Gigi, Bella and Anwar Hadid Support their Father Mohamed on Stage at Harvard
SOURCE: DAILY MAIL
BY: MEGAN SHEETS
Models Gigi, Bella and Anwar Hadid made a surprise appearance at this weekend’s Arab Conference at Harvard 2019 to support their father, real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid, as he spoke about the family’s Palestinian roots.
Mohamed was interviewed by journalist Jessica Azar on stage Sunday in front of a large audience at the conference titled (Re)Imagining Home at Harvard University’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The 70-year-old was born in Nazareth, Palestine, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He was only 18 months old when his family was forced to flee to Syrian refugee camps.
He spent his childhood living in Damascus, Beirut and Tunis where his father worked for Voice of America until the family came to America when he was 14.
During Sunday’s interview, Mohamed, who has American and Jordanian citizenship, opened up about how important it is for him to have his children help keep the Palestinian identity alive.
He then asked all five of them – Gigi, Bella and Anwar from his second marriage to Yolanda Foster and Marielle and Alana from his first marriage to Mary Butler – to join him on stage as he was presented with an award.
Azar opened the interview with Mohamed by asking him whether he had ever considered changing his name after coming to America at 14 years old.
Mohamed said he hadn’t, adding: ‘I was very comfortable with it, the problem was other people are uncomfortable with it.’
Azar also pointed out that the father had given each of his children Arabic names: Jelena Noura [Gigi], Isabella Khair [Bella], Anwar Mohamed Gerard, Alana Amal and Marielle Zain.
Mohamed responded by joking: ‘I think their mothers had something to do with it as well,’ later adding more seriously: ‘They kept both cultures within our kids.’
Asked how he taught his children about their Arabic roots, Mohamed said: ‘They know that they’re Palestinians – I tried to explain to them that their culture is very rare. I try to teach them to keep it alive.’
‘One of my dreams is to have my kids carry the name Palestine with them everywhere they go because it seems like we are losing that name as we go on.’
Gigi, 23, and Bella, 22, have long been vocal supporters of Palestine both on social media and during several protests including one in 2017 in response to President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban.
The supermodels were beaming with pride as they joined their father on stage alongside brother Anwar, 19, and half-sisters Alana, 33, and Marielle, 38.
Anwar sported a pair of track pants with a structured black jacket and a thin striped scarf. Alana wore a dark blue velvet suit with black boots and her sister Marielle donned a blue dress, matching blue shoes and a brown coat
Bella donned a blue denim suit over a white turtleneck, finishing off the look with relaxed white sneakers.
Gigi played with the business motif even more than her younger sister, pairing grey slacks with an oversize white button-down shirt and black loafers.
Alana wore a dark blue velvet suit with black boots and her sister Marielle donned a blue dress, matching blue shoes and a brown coat.
Anwar sported a pair of track pants with a structured black jacket and a thin striped scarf.
The guest of honor, Mohamed, wore a double-breasted jacket with sleek black pants accessorized with a blue scarf.