Celebrity Interior Designer Urges Hollywood to ‘Educate Yourselves’ Before Posting About Israel-Palestinian Conflict
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Ryan Saghian. Photo: YouTube screenshot.
An Iranian Jewish interior designer who boasts a celebrity clientele called on social media users, and especially those in Hollywood, to do their research surrounding the ongoing violence between Israel and the Palestinians before posting messages online.
“I urge my fellow colleagues, friends, clients and Hollywood celebrities to avoid posting from the perspective of what’s ‘trending’ and to really educate yourselves and use your platforms for good,” said Ryan Saghian, the youngest designer ever awarded Interior Designer of the Year by the city of Los Angeles.
The 28-year-old — who has been featured in Elle Decor, Architectural Digest and Vogue — shared his comments on Thursday in an Instagram post. He uploaded a slide that featured his statement, which has since gone viral among Israel supporters. Saghian began by saying “You bet your ass I stand with Israel, the one and only Democratic Nation in the Middle East that has equal rights for every single person no matter their sex, race, religion, and sexual orientation.”
“And you bet your ass I stand with the Palestinians people, who deserve all the same equal rights as us,” he continued. “I do not, however, stand with Hamas, a declared terrorist organization governing these territories and who’s [sic] hate for Israel and Jews comes before helping their own people.”
Saghian, who competed on Bravo’s Best Room Wins in 2019, then explained that although in the past he has avoided making “political commentary” on his Instagram page, “this is not political, this is personal,” and spoke about his family fleeing Iran during the 1979 revolution, when Jews were “no longer welcome.” He ended with a photo of two men embracing in a kiss, one wearing a kipah and the other an keffiyeh. He also wrote in the Instagram post’s caption “#istandwithisrael #istandwithpalestine #idonotstandwithhamas.”
His remarks come after numerous celebrities and high-profile figures have posted on social media about their solidarity with the Palestinians amid the continued violence in the Middle East, while also accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” “apartheid,” and conducting a “crime against humanity.”
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