All Eyes on Rafah or Iran, Controversy Erupts

A pro-Palestinian social media campaign using an image with the text ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ has raised huge controversy among Iranians. Those who oppose the campaign have launched their own ‘All Eyes on Iran’ version.

The AI generated image of tents in a camp of displaced Gazan Palestinians arranged to read ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ turns the spotlight on the situation of the Palestinians who have been displaced after Israel’s deadly offensive.

The image which was created and shared as an Instagram ‘story’ template by a Malaysian Instagrammer named Shahv4012 has been shared by nearly 45 million users of the platform including some Iranian hardliners. The campaign has also found its way to other platforms such as X.

Activists and social media users opposing the campaign argue that Hamas is directly responsible for the war in Gaza and the deaths of Palestinian civilians and children, whom it uses as 'human shields.' They are part of a large segment of Iranians who say their own people have been suffering under the repression of the Islamic Republic, which also supports and arms Hamas with their money.

“It is Hamas that has forced Israel to go to war, with heinous crimes against Israeli civilians. It wants to force Israel to end the war using the civilian card, now that it is on the verge of destruction. My anger and curses over the killing of Palestinian children are all directed at Hamas terrorists,” journalist Sheragim Zand said in a tweet May 29.

All Eyes on Rafah posted by a student Basij militia group in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan

“Defending Israel is defending morality,” another opponent, pro-monarchy activist Ali Ashtari, tweeted.

Ashtari argued that the only way for Israel to eliminate the threat of Hamas is a military one. “But unfortunately, a military attack, especially in the densely populated area of Gaza, causes civilian casualties too,” he maintained while accusing Hamas of intentionally seeking higher civilian casualties to force the international community to stop Israel’s military operations.

Another expatriate journalist, Neda Sanji, however, in her tweets warned about “fake news and fallacies” which she listed as “opposing the massacre in Gaza equals support for the Islamic Republic”, “Those who oppose the Gaza massacre were silent about the [government’s] killing of the Iranian people”, “opposing the massacre in Gaza equals supporting Hamas”, and “Israel has no choice other than doing what it does to destroy Hamas”.

Post by former football star, Ali Karimi, is now a social heavyweight in Iran 

Sanji also maintained that the social media controversy would benefit the Islamic Republic’s cyber army. “The dust will eventually settle but humanity will be scarred [forever],” she wrote.

Many celebrities in Iran have posted the image as a ‘story’ on their Instagram accounts in the past few days. 

Apparently referring to the current controversy over Gaza, Fariborz Karami-Zand, an expatriate activist with a large social media following, in a tweet Thursday criticized celebrities for “closing their eyes to the crimes of the Islamic Republic”. “Why are they silent about issues related to Iran and their fellow countrymen?” he asked.

Instagram stories of Iranian celebrities in support of Palestinians

In protest against the government’s increasing political and financial support for Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, some demonstrators chanted “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, I’ll sacrifice my life for Iran” during the protests that followed Iran's disputed 2009 presidential elections. This marked the first time such a slogan was used in the history of the Islamic Republic.

The slogan has since then become one of the top slogans during anti-government protests.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has repeatedly condemned this slogan. In a Friday sermon in January 2020, following widespread anti-government protests two months earlier, he accused those who chanted it of hypocrisy. “These people have never sacrificed their lives for Iran or forsaken their comfort and interests for the sake of the country’s security,” he said.