American actor Mark Ruffalo called for sanctions on Israel on Wednesday, comparing the Jewish State to apartheid-era South Africa.
Ruffalo, who previously accused Israel of "apartheid" and “asymmetrical warfare” against the Palestinian Arabs, tweeted,“1500 Palestinians face expulsion in #Jerusalem. 200 protesters have been injured. 9 children have been killed. Sanctions on South Africa helped free its black people - it’s time for sanctions on Israel to free Palestinians. Join the call. #SheikJarrah.”
He linked his tweet to a petition from website Avaaz that states, “The treatment of the Palestinian people has become a stain on the conscience of the world” and endorses “sanctions on key Israeli industries until Palestinians are granted full and equal civil rights.”
It also describes the events of the last few days in which Hamas and other Gaza terror groups have fired over 1,000 rockets into Israel as “Palestinians are bravely protesting in the streets. The Israeli government is responding with maximum cruelty.”
Adding, “This is just another example of the racist brutality of Israel's military occupation over Palestinians, an injustice that has lasted for decades.”
The petition, under “sanctions work,” compares Israel to South Africa during apartheid and says “it's time for the world to rally behind sanctions on Israel to free the Palestinians.”
Ruffalo, notable for playing The Hulk in a series of Marvel superhero films, was met with outrage by pro-Israel activists on social media.
"Lie about, demonize and then boycott the Jews. How original,” tweeted UK investigative journalist David Collier.
International human rights lawyer and political analysis Arsen Ostrovsky called out Ruffalo for failing to mention the over 1,000 rockets fired at Israel and the resulting deaths and the thousands forced to seek cover in bomb shelters. “Anything about that? No, didn’t think so …” he tweeted.
While Ido Daniel remarked in a tweet, “Nothing about the desecration of #AlAqsaMosque by Palestinians I see. Your anti Israel obsessive compulsive disorder is showing” and retweeted a previous post with photos of large piles of rocks and boulders that Palestinian Arabs had collected, alongside other weapons, inside Al Aqsa to use against Israelis.
On May 6, Ruffalo retweeted a post by former Pink Floyd bassist and BDS campaigner Roger Waters that lashed out at Israel as an “apartheid state.”