As Israel is in the midst of conflict with the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza region, LeBron James expressed support via social media which drew a lot of mixed reactions and plenty of disapproval.
On Wednesday night (October 11), LeBron James posted a statement to X, formerly known as Twitter, addressing the current turmoil in Israel after the southern region including the Gaza Strip suffered an attack from members of the militant Hamas organization. James began, “The devastation in Israel is tragic and unacceptable.”
“The murder and violence against innocent people by Hamas is terrorism,” the post continued. “The SpringHill Company family sends our deepest condolences to Israel and the Jewish community. We pray for peace in the region and reiterate our continued commitment to fight hate in all its forms. We all must work to ensure this tragedy does not spread even more hate, racism, and antisemitism.” The statement was also co-signed by James’ business partner, Maverick Carter.
The Los Angeles Lakers forward’s statement is one of a series of releases by noted celebrities who have expressed similar sentiments about the conflict in the region which is now in its fifth day after Hamas members killed and kidnapped Israelis in the region in a shock attack over the weekend.
To date, Over 1,200 Israelis have reportedly been killed with close to 2,700 injured while in Gaza, it is estimated that 900 Palestinians have been killed along with 5,000 that were injured. It has increased divisions between those who believe the Israeli government to be too brutal in attacking innocent Palestinians in Gaza, and those who try to conflate the support of the Palestinian people with the support of Hamas.
James’ statement was met with dismay by quite a few users on X, who feel he made that statement to placate right-wing individuals. Others flatly accused him of “selling out” by not even mentioning the Palestinian people in the statement.
And tangentially, of course, many took the opportunity to crack jokes against LeBron James, saying he will never be a better player than Chicago Bulls guard and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
Keep scrolling to see the reactions from X below.
LeBron James Voices Support For Israel, X Users React was originally published on hiphopwired.com
1. Kordeli
This X user simply said, “NO LEBRON NOOOO” in response to the statement.
2. Captain MB
A meme featuring Lightning McQueen from “Cars” spinning out of control comes into play to express this user’s disappointment.
3. AC
4. A Bro Next Door
A meme satirizing LeBron’s penchant for being pictured reading a book.
5. Kanki
One user replied to James with a tweet commenting on the way Palestinians are depicted as opposed to Israeli when violence comes into play.
6. Maor Melikson
This user was one of the lone voices fully supporting LeBron’s statement – with one caveat.
7. StaticMMIV
This X user queried out loud if celebrities were to be censured if they didn’t put out a statement of support for Israel.
8. Blue_999
A comparison of LeBron James losing his hair to the land lost by Palestinians since 1948 in Israel.
9. Mr.
“See what the man you pretend to read says and you didn’t go beyond the first page just for the sake of photographing!”, this user wrote.
