Palestinian ‘Resistance’ Icon Ahed Tamimi Featured In Vogue Arabia
SOURCE: THE MEDIA LINE
BY: CHARLES BYBELEZER
Ahed Tamimi, who recently was released from an Israeli prison, is again featuring prominently in the media—not for confronting Israeli soldiers, but, rather, in October’s issue of Vogue Arabia. The teen is considered by some an icon of the Palestinian “resistance” movement and on multiple occasions has made global headlines for harassing Israeli troops in her West Bank town of Nabi Saleh. She was imprisoned in 2017 for eight months after being filmed slapping Israeli soldiers. “Since I was released on July 29, I have become a spokesperson for the Palestinian cause, which is not easy,” Tamimi wrote in Vogue Arabia, according to a translation by Israeli media. “People often ask where I find…courage to stand up to the occupation, but I am experiencing a situation which forces me to be strong.” On the flip side, many Israelis refer to Tamimi as “Shirley Temper” due to her fits of rage and slight resemblance to the former Hollywood actress. They view her not as a model but as a member of a Palestinian clan that venerates terrorism. Most notably, Tamimi’s cousin Ahlam helped plan the 2001 suicide bombing of Jerusalem’s Sbarro restaurant, which killed fifteen people and injured more than 100 others. Not surprisingly, reactions in Israel to the Vogue Arabia spread have been mixed.