'All Eyes on Rafah' has gone viral on Instagram, with thousands of celebrities worldwide joining the ask for a ceasefire in Gaza and seeking an end to Israel's ongoing war on Palestine. Rafah, a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip, was brutally bombed by Israeli forces, killing many civilians. While music industry legends like The Weekend and Macklemore have been advocating for the safety of Palestinians, artists like Lady Gaga and, most recently, Dua Lipa have also joined this protest. One name that has been missing from this call for a ceasefire and peace has been Taylor Swift. Swifties, the ardent fans of the American singer-songwriter, have now taken it upon themselves to urge the pop star to address Palestine and urge a ceasefire. Several fans have started a movement—#SwiftiesForPalestine—asking Taylor Swift to Speak Now. All Eyes on Rafah Quote Meaning: Why Is This Phrase Trending With AI Image on Instagram? Know All About the Viral Trend in Support of Palestine.

While there have been several fans who have been urging the pop star, who is close friends with the Hadid sisters, supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid (whose family hails from Palestine and have been advocates for peace in the area), to join the dissent and ask for a ceasefire in Gaza; Swift has been swiftly silent on the issue. The closest the pop star came to speaking or supporting the issue was attending American Muslim comedian Rami Yousef’s comedy show - More Feelings. The celebrated comedian donated the earnings from his last 12 shows of the tour towards relief work in Palestine. This was misconstrued by several people as Taylor attending a fundraising show in support of Palestinians.

In the last few days, Swifties across the world have been getting together to urge Taylor Swift to speak up for Palestine, both with an online campaign under #SwiftiesForPalestine; as well as through offline demonstrations at Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour. The “Speak Now, Taylor” post asking Swift to join the cause and urge for a Ceasefire in Palestine has received over 1.8 million views and 13K retweets. Fans are also tagging Taylor’s publicist, Tree Paine, to get some swift action.

From creating pro-Palestine signs to wearing a Keffiyeh to the shows and distributing ceasefire now friendship bracelets, Swifties have taken the essence of the fandom and used it towards raising awareness and supporting the cause, even if the pop star herself has not joined in.

Additionally, several fan accounts of Taylor Swift have also pledged to donate their earnings towards relief work in Palestine.

A clip from Taylor Swift’s Netflix Documentary - Miss Americana - has also been going viral as fans call back to her monologue where she spoke about regretting not talking enough about her politics during Donald Trump’s Presidency.

The past week has been filled with grief, pain and a ray of acknowledgement as Israel’s war on Gaza was addressed by millions of celebrities who were otherwise silent. The blatant attacks on the tents in Rafah, which the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu (born Benjamin Mileikowsky), acknowledged to be a mistake, served as a last straw for millions of people worldwide. The horrific videos of people scrambling to find their loved ones and embracing the decapitated bodies led to increased support for Palestine and Rafah as more than 40 million people, including noted celebrities from India and international, shared the AI-generated "All Eyes On Rafah" images and various other resources on how to help the people in Rafah who are fighting for their life.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 30, 2024 12:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).