“The Adam Project” star Mark Ruffalo drew a flurry of responses on Tuesday after tweeting about violent clashes taking place between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount.
“’Starting on Friday, almost 500 Palestinians were arrested by the Israeli occupation authorities from Al-Aqsa Mosque, and, as you said, 170 were injured, several of whom were in critical condition and several of whom were journalists…targeted by design by the Israeli soldiers,'” the actor tweeted, quoting Mohammed El-Kurd, who made the comments on Monday during an interview with Democracy Now!
El-Kurd, the “Palestine correspondent” for The Nation magazine, has a history of glorifying terrorism against Israel and employing antisemitic tropes, including comparing Israelis to Nazis and falsely accusing Israelis of eating the organs of Palestinians.
StandWithUs Executive Director Michael Dickson responded by criticizing Ruffalo for spreading misinformation about the situation in Jerusalem. “Terror orgs push a lie that Al Aqsa is in danger to incite violence between Muslims & Jews. Western slacktivists like @MarkRuffalo give that lie a massive audience,” Dickson wrote. “The result is violence. And if there is bloodshed, Mark will have some blood on his hands.”
He added in a separate post that “The Avengers” star could have used his platform “to calm tensions, expose the truth that a small number of Hamas are preventing peaceful prayer at a holy site & endangering lives. He knows his tweets add fuel to the fire. It’s irresistible to him, and irresponsible of him.”
Avi Mayer, managing director of public affairs for the American Jewish Committee, responded to Ruffalo’s Twitter post by urging the actor to “delete your account,” and noting that rioters inside Al Aqsa had collected rocks to throw at police and worshippers.
Ari Ingel, director of the entertainment industry non-profit Creative Community for Peace, called Ruffalo’s post “absolute nonsense.” He said, “Posts like this foment further hatred. Here is a thread of what really happened. Happy to chat if you ever want some proper perspective.”
Where is your commentary about the rioters INSIDE Al-Aqsa stockpiling mortars to throw?!
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) April 20, 2022
Where is your commentary about the rioters INSIDE Al-Aqsa playing soccer?!
Where is your commentary about the rioters INSIDE Al-Aqsa wearing Hamas terror flags?!
The StopAntisemitism.org group added, “Where is your commentary about the rioters INSIDE Al-Aqsa stockpiling mortars to throw?! Where is your commentary about the rioters INSIDE Al-Aqsa playing soccer?! Where is your commentary about the rioters INSIDE Al-Aqsa wearing Hamas terror flags?!”
In 2020, Ruffalo accused Israel of apartheid and engaging in “asymmetrical warfare” on Palestinians. In May 2021, he apologized for accusing Israel of genocide, after he had urged the US to sanction Israel during its conflict with the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
Also last year, Ruffalo joined more than 100 celebrities in signing a letter that accused Israel of “apartheid occupation and settler colonialism,” as well as “gross human rights violations” and being an “apartheid regime of institutionalized racial discrimination.”