Hollywood star Ben Stiller has stirred up social media after posting a tweet that seemed ambiguous to some, leading to various interpretations. Tennis star Rafael Nadal lost to Alexander Zverev in the first round of the Roland Garros tournament yesterday, Monday. Following the loss, Nadal bid farewell to the audience, hinting at a "very high possibility" of not returning to play at Roland Garros.
In response, Ben Stiller posted on his X social media account the word "RAFA" followed by three fist emojis.
As a result, some commentators supportive of Palestine believed that the American actor was expressing support for Palestinians in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, despite being of Jewish faith. Meanwhile, Israelis sought to clarify that there is a missing letter (the Arabic letter 'ح' or the English 'H') in Ben Stiller's word, indicating that he did not mean Rafah, but was alluding to Rafael Nadal, who had just been eliminated from Roland Garros.
One commentator said, "Calm down, he means tennis," while another mentioned, "I’m crying tears. He’s Jewish and definitely doesn’t mean Rafah." Stiller had previously expressed support for Israel during the early stages of the Gaza war and thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for the release of two American hostages from Gaza, calling for the release of others.
