Noya Dan, who is described as a major Harry Potter fan, was kidnapped with four other family members.

By World Israel News Staff

Famed British author J.K. Rowling retweeted a post drawing attention to the distressing situation of Noya Dan, a 12-year-old Israeli girl with autism currently held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, saying

Dan is described as a major fan of Rowling’s iconic “Harry Potter” series.

“For obvious reasons, this picture has hit home with me,” Rowling wrote in her tweet.

“May Noya and all hostages taken by Hamas be returned soon, safely, to their families,” she added.

Kidnapping children is despicable and wholly unjustifiable. For obvious reasons, this picture has hit home with me. May Noya and all hostages taken by Hamas be returned soon, safely, to their families. https://t.co/YIbf3egib4

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 16, 2023

Hamas is holding 200 hostages in Gaza.

Many celebrities have shared posts showing solidarity with Israel since the war broke out with Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7, including Gal Gadot, Bono, Jamie Lee Curtis, Madonna, Mark Hamill, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Helen Mirren, Andy Cohen, Deborah Messing, Nina Dobrev, and Amy Schumer.

More than 1,000 celebrities, including Gadot, Michael Douglas, Chris Pine, and Jason Alexander, signed an open letter showing solidarity with Israel, condemning Hamas and calling for the return of hostages taken by Hamas.

“This is terrorism. This is evil. There is no justification or rationalization for Hamas’ actions,” it read. “They are a terrorist organization whose leaders call for the murder of Jews everywhere.”

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A-list actors including Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, and Viggo Mortensen sign letter denouncing “Israeli apartheid,” and supporting Emma Watson’s pro-Palestinian Instagram post.

By World Israel News Staff

Harry Potter star Emma Watson was supported by a number of her Hollywood colleagues after she posted a pro-Palestinian statement on Instagram that triggered backlash from the Israeli government and Jewish advocacy groups.

Last week, Watson posted a photo of a pro-Palestinian protest emblazoned with text reading “solidarity is a verb,” signaling her support.

As a caption for the photo, she included a quote which read, “Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain… Solidarity involves commitment, and work….”

The photo immediately drew criticism from Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan, who replied that while “magic may work in Harry Potter but it does not work in reality. If it did, the magic used in the wizarding world could eliminate the evils of Hamas (which oppresses women and seeks the annihilation of Israel) and the PA (which supports terror).”

Former ambassador to the UN Danny Danon slammed Watson using a reference to the Harry Potter movies.

“10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite,” he wrote, addressing the tweet to her.

In an open letter backing Watson on Friday, a few notable Hollywood figures added their names,  saying that the actress was doing her part to call out “Israeli apartheid.”

“We join Emma Watson in support of the simple statement that ‘solidarity is a verb,’ including meaningful solidarity with Palestinians struggling for their human rights under international law,” the statement read.

A-list actors including Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, and Viggo Mortensen, alongside noted director Jim Jarmusch, and some 40 others, signed the letter drafted by the Artists for Palestine UK organization.

“We stand against ongoing Israeli attempts to forcibly displace Palestinian families from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory,” the letter continued.

“We recognize the underlying power imbalance between Israel, the occupying power, and the Palestinians, the people under a system of military occupation and apartheid…”

It concluded with a laconic condemnation of antisemitism, grouped together with Islamophobia and all forms of racism.

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Comedian slams mainstream media outlets, which he said intentionally distorted his words in order to fan the flames of controversy and generate clicks.

By World Israel News Staff

Jewish American comedian and former host of the Daily Show Jon Stewart released a video on social media on Wednesday, slamming the mainstream media for distorting his remarks about Jewish-seeming characters in the Harry Potter movies in order to generate controversy.

In a December podcast, Stewart had noted that the goblins portraying bankers in the Harry Potter films looked vaguely Jewish.

He humorously pointed out that even in a fantasy world with wizards, there were Jews running the bank, and that such stereotypes are so deeply embedded in the West’s collective unconsciousness that one might not even notice.

But the prominent comedian was livid on Wednesday after headlines from multiple media outlets declared he had called Harry Potter creator JK Rowling antisemitic, and that the films were offensive to Jews.

“Let me just say this, super clearly, as clearly as I can: Hello, my name is Jon Stewart, I do not think J.K. Rowling is antisemitic, I did not accuse her of being antisemitic, I do not think that the ‘Harry Potter’ movies are antisemitic,” Stewart said.

“So I would just like to say that none of that is true,” he continued, adding that his remarks about the Jewish-seeming goblins had come during “a light-hearted conversation amongst colleagues and chums, having a laugh, enjoying ourselves.”

