10 times Arab celebrities were accused of supporting Israel

Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiri sparked outrage when news broke about his visit to Tel Aviv using his French passport back in 2012. 

He stayed while filming his film, The Attack, which was banned in Lebanon specifically because of where it was shot. According to Lebanese law, Doueiri was interrogated for “conducting a direct agreement, or through an intermediary, with entities based or people residing in Israel.” 

Nationals who violate this law are prosecuted and can get jail time. 

Doueiri was arrested upon his arrival to the Rafiq Hariri International Airport last September, but the military court's judge later cleared the director because he found "no criminal offense in the case." 

Doueiri stated through AFP News agency that he was "profoundly hurt" and shocked to be coming home with a trophy from the Venice Film Festival only to get arrested. 

Egyptian superstar Khaled El Nabawy is one of the most distinguished actors in the Arab world, landing Hollywood roles in movies that include The Citizen.

Although El Nabawy is a social activist, his role in Fair Game caused quite a stir since Israeli actress Liraz Charhi also stars in it. He was bombarded with criticism after being photographed embracing Charhi on the red carpet during the Cannes International Film Festival. 

The Egyptian Actors’ Syndicate ordered an investigation on the basis that El Nabawy violated its stance against normalizing ties with Israel. While El Nabawy was offended by the allegations, Charhi stated in an interview that "Nabawy already knew that he would pay the price for our cooperation on the screen." 

In 2015, a picture shared by Miss Israel Doron Matalon with Miss Slovenia, Miss Japan, and Miss Lebanon Saly Greige at the Miss Universe pageant in Miami, sent shockwaves through Greige's native country. 

Since Lebanon and Israel are still technically at war, Greige received the bulk of the backlash with some even demanding that the beauty queen be stripped of her title. 

Greige quickly defended herself in a statement shared on her Facebook page claiming that Miss Israel photobombed her. 

Miss Israel replied with a Facebook status of her own, saying that she is sad Miss Lebanon could not put politics and hostility out of the game.

Amr Waked is one of the most notable Egyptian actors to make it in Hollywood. He is best known for his roles in Syriana, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and Lucy. 

In 2007, Waked received severe criticism after taking on the role of Saddam Hussein's son-in-law in a BBC drama because the actor who played Hussein is Yigal Naor, an Israeli. 

The Egyptian Actors’ Syndicate investigated Waked and even considered banning him from acting in the country before finally dismissing the case.

Egyptian superstar and record-breaking singer Amr Diab was accused of cooperating with Israelis twice. 

The first happened in 2009 when Diab performed in a musical festival in Morocco alongside an Israeli performer. Diab later insisted he had no idea of the other singer's nationality at the time. 

The second time was in 2012 when poet Ayman Bahjat Qamar accused Diab of selling his song rights to an Israeli businessman named Robert Mardoukh. Diab strongly denied all accusations via a Facebook statement, stressing that cooperation with Israel is against his ethics.

Miss Israel Adar Gandelsman shared a picture with Miss Iraq Sarah Idan in November during the Miss Universe Pageant in Tokyo. 

The pictures resulted in a huge backlash from people all around the Arab world.

Idan responded to the criticism with an Instagram post stating it was Gandelsman who had approached her, expressing her wish for peace between their two nations.

"She asked if I would like to take a picture together. I told her I would be glad to help spread the message. The aim of the photo was an expression of hope for world peace," Idan wrote.

Although Idan did say the photo doesn't express support for Israel, her family was forced to flee the country due to death threats sparked by the picture in addition to other photos of her modeling in a bikini. 

Egypt's most popular comedian Adel Imam was publicly criticized in 2016 because of his Ramadan show Mamoun Wa Shourakah. The public believed the show encouraged normalizing ties with Israel because the son of Imam's character on the show marries a Jewish woman. 

He hit back at his critics stating that the show's main message is unifying the holy religions and separating them from politics. He also stressed on the vast difference between Jews and Zionists. 

Palestinian pop star and Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf found himself in an unfavorable position after posing with model Caroline Khoury, a Palestinian with an Israeli citizenship. 

Naturally, the superstar was heavily attacked on social media. But here's what he had to say about it: 

“I was unaware that the lady in the picture is an Israeli. If she is then I apologize to my people for this unintended error. I come from a refugee camp and I shall always sing to the homeland and to the Palestinian legacy [sic].”

A lot of fans defended him saying there was no way he could know, according to RT. 

Saber Rebai is a famous Tunisian singer/composer whose indisputable talent has won him praise and admiration. However, in 2016, Rebai sparked a social media storm when a picture of him posing with an Israeli soldier started circulating online.

The photo was taken during Rebai's departure from Palestine after his concert in the occupied lands, fueling negative comments on Twitter that accused the singer of normalizing ties with Israel. 

The Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories posted the picture on their Twitter page sparking the backlash. 

Rebai later took to Facebook and published a statement where he declared that the soldier was a Palestinian named Hady who requested to take a picture with him. The Tunisian star expressed his regret because he did not expect such a photo to be interpreted that way. 

The late Omar Sharif is probably Hollywood's most famous Arab actor to date, best known for his role in Lawrence of Arabia. 

Back in 1968, Sharif famously co-starred with Barbra Streisand, a Jewish pro-Israeli actress, sparking a controversy that almost got Sharif replaced. People were still not over the Six-Day War and the public was enraged, to say the least.