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Tiffany Haddish says she’s in Israel to observe for herself what’s going on in Gaza — and she actually got choked up in defending herself against her harshest critics.
The actress/comedian joined us on “TMZ Live” Wednesday all the way from the holy land … telling us how her visit is already educating her on the war in the Middle East — and opening her eyes beyond what she’s read in the news or seen online.
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Tiffany says she wanted to take it all in for herself and experience what’s happening on the ground … because she doesn’t tend to believe everything she sees/reads on the internet.
So what has Tiffany learned? Well, she says folks were dragged from their homes and taken hostage during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack — not just that, but she explains how people were killed and kidnapped at a music festival that day too … noting that while hundreds of hostages have been released since October, hundreds more still remain in captivity.
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Tiffany — who landed Tuesday in Israel — tells us she’s also there to see and weigh the scope of Israel’s retaliation against Hamas … which has left over 30,000 Palestinians dead.
It’s a complicated situation, of course, with lots of religion and politics involved … but Tiffany says the biggest thing to her is the human aspect — and she wants peace on both sides.
While Tiffany confirmed she has Jewish ancestry 5 years ago via DNA testing, she tells us she’s not only concerned about Jewish people in Gaza … she’s also worried about the Palestinians. And she insists … that shouldn’t be lost on anyone who’s critical of her.
Tiffany says it’s important to remember there are human beings and families at the center of all of this … and that’s who she wants to connect with — and hear from — on her visit.
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We also asked Tiffany about some of the backlash she’s getting for a video she recorded from the plane on her way to Israel — and that’s where you can hear her fighting back tears.
Tiffany got emotional defending her jokes about finding a husband over there — something she quipped about on IG Live as she was flying over earlier this week — and says she’s got the courage to do something lots of single women wouldn’t do on their own.
Emphasis on that last part … Tiffany tells us she’s all alone in this world, and it’s heartbreaking. It’s an interesting convo … and Tiff tells us why she’s following her instincts.
We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.