UK Jewish celebrities react to Israel-Hamas: Rachel Riley, Rob Rinder, and more speak out on conflict

1,200 Israelis and 1,055 Palestinians have been killed since Hamas launched its unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel.

Hamas - which the UK, US, and EU have all designated a terrorist group - fired thousands of rockets into Israel’s towns and cities on 7 October, before gunmen broke through heavily fortified borders and stormed homes, attacked civilians, and took people - including children - hostage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently declared Israel was “at war” and launched retaliatory air strikes at Gaza, which has seen hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes and displaced. There are also reports that Gaza no longer has electricity, after its sole power plant ran out of fuel.

The ongoing crisis has prompted responses from various celebrities, world leaders, and public figures, who have been sharing their thoughts on social media. This includes some of the leading Jewish figures in the UK, who have posted their own - often personal - messages of support for those in Israel.

Here are a few examples.

Rachel Riley

Countdown presenter Rachel Riley spoke out about her own personal experience in London over the weekend, voicing her “shock” at seeing other Londoners “partying” and “dancing” in an apparent celebration of Hamas’ violent and brutal attack on Israel.

On Saturday afternoon (7 October), the Jewish TV personality wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “I just passed two cars in West London driving with Palestinian flags flying from each window, bouncing up and down in their cars, seemingly celebrating like they were having a party. Make no mistake, this is a dangerous and terrifying time for all Jews around the world.”

Then, a couple hours later, she shared a video of another scene she had come across, writing: “Acton, half an hour ago. Popped into a cafe for some baklava with the kids and our Ukrainian friends.

“People have been brutally murdered, kidnapped, and there are people in London dancing. Just had a reassuring call with the police, if anyone is scared, please call them.”

Riley has continued to share her distress about what is happening in Israel, and particularly her horror at how people have responded to the conflict.

In one post, she wrote: “Lynchings, beheadings, torture, rape, kidnappings… and still, even people with a public profile cry “resistance” and “freedom” without any consideration to condemn Hamas, terrorists, or any of these crimes against innocent young, old, black, white and all in between. For. Shame.”

In another, she shared a horrifying video of protesters chanting ‘Gas The Jews’ outside the Sydney Opera House, which she accompanied with the caption: “When terrorists say they want to kill all the Jews, believe them.”

Rob Rinder

Rob Rinder, better known as Judge Rinder, has also taken to X to voice his thoughts at the attack on Israel. On Monday (9 October), he posted a black image with text that read: “If you have less empathy towards victims because of how you feel about their government, propaganda is working on you”.

Elsewhere, the barrister, who is Jewish, has shared the tweets of others - including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s condemnations of Hamas, the news of a Kosher restaurant being vandalised in north London, and a post by a woman called Yasmine Mohammed, who wrote: “Too many people on this stupid app can’t tell the difference between innocent Palestinian people and terrorists like Hamas.

“Stop conflating the two. You’re not helping. I have family in Gaza. They hate Hamas. They are not torturing women and parading their dead bodies around. The people doing that are not ‘innocent Palestinians’. They are evil and monstrous terrorists. This should not be difficult.”

Tracy Ann Oberman

Actress Tracy Ann Oberman, who has starred in It’s A Sin, Eastenders, and Friday Night Dinner, has also shared her anger and upset, writing: “Hamas is a death cult. It has one aim - destruction [of] Israel. It has no intention of negotiating. It has no intention of making life better for Palestinians. It doesn’t care about a homeland. It just doesn’t want a Jewish homeland. It doesn’t want Jews full stop.”

She also wrote about Iran’s involvement with Hamas, remarking: “This horror unfolding is NOT about Palestinian Rights. This is Iranian backing for a death cult Hamas to destroy Israel.”

Robert Peston

Meanwhile, ITV journalist Robert Peston, who recently drew attention to the fact that he is Jewish via a post shared on X, has been sharing various reports from Jewish news outlets, such as Jewish News.

This includes a report about “anti-semitic incident reports tripling”, and a video from the Jerusalem Post of the Jewish community in Paris singing a rendition of HaTikvah as they stood in front of the Eiffel Tower, which was lit up with the flag of Israel.