Sonny Bill Williams doubles down on anti-Israel comments as he writes about how well hostages were treated by Hamas – while those freed say they were forced to praise the terrorists for their release.

Controversial former footy star Sonny Bill Williams has doubled down on his anti-Jewish comments by questioning whether hostages were being treated as poorly by Hamas as Israel claimed.

The footballer turned boxer shared a meme on Instagram on Friday featuring released Israeli hostage Mia Schem, 21. She described her treatment after being kidnapped by terrorists during the Oct. 7 Nova Festival massacre as “very good.”

Williams contrasted this with a clip of Palestinian activist Ahed Tamami, 22, who was released from an Israeli prison on November 6 – after being arrested on suspicion of incitement to violence and calling for terrorist activities – and claimed that her and 30 other female prisoners were denied water. and food.

Williams then added a comment from British-Syrian journalist Richard Medhurst questioning why hostages freed by Hamas have not made more public appearances in Israel.

“If Hamas treated Israeli hostages badly, wouldn’t the first thing on Israel’s mind would be to get them in front of the cameras and have them say how terrible it was?” Medhurst said.

“Instead, Israel refuses to allow released hostages to talk to the media. Afraid that what they will say won’t fit into Israel’s story?’

The former footy star shared a meme showing Israeli woman and released hostage Mia Schem (below) complaining about her ‘good’ treatment by Hamas and Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi (above) complaining about her treatment in an Israeli prison

Williams also shared this comment from journalist Richard Medhurst

Although Ms Schem appeared to praise her treatment in the clip, it was filmed before she was released by Hamas and was still being held by her captors.

“People are very good, very nice to me… The food is good and the friendliness and everything is good,” Ms Schem said.

Her comments are in stark contrast to the stories of other hostages who are said to have lost between 8 and 15 kg in captivity – in less than two months.

Returning women and children say they have been beaten and threatened by their captors, as reported by Al Jazeera. Others participation deficiencies led to poor nutrition and improper medical care.

Earlier this week, footage shared by Hamas and circulated by Reuters showed hostages apparently being harassed by armed gunmen to “keep waving” as they were led to Red Cross trucks to be taken back across the border into Israel transported.

Ms Schem herself had been shot in the arm during her abduction, while her family later confirmed she had been operated on by a vet while held in Gaza.

Mia Schem spoke to the camera about her experiences in Hamas captivity

Schem, 21, became one of the most high-profile hostages after Hamas released a video showing her recovering from surgery in the early days of the war

Williams, who converted to Islam in 2009, faced backlash from radio host Ray Hadley several weeks ago after he “liked” a comment on social media that called Hamas terrorists “freedom fighters.”

He had shared a post by American law professor, author and controversial columnist Khaled Beydoun that read: “So Ukrainian citizens who defend their families are ‘freedom fighters’… But Palestinians in Gaza who do EXACTLY the same thing are ‘terrorists’?”

Williams reposted the comment with the 100 emoji to emphasize his approval, and the palms up emoji to represent the prayer.

Hadley called the comments a “disgrace.”

Many social media users pointed out that they were completely different scenarios.

“They don’t even do the same thing though,” someone said.

‘More than 250 bodies at the Music Festival for Peace. And you support that? Ukrainians do not attack civilians. Those are the Palestinians,” another added.

Also in November, Williams drew the ire of the Jewish community, which claimed he was “inciting hatred” after sharing a video of the bombing of Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital.

Williams described supporters of the State of Israel as “Zionist cowards” who led to a backlash because they “incited hatred”

‘Wallahi (I swear to God) where is our Ummah (Muslim community)?’ He wrote.

“Where are the so-called men entrusted to stand up and fight for our voiceless? If these images are too horrifying for you, remember that these are the same people who DETHUMANIZE certain parts of the media, so you think this genocide is justified.”

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, says the former footy star is using his platform to stir up hatred against fellow Australians and has offered to meet Williams “anywhere, anytime” to discuss the issue.

“His comments are reckless, dangerous and patently uninformed,” Mr Ryvchin told Newscorp.

“But to his many fans and followers, they will sound convincing and will serve to stir up hatred and further destabilize our fragile social cohesion.

“I’m sure Sonny Bill doesn’t want to do this and I would be willing to meet with him to discuss our perspectives and build bridges instead of making enemies.”