Stewart then turned his focus on Newsweek and other mainstream media outlets, which he said intentionally distorted his words in order to fan the flames of controversy and generate clicks.

“To Newsweek, your business model is f—ing arson,” he said angrily.

“This is ridiculously out of context nonsense that you put out there,” he said.

“You used to mean something,” he continued, insinuating that the once-respected publication had fallen from grace by choosing to embrace irresponsible journalism in order to gain quick traffic.

“I don’t want the Harry Potter movies censored in any way, it was a lighthearted conversation, get a f–ing grip,” Stewart added.

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Israel’s former Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon tweeted: “10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite.”

By TPS

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan challenged movie star Emma Watson after she expressed support for “Palestine” online.

Watson shared an image depicting pro-Palestine activists with the phrase “Solidarity is a verb.”

The phrase is a quote from activist Sara Ahmed who has explained that “solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work.”

Responding to Watson, who is known for her portrayal of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, Erdan wrote on Twitter on Monday that “fiction may work in Harry Potter but it does not work in reality. If it did, the magic used in the wizarding world could eliminate the evils of Hamas (which oppresses women & seeks the annihilation of Israel) and the PA (which supports terror). I would be in favor of that!”

Israel’s former Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon tweeted: “10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite.”

Gryffindor is one of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series.

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British Islamic Scholar Abdurraheem Green said that the magic described in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books is real and dangerous and even leads to sacrificing children in a YouTube interview on March 26.

The post WATCH: British Islamic scholar says Harry Potter magic is real appeared first on World Israel News.

Jason Isaacs, who played Lucious Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” series of films, has spoken about experiencing anti-Semitic attacks as a teenager.

By JNS

A new Holocaust documentary narrated by British actor and “Harry Potter” star Jason Isaacs debuted this week for students in the United Kingdom.

Holocaust Learning UK commissioned the hour-long film “Out of the Darkness,” which features the testimony of Janine Webber, a survivor of the Lvov Ghetto.

Isaacs, 57, who played Lucious Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” series of films, is Jewish and has spoken about experiencing anti-Semitic attacks as a teenager in London by the far-right group National Front.

The documentary “teaches students about the Holocaust as it contextualizes the survivor testimony and references subsequent genocides and identifies suffering where the victims are selected on the basis of being ‘different’ or ‘other,’ ” explained the charity. “ ‘Out of the Darkness’ is fundamentally about encouraging students to learn the lessons from the past to help build a better, safer future for everyone.”

Students and Rabbi Aaron Goldstein of the Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue in the United Kingdom are also featured in the film, which is available for free to schools and colleges until May 31. It fulfills the educational requirements of British students regarding Holocaust education.

Teachers will be provided a video introduction from the Holocaust Education Trust, and educational resources can be found on the Holocaust Learning UK website.

The charity typically invites students to synagogues to hear the testimony of Holocaust survivors, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, all in-person events have been canceled.

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The tomb of a real-life Harry Potter who was stationed with the British Army in pre-state Israel is one of the country’s most unusual tourist attractions.

By Naama Barak, ISRAEL21c

A young British man called Harry Potter is buried in Israel, but before diehard fans get too excited (or upset), we’d better make it clear we’re not talking about J.K. Rowling’s fictional wizarding superstar.

This Potter is Private Harry Potter, a soldier from the 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment’s Motor Transport division.

According to the Worcestershire Regiment, Potter was born in 1920 in Kidderminster in England and was one of eight children. Having left school at 14, he worked at a carpet factory before enlisting in the British Army at the age of 16.

Technically, he was too young to join the army, so he lied about his age and said he was a year older than he actually was, becoming a soldier and military driver in 1938.

In September of that year, Potter and his battalion were shipped off to Mandatory Palestine (then under British rule), which was engulfed in the Arab Revolt. After landing in the port of Haifa, Potter travelled across Israel, reaching Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Jerusalem.

He was eventually stationed at a pumping station just south of Hebron that supplied water to the city.

On July 22, 1939, Potter’s D Company engaged an armed Arab gang on the Hebron-Beersheba Road. Potter was killed in the shooting and a few of his comrades were wounded.

He was buried at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Ramleh, where in recent years the famous name on the tombstone has attracted visitors.

In fact, it has drawn such attention that Ramleh City Hall even boasts of the grave on its website.

Before you tut-tut at the indecency of it all, it’s worth contemplating that Potter’s grave draws visitors to an otherwise less-than-glamourous historical site, giving people – especially young Harry Potter fans – an opportunity to learn some history and pay respect to the brave soldiers who lost their lives. We’re sure Dumbledore would approve.

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