Mia Khalifa Fight With Jewish Woman Goes Viral

A video showing a confrontation between Mia Khalifa and a Jewish woman has made its way across social media on Monday.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Israeli officials have said that 1,200 people in Israel were killed in Hamas' attack, according to the Associated Press, while over 23,000 Palestinians have been killed, officials from the health ministry in Gaza said, the AP reported. Since the attack, Khalifa has been outspoken on her stance in the conflict as she previously voiced support for what she described as Palestinian "freedom fighters," which prompted backlash.

The ongoing conflict has led to protests around the globe on both sides, with many calling for a lasting cease-fire. In addition, authorities in the U.S. have been on high alert for violence driven by Islamophobia or antisemitism, with Muslim and Jewish groups reporting a rise in hateful rhetoric.

On Monday, former adult film star Khalifa took to X to share a video of a confrontation she had with an unknown Jewish woman, claiming the woman was following her.

Newsweek has reached out to Khalifa via email for comment.

"The Zionists are losing the plot. She followed me through the lobby calling me slurs and didn't stop the entire time she was waiting for her UberPool at the Antique Jewelry Fair. She's a vendor- something she made abundantly clear so I guess this is what her business stands for:," Khalifa wrote on X, posting the video.

The 43-second video starts with the woman behind Khalifa saying, "That's right." Khalifa then addresses the young man next to her asking, "You proud of your mom?"

"Am Yisrael Chai," the woman says in response, a Jewish solidarity anthem and a widely used expression of Jewish peoplehood. She then repeats the phrase several times, approaching Khalifa from behind to get closer to the video and revealing a Hebrew Chai necklace, which means "life". "You see that?" she asks Khalifa.

However, Khalifa responds back with, "Are you waiting for the bus? Because I'm waiting for my valet."

The next 15 seconds of the video were unremarkable—until both Khalifa and the woman spoke to each other again at almost the same time.

Again, the woman approached Khalifa from behind, exposed her necklace, and said, "Am Yisrael Chai."

At this point, Khalifa walked away saying, "You smell like knockoff falafel."

While the video has been widely shared across social media, some have taken to X to express their thoughts on the video.

Journalist Rania Khalek wrote on X, "Sorry Mia that you were harassed in public by a racist bully. You handled it so well though: 'You smell like knockoff falafel'".

X user Anita Zsurzsan said, "American Zionists constantly cry that they feel unsafe yet they are the only ones empowered enough to openly harass people on the streets and call them all sorts of abusive slurs. Which one is it then? Solidarity, Mia!"

However, others disagreed with Khalifa's behavior. Hen Mazzig, founder of The Tel Aviv Institute, wrote on X, "It's truly telling how the best response an antisemite like Mia Khalifa can give is to tell her she smells. Jew-haters are looking an awful lot like school-yard bullies trying to push people around to make themselves feel better."

"If you're a Jew and see an antisemite like Mia Khalifa in the street, there are only 3 words you need to say: Am Yisrael Chai! Give this woman a medal," Mazzig added.

While X user Michal said, "Mia's reaction is quite neurotic compared to the fact that this woman didn't do anything to her. Seems really like a Karen behavior just to make a story out of it."

The interaction is not the first online debate as the ongoing conflict has also sparked a deeply divided discussion on social media, where public figures who have called for a ceasefire, thrown their support behind Palestinians or Israel or maintained a public silence, have been roundly criticized.