Ms Rachel joins forces with Palestinian journalist ‘genocide survivor’

“Ms. Rachel,” one of America’s leading children’s stars who was previously dubbed the “Beyoncé of toddlers,” continues to shake up the internet, this time following a video she published with a Palestinian journalist who supports terrorism.

This week, Rachel Anne Accurso, known to her approximately 16 million YouTube followers as “Ms. Rachel,” published a video on social media with her “friend,” photojournalist Motaz Azaiza.

Azaiza, considered one of the voices most identifiable with Hamas in the digital arena, defines himself as a “genocide survivor.” After the Oct. 7, 2023, massacres, he called to support Palestinian “resistance” and praised then-Hamas “military” wing leader Yahya Sinwar. In another instance, he refused to condemn the massacres.

The responses were quick to come. “Elmo’s account was hacked (referring to antisemitic posts distributed on the hacked X account of the “Sesame Street” character). What’s Ms. Rachel’s excuse?” wondered Hen Mazzig, one of the prominent pro-Israel advocacy activists in the U.S.

The current affair joins a series of controversies surrounding Ms. Rachel’s activities since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. This spring, Accurso published content that presented Israel as the aggressor, relying on data from Hamas’s health ministry that does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas terrorists.

She shared photos of injured or hungry children without noting that, in some cases, these were children suffering from complex genetic diseases.

‘Evil propaganda against Israel’

Following her previous statements, the StopAntisemitism organization appealed to the U.S. Justice Department in April, demanding it open an investigation into whether Accurso effectively serves as a paid propaganda agent. The NGO declared that Accurso “spreads evil propaganda against the State of Israel to more than 20 million followers through multiple accounts, more than the entire population of Jews and Israelis in the world.”

She previously justified her activity and said she “works for all children, regardless of religion, nationality or geographic location.” In May, she raised more than $50,000 for the Save the Children organization operating in the Gaza Strip, but emphasized that the organization does not operate in Israel because it is a wealthy country.

Accurso, 42 and mother of two, is considered a beloved figure among the parent community in the U.S. Her videos, accompanied by songs and simple language, are designed to help toddlers acquire basic speech skills and are considered a key tool for children with developmental delays.

But now, the internet is boiling, voices of boycott are strengthening and parents are required to ask themselves whether it is possible to separate the educator on the screen from the activist on Instagram.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.