Nine things Shashi Naidoo learned after controversial Gaza remarks
Updated | By Tamlyn Canham
Model Shashi Naidoo is sharing the nine things she did not know about the Israel-Palestine conflict a month ago.
Shashi Naidoo is back in South Africa after her trip to Israel and Palestine was cut short. Israeli officials prevented her from not only entering Palestine, but banned her from Israel for 10 years.
The 37-year-old hoped to use the trip to "educate and re-educate" herself about the conflict between the two regions.
She announced the trip to Israel during a press briefing with pro-Palestinian movement, BDS South Africa, last month.
The model planned the "fact-finding" mission after she received major backlash online for referring to Palestine as a "sh**hole" country during an argument with an Instagram user. She was attempting to defend DJ Black Coffee who came under fire for his decision to perform in Tel Aviv earlier this year.
Shashi lost thousands of followers as a result of her comments and decided to take a break from social media after receiving death threats.
She broke her Instagram hiatus a few days ago, sharing a picture of herself in Jordan.
Shashi captioned the post, '9 Things I did not know a month ago'.
One of the things she says she learned is that she did not know that her opinion mattered.
"I now know that even the smallest voices can make a difference in the struggle for Justice for all people."
Here's a look at what she learned:
A post shared by Shashi Naidoo (@shashinaidoo) on
Shashi also thanked her mother, who helped fund her trip to Israel, for joining her on the journey.
"I call it a journey because I have been on it, I still am on it, and it will only end when Palestine is free. The one thing my mother and I did a lot of on this trip was talk, and it’s clear to me that dialogue needs to happen in order to invoke meaningful change," she captioned this picture with her mom.
A post shared by Shashi Naidoo (@shashinaidoo) on
Shashi also reflected on the plight of millions of people living in refugee camps.
"This is Hibdeh. She is 80 years old and has only known life in a refugee camp. Spending some time with her got me thinking. She could be your grandmother, my grandmother... anyones grandmother. This journey has taught me that it doesn’t matter if you’re Pro-Palestine or Pro-Israel. That is not the point. We are all people. People with ties to each other, and with love we wish to share. I think we need to find empathy and compassion to see, not Palestinians, or Israeli’s, Jews or Muslims, or whatever label we chose to differentiate us, but people."
A post shared by Shashi Naidoo (@shashinaidoo) on
A post shared by Shashi Naidoo (@shashinaidoo) on
Meanwhile, Israeli Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan says Shashi is welcome to visit Israel but "but not under threats & pressure from hate-filled BDS groups".
Dear Ms. @SHASHINAIDOO
— גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) July 25, 2018
I'm sorry that we had to prevent your entry to #Israel today under our anti-#BDS laws
You're welcome to visit Israel- but not under threats & pressure from hate-filled BDS groups, on a trip organized by BDS groups, in order to "reeducate" yourself 1/2 pic.twitter.com/EXA4QJGYXm
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