U.S. real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, father of models Gigi and Bella Hadid, has spent months harassing Rep. Ritchie Torres, the New York Post reported on Saturday, sharing screenshots of some of the racist and homophobic messages the pro-Israel Democrat received.
“You worse than the rats of New York sewage system. They have bigger brains than you. You might get a job as bouncer at gay bar,” Hadid, 75, wrote in one Instagram direct message, adding that the openly gay Afro-Latino Congressman is a “slave to whites.”
“You are just unusual Black and colorful mouth for Israeli and AIPAC and looking for payday of over 500K,” Hadid said in another Instagram message, referring to the pro-Israel lobby in Washington.
Torres told the Post that “Mr. Hadid has hurled just about every racist insult at me shorting of calling me the N-word.”
“That Mr. Hadid felt so at ease demonizing and dehumanizing a black Member of Congress reveals a tragic truth about our politics: If you are a person of color and pro-Israel, you are fair game for racist invective,” he added.
Hours after the article was published, Hadid in an Instagram post apologized to the anti-Israel community “for directing the conversation … even for a minute away from Palestine.”
“I need to apologize. Not for the anger I feel but for the words I used to express that anger. I intended to express how Mr Torres is a shill being used by Israel,” wrote the Nazareth-born mogul.
“My feeling after 76 years of being a refugee from the country where I and my ancestors were born and watching a genocide unfold are at an all time high. I am watching United State politicians work as AIPAC messengers of genocide. I used the wrong words to express this anger but the anger is warranted,” he stated.
Last October, in another since-deleted Instagram post, the elder Hadid compared Israel to Nazi Germany. His daughter Bella has called for the ethnic cleansing of Israeli Jews, while Gigi has promoted the modern blood-libel claim that Israel harvests the organs of dead Palestinians.
During a visit to Israel earlier this month, Torres met with families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and visited southwestern communities, where 1,200 people were murdered on Oct. 7. He also met with political leaders, including Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister.
“Congressman Torres reflects our extraordinary ties and true friendship, as well as the importance of U.S. leadership in this region at this time,” Gallant said after their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.
Torres said, “I came to Israel with a simple but essential message: that Israel is not alone. Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas in the wake of October 7, just like the United States had a right to defend itself against al-Qaeda in the wake of 9/11.”
