For children being raised in today’s digital age, one of the biggest stars in the world is a New York mom who posts YouTube videos in a bright-pink headband. Her name is Rachel Accurso, though parents and kids alike will most likely recognize her by her shortened stage name: Ms. Rachel. And while they might recognize Accurso’s penchant for creating viral and educational brainworms, they might not be aware that the famed educator has spent months receiving staunch pushback for promoting humanitarian aid to the children of Gaza.
For the past year, Accurso has been a target of harassment and accusations of antisemitism for posting fundraiser links and photos of Palestinian children — even as Israeli attacks on Gaza have left thousands of Palestinian children without access to food, shelter, or proper health care. In May 2024, she posted a tearful video denouncing the attacks on her character and accusations of antisemitism — writing “I care deeply for all children. Palestinian children, Israeli children, children in the U.S. — Muslim, Jewish, Christian children — all children, in every country. Not one is excluded. I think part of why people respond to the show is they feel that care — I see every child as I see my own. I love every neighbor. Any child suffering is on my heart. To do a fundraiser for children who are currently starving — who have no food or water — who are being killed — is human.”
In an interview with former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan for his Substack Zeteo on Monday, Accurso doubled down on her belief that Palestinian children deserve aid and a concerted effort to share awareness about the conditions they live in. “It’s sad that people try to make it controversial when you speak out for children that are facing immeasurable suffering,” Accurso said. “Silence wasn’t a choice for me.”
While Songs for Littles started as an in-person music class for children, Accurso’s switch to digital lessons during the Covid-19 pandemic jump-started her internet career. In the past five years, she’s become a staple of children’s programming, growing her viewership to more than 3 million subscribers on YouTube and close to 6 million followers on TikTok. In January 2025, compilations of Ms. Rachel programming began streaming on Netflix.
In April, pro-Israel lobbyist group Stop Antisemitism penned a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi after Accurso posted fundraiser links and photos of Palestinian children on her Instagram. The group accused Accurso of acting as an unidentified foreign agent for Hamas by sharing fundraiser links and U.N- approved figures about the Palestinian death toll.
Accurso told Hasan that she first began learning about the plight of Palestinian children after watching a video on social media of a young boy who had survived a drone strike. “He was just so shocked he couldn’t even cry,” Accurso recounts. “I think my background in early-childhood education makes me think about that crucial brain-development time of zero to three. So if you’re being malnourished and you’re seeing trauma and you’re losing your family, that’s a really crucial time of brain development. So I think about that.”
Accurso also pushed back against accusations that she was spreading anti-Israel propaganda with her fundraisers. “It’s sad that people try to make it controversial when you speak out for children that are facing immeasurable suffering,” she said. “I think it should be controversial to not say anything. Our compassion doesn’t have boundaries or borders.”
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