An Israeli guest on an Indian TV news channel caused a stir by accusing the anchor of wearing colors that symbolized support for Palestine during a discussion on the Israel-Hamas war. Fredric Landau, a former Israeli special forces official, appeared on Mirror Now and pointed out the green, red, and black colors of the saree worn by Shreya Dhoundial, the anchor of the show. He claimed that he was “purposely” wearing blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, and said that “blue and white will always prevail”.
Dhoundial responded politely saying that she was not dividing colors on the basis of religion and that the saree belonged to her grandmother, who would have been 105 years old if she were alive. She said that the saree signified nothing else and that she was proud of her heritage. Landau, however, was not satisfied and told her to “save it for a different occasion”.
The exchange sparked outrage on social media, where many users slammed Landau for his rude and insensitive remarks. Some praised Dhoundial for her dignified and professional response. Dhoundial also shared a clip of the incident on Twitter and said that she was at a loss of words. She later added that she would not let Landau choose what she wore or said and that she would speak the truth the way she saw it.
The incident occurred on the day when a Gaza hospital was attacked, killing over 500 people, including children.
The conflict has been going on for over a week, with hundreds of casualties and thousands of injuries reported on both sides. The international community has called for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful resolution of the crisis.