The Anti-Defamation League has entered the villa. The Jewish advocacy group felt compelled to weigh in on a recent episode of popular reality dating show “Love Island USA,” after a controversial kiss sparked an antisemitic backlash. 

The show, which is one of the most well-watched reality dating series in the country, drew criticism from anti-Israel viewers after it aired a steamy kiss between a Canadian Jewish contestant and a castmate who is of Palestinian descent. 

The kiss in question occurred when 24-year-old fitness influencer, Huda Mustafa, participated in a game that called on her to kiss any two “Islanders” of her choice. Ms. Mustafa, who shared her Middle-Eastern roots on the show, chose to share her first smooch with Jewish-Canadian tech consultant, Elan Bibas.

Shortly after the kiss aired, rumors began to spread online about the Jewish contestant’s connection to Israel, with some claiming — without evidence — that he had served in the Israel Defense Forces.

“Elan is a Zionist/former IDF soldier,” one critic wrote on X. “Whoever did this season’s casting needs to be fired.” The post has since received 21,000 likes and over 1.1 million views. 

Outraged viewers also flooded Mr. Bibas’s Instagram posts with negative comments, with some suggesting that his alleged connection to Israel was hidden from Ms. Mustafa. “I won’t continue watching until he’s gone tbh. Huda needs to be aware of who she really kissed,” Palestinian-Canadian singer, Nemah Hasan, commented on one of Mr. Bibas’s posts about the show. 

Mr. Bibas, however, grew up in Ontario, Canada, thousands of miles away from the Jewish state. His social media posts indicate that he has visited Israel several times, all before Hamas’s October 7 attack, though there is no evidence that he ever lived there. 

The firestorm of antisemitic hate prompted the ADL — one of the largest Jewish advocacy groups in the country — to intervene. The organization stated that it is “blatantly antisemitic to label a Jewish man who has visited Israel as ‘dangerous’” and condemned viewers’ “hateful and baseless” efforts to villainize Mr. Bibas. 

“Enjoying love island USA? We were too… until we saw antisemitism creeping into the Villa,” the group wrote online. 

A Middle East commentator and pro-Israel advocate, Hen Mazzig, also spoke out on the controversy, arguing that the fallout put on display the “hypocrisy of the anti-Israel crowd.” 

“Suddenly, the same people who never shut up about ‘liberating Palestine by any means necessary’ are furious that a Palestinian woman made her own choice — and it happened to involve kissing a Jew on TV,” he wrote on X. 

“Spoiler: It was never about freedom for Palestinians, it’s about policing what they do, and yes, who they can love,” he noted, adding, “Honestly? I hope they kiss again.” 

The show appeared to address the hate directed at Mr. Bibas this week in a statement that was added on to its most recent episode. “The keyword in Love Island is … Love. We love our fans. We love our Islanders. We don’t love cyberbullying, harassment or hate,” the show stated. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Bibas and Ms. Mustafa’s romantic spark appeared to be short-lived. The curly haired bachelor has since hit it off with fan-favorite Cierra Ortega, an Instagram influencer from Chicago.