During his performance at the Coachella music festival in 2024, Saint Levant told the audience that Palestinians had suffered “a brutal occupation for the past 75 years” and claimed Gaza had been subjected to “genocide” since the war began.
By United with Israel Staff
Italian luxury fashion house Prada is facing mounting backlash after appointing Palestinian rapper Saint Levant as a global brand ambassador, a move that has drawn renewed attention to the artist’s repeated anti-Israel rhetoric, his praise for violence against Israeli civilians, and now a high-profile campaign featuring imagery that erases the State of Israel.
The latest controversy erupted after Prada released promotional videos for its Spring/Summer 2027 menswear collection showing Saint Levant, born Marwan Abdelhamid in Jerusalem and raised in Gaza, wearing a silver pendant depicting “historic Palestine”—the entire territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
The videos, posted to Prada’s social media accounts with more than 33 million followers, appeared just days after the company formally named the rapper as one of its newest global ambassadors.
For many, however, the pendant was only the latest example of why Prada’s decision has generated such outrage.
Saint Levant has repeatedly used his platform to accuse Israel of “genocide” and deny the legitimacy of the Jewish state. During his performance at the Coachella music festival in 2024, he told the audience that Palestinians had suffered “a brutal occupation for the past 75 years” and claimed Gaza had been subjected to “genocide” since the war began.
Even more controversial were remarks he made following the November 2024 attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.
Just days after Israeli supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv were assaulted in coordinated attacks across the city, Saint Levant publicly praised those responsible during a concert.
“A quick little shout out to our Moroccan brothers for what they did the other day,” he told the audience. “Because it’s not the first time they come to a land that’s not theirs and start some s—… thank you for taking care of business.”
Dutch authorities later concluded that Israeli supporters were the primary victims of organized attacks, with police reporting that groups had actively sought confrontations. Israel’s embassy said hundreds of fans were assaulted in what participants themselves described as a “Jew hunt.”
The backlash intensified again after Prada’s latest campaign prominently featured Saint Levant wearing the map-shaped pendant. Israeli writer and activist Hen Mazzig said the image conveyed a clear political message by depicting a Palestine in which Israel no longer exists.
I’m all for representation of Palestinians, but Prada posting a video to their 33M+ followers of their new “Palestinian ambassador” Saint Levant wearing a necklace shaped like the entire land with Israel erased, that’s a message.
If an Israeli, or any Jew, wore a pendant that… pic.twitter.com/mQBqgOk32P
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) June 26, 2026
“I’m all for representation of Palestinians,” Mazzig wrote. “But Prada posting a video of their new Palestinian ambassador wearing a necklace shaped like the entire land with Israel erased—that’s a message.”
“If an Israeli, or any Jew, wore a pendant that included Gaza, the outrage would be instant. But erasing Israel gets a luxury campaign.”
Prada has not commented publicly on either the criticism surrounding Saint Levant’s past remarks or the controversy over the campaign, which has intensified scrutiny of the company’s decision to make him one of the faces of the global fashion brand.
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