“She said the situation was not about ‘me or my beliefs’ and that people had misunderstood.”, — write: www.dailymail.co.uk
Published: 03:51 GMT, 17 December 2025 | Updated: 05:52 GMT, 17 December 2025
The Australian actress, who is currently dating Jewish hairdresser Tomer Kelner, expressed her heartbreak after 15 innocent people were killed on Sunday at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration.
‘Whether or not you agree with the actions of the state of Israel (I do not) what happened in Bondi on Sunday was a vile, sickening act,’ she wrote.
‘Nobody who genuinely wants peace, rematriation for Palestinian people and justice in the Holy Land (as I do) can justify the abhorrent rise in antisemitic violence all over the world.’
However, many of her followers appeared to slam her for posting the tribute, as on Wednesday Nathalie defended herself in a lengthy video posted to her Instagram.
She said the situation was not about ‘me or my beliefs’ and that people had misunderstood.
‘I have been supporting Palestinian people and the Palestine movement since before I was a teenager,’ she began.
‘When I was eight or nine years old, I watched a documentary on IDF soldiers killing children in the West Bank and to me it was like looking at South Africa all over again.
‘And little Nathalie who grew up as a brown girl in a white country always stuck up for the underdog.’
She went on to say she eventually fell in love with an Israeli man, but her support still lies with Palestine.
‘Fast forward two decades later, I fall in love with an Israeli man but my stance doesn’t change,’ Nathalie continued.
‘There is a clear oppressor, narrative, victim and I can see where the power lies and my support still lies with Palestinian people.
‘But my capacity to have understanding for the other side has grown enormously thanks to my boyfriend and his family.’
She said she had always been ‘against the violent actions of the IDF since before the war.’
Nathalie continued: ‘That brings me to the gun attack in Bondi, I was supposed to have been there… The shock of knowing that, due to some twist of fate, we did not get that flight and went to another city instead.
‘My last post was a message of solidarity to Jewish people all around the world, whether they support the war or not. I want all people to be safe, even the people who don’t agree with me.
‘Israel can be an oppressor and Israelis can also be victims. Not one person is your enemy.’
Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, allegedly opened fire from a footbridge at the Sydney beach on Sunday night, killing 15 people, including 10-year-old girl named Matilda, who were among those attending the Hanukkah celebration.
Other victims include British-born Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39, French national Dan Elkayam, 27, Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, beloved husband and father Tibor Weitzen, Wellington Street synagogue assistant Reuven Morrison, Slovak citizen Marika Pogany, 82, retired NSW Police detective sergeant Peter Meagher, Edith Brutman and Boris Gurman, 69, and his wife Sofia, 61.