NEWYou can now listen to articles!
Children’s YouTube star Ms. Rachel faced renewed scrutiny on Sunday after a 2025 video of her calling Palestinian photojournalist, Motaz Azaiza, her “friend,” resurfaced, days after Azaiza admitted he deliberately withheld footage of Israeli hostages being beaten by a crowd in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
The short video appears to show Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, introducing Azaiza to her young audience while teaching the letter “M.”
“Hi, yes, it’s M, for my friend, Motaz. Yay! Bye!” Accurso said.
Ms. Rachel referred to Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza as her “friend” in a resurfaced video that circulated after his recent Oct. 7 comments drew renewed attention. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
MS RACHEL CONFRONTED ON ACCUSING ISRAEL OF ‘GENOCIDE’ IN PARK INTERACTION WITH PODCASTER
The video was originally shared on Instagram and later removed, according to reporting from July 2025.
Azaiza, who amassed millions of social media followers documenting the war in Gaza, appeared briefly in the clip and greeted Ms. Rachel.
The video also took on new significance after Azaiza described earlier this month what he witnessed during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in an extensive interview with journalist Ahmed al-Biqawi on the Arabic-language “Taqarrab” podcast. Azaiza said he followed a vehicle carrying Israeli captives and filmed as members of a crowd assaulted them.
Azaiza said he didn’t publish the video, however, as he feared it could put the Palestinians involved at risk.
“I saw the vehicle of the Al-Qassam Brigades, and there were Israeli captives there,” Azaiza said. “People got out, watched, beat them, hit them, and I followed them and filmed. But I did not publish those videos. Why? Because I did not want to ruin the lives of the people who were filmed.”
Azaiza said he filmed Israeli hostages being beaten by people in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, but chose not to publish the footage because those shown could be identified by Israel. (Getty Images)
MS RACHEL POSTS SUPPORT FOR HIJAB-WEARING KINDERGARTNERS AFTER TRUMP POST
Azaiza said he withheld the footage because he believed Israeli authorities could use it to identify the Palestinians appearing in the videos.
“I understood that Israel would use those videos to identify every person who was there and eliminate them,” Azaiza said. “I did not want to be responsible, even indirectly, for the deaths of those people in exchange for a few likes and views online.”
Ms. Rachel had faced renewed scrutiny over her Gaza activism after previously accusing celebrities who remained silent about Palestinian children of applying a racial double standard. (Variety via Getty Images)
NEW YORK TIMES ISSUES CORRECTION, DELETES LINE QUESTIONING IF ISRAELIS WERE VICTIMS OF OCT 7 TERROR ATTACK
Azaiza also criticized Hamas and described the restrictions faced by journalists working inside Gaza. He said photographers learned to lower their cameras when Palestinians criticized Hamas because showing such dissent could lead to retaliation.
Despite describing himself as a supporter of armed Palestinian resistance, Azaiza said Hamas’ actions had failed to protect Palestinians living in Gaza.
“I support armed resistance, but one that brings results, or at least gives me the feeling that my life is valuable in the eyes of the resistance,” Azaiza said. “Why should a Palestinian be cheap in the eyes of Palestinians themselves? You are making people hate the resistance with your own hands.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Azaiza’s profile rose dramatically after the war began. Time named him to its 2024 list of the world’s 100 most influential people for his photographs documenting Gaza.
Rabbi Yaakov Menken, executive vice president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, told Digital that Azaiza’s disclosure raised questions about his journalistic judgment and his decision to withhold the footage.
“After years spent claiming to share what was happening in Gaza ‘unfiltered,’ Azaiza revealed that he hid footage — not, per journalistic norms, to protect victims from further harm, but because he didn’t want Israel to arrest the perpetrators. Innocent civilians had been kidnapped, already sexually abused, and his concern was with the people that beat them and rejoiced at Hamas’s crimes. That speaks volumes about his journalism and his moral character,” Menken said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE APP
Accurso, meanwhile, has become increasingly outspoken about Gaza.
Last week, she accused celebrities and other public figures who had remained silent about Palestinian children of applying a racial double standard.
“They probably would say something if these kids were White and from a different place,” Accurso said. “Please stop being racist and risk something.”
Elizabeth Barcohana, the California Republican Party’s Jewish engagement chair, told Digital that she believed Accurso’s Gaza advocacy was spreading misleading information to her large audience.
“Ms. Rachel is essentially sanitizing terrorism with false and misleading information to emotionally manipulate her very impressionable following and those around her in her industry,” Barcohana said.
Digital reached out to Ms. Rachel for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
