In this episode, editor-at-large Peter Beinart speaks to children’s television star Rachel Griffin Accurso, better known to her fans as Ms. Rachel, about her advocacy for Palestinian children in Gaza, tens of thousands of whom have been maimed or killed by Israel over the last 22 months, with many more enduring a relentless campaign of starvation. Ms. Rachel, who has been called this generation’s Mister Rogers, began speaking out in May 2024, when she participated in a Save the Children fundraiser for kids in conflict zones, including Gaza. The backlash from the pro-Israel camp was so pronounced that Ms. Rachel soon posted a teary video discussing the bullying she was facing. The Zionist backlash has continued, with the doxxing outfit Stop Antisemitism formally requesting in April that the Department of Justice investigate Ms. Rachel to determine if she was “being remunerated to disseminate Hamas-aligned propaganda to her millions of followers.” But Ms. Rachel has not stopped insisting that Palestinian children, like all children, deserve safety and care. In May, she invited a three-year-old double amputee from Gaza named Rahaf onto her show. Beinart spoke to Ms. Rachel about her advocacy for Palestinian children and the pro-Israel backlash, the role faith and prayer have played in her decision to speak out, and why more celebrities haven’t followed suit.
This conversation first appeared on The Beinart Notebook on Substack.
Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”
Media Mentioned and Further Reading
“Pro-Israel group asks DoJ to investigate Ms. Rachel over posts on Gaza children,” Joseph Gedeon, The Guardian
“Ms. Rachel’s emotional plea for the lives of Palestinian children,” Christiane Amanpour, CNN
Ms. Rachel’s fundraising page at the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
“A year of tears: 12 months of war on children,” UNICEF Report
Transcript forthcoming.