel is not the same as hating Jewish people. “I stand against hate and discrimination,” she said.

She added that “not being able to criticize the actions of Israel is not only creating antisemitism, but I would argue it is a form of antisemitism itself.”

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