Well-known activist and political commentator Briahna Joy Gray was fired from her position at The Hill following a controversial interview where she rolled her eyes at the sister of an Israeli hostage. This incident comes amid growing tensions and heated debates about the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

Gray, who previously served as press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2020 presidential campaign, announced her firing on social media platform X on June 6.

“It finally happened. The Hill has fired me,” Gray wrote. “There should be no doubt that @RisingTheHill has a clear pattern of suppressing speech—particularly when it’s critical of the state of Israel.”

The incident in question occurred during an interview with Yarden Gonen, the sister of Romi Gonen, who was abducted by Hamas militants on Oct. 7. During the emotional exchange, Yarden Gonen expressed hope that Gray would believe women who reported being sexually assaulted by Hamas terrorists. Gray responded by sighing and rolling her eyes, before abruptly ending the interview, The New York Post reported.

“I really hope that you, specifically, will believe women when they say that they got hurt,” Gonen said. Gray’s reaction sparked immediate backlash, with many accusing her of insensitivity and dismissiveness towards the traumatic experiences of the victims. Gonan also asked, “This is how you treat people? This is how you treat people?”

Gray has been outspoken on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last month, during a panel at the Dissident Dialogues festival, she claimed that Hamas’s objective was not to kill all Jews but to end the existence of a Jewish ethno-nationalist state.

“When Hamas is talking about eliminating Israel, it’s not talking about killing all the Jews,” she saidat the festival, The Wrap reported. “It’s about eliminating the idea of a Jewish state — ending a Jewish state, ending an ethno-nationalist state and having a state more like what we have in the United States of America.”

These remarks led to further backlash, including from pro-Israel nonprofit watchdog StopAntisemitism, which named her “Antisemite of the Week” on May 17 and launched a campaign to have her fired from The Hill.

Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres and other figures also expressed outrage over her comments.

Gray suggested that her firing was part of a coordinated effort to silence her criticisms of Israel. “This is clearly part of a coordinated effort,” she tweeted following the announcement. Despite the termination, she has remained defiant, continuing to voice her opinions on social media and in public forums.
A spokesperson for The Hill confirmed Gray’s dismissal but declined to provide further details. The outlet’s decision underscores the broader media landscape’s challenges in handling polarizing views and sensitive geopolitical issues.

Briahna Joy GrayPhoto via Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/bjoyg/?hl=en