Ivanka Trump Misattributed an Ancient Jewish Proverb to Emma Watson
PHOTO: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Who said it: an ancient Jewish religious leader or Emma Watson?
Ivanka Trump guessed wrong in a recent Instagram post, where the first daughter shared an image of the quote: “If not me, who? If not now, when?” She attributed the quote to Watson, when in fact—as Teen Vogue pointed out—the words come from Hillel the Elder, a famous Jewish religious leader who shared his wisdom during the first century BCE. (His original proverb went as follows: “If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”)
Some sharp-eyed Instagram users were quick to spot the error, commenting “Didn’t realize Emma became a rabbi” and “I didn’t know Hillel changed his name to Emma Watson.” New Yorker TV critic Emily Nussbaum tweeted out a screenshot of the post, noting that Ivanka is Jewish—which makes her mistake even harder to believe.
Now, there’s a likely explanation for Ivanka’s mix-up. Watson didn’t invent the quote, but she did use it when she spoke at the United Nations in 2014 to announce her “HeforShe” campaign.
“In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt I’ve told myself firmly—if not me, who, if not now, when,” she said. “If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you I hope those words might be helpful.” The actress and activist said the quote again at the end of her speech.
Back in July, an old tweet of Ivanka’s surfaced in which she misquoted Albert Einstein. The first daughter might need to work on her social media strategy—and pass the message along to her dad, while she’s at it.