Grieving for Jewish friends and Palestinians: Momina Mustehsan slammed for ‘cowardly’ take

As the Israeli military offensive in Gaza enters day 14, Egypt has greenlit the use of its border crossing to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians. The move comes in the aftermath of a recent Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital which resulted in the tragic loss of 471 lives, according to Palestinian health authorities. Mass anti-Israel demonstrations have erupted across the world, demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Celebrities from all over the world have commented on the ongoing crises and Pakistani artists are not far behind. Among them, singer and songwriter Momina Mustehsan took to X to weigh in on the ongoing humanitarian crisis, this time landing herself in hot water. “I grieve with my Jewish friends for the innocent lives lost. I grieve with Muslims & Christians of Palestine for countless lives taken daily, for decades.” She furthered, “How many lives are enough? How much land is enough? Collective punishment of a besieged & oppressed community is against humanity.”

Netizens slammed Mustehsan, calling her out on her ‘cowardly’ take to preserve her stakes among her international audience. “Momina, this is not how you raise awareness for a genocide. This is you supporting them. This is you being a coward,” schooled one person. Others drew comparisons with other celebrities like Gigi Hadid and Huda Kattan, who are taking an unambiguous stand for Palestine despite facing greater threats. 

According to one X user, “There's a special place in hell for tone-deaf, opportunist Pakistani celebrities because it shows they know nothing about history.” “In a world full of Mominas, be a Saba Qamar,” said another.

“The post is about Gaza. People are being slaughtered in Gaza. Children are dying in Gaza. Momina the wannabe white pseudo-diplomat type celeb mentions her ‘Jewish’ friends first,” one critic panned Mustehsan’s quote-response to UNRWA’s plea for Gaza. Another speculated that the songstress is more concerned about securing her life in the US where she currently resides while another pointed out, “So she wasn’t grieving the loss on the Russian side, but is doing so for the Zionist side.”