Star toddler educator Ms. Rachel wears Gaza-themed dress to award ceremony

Ms. Rachel, the educator who has built an empire of media programs for toddlers, continued her outspoken advocacy for children in Gaza on Tuesday by wearing a dress embroidered with drawings made by kids from the war-torn territory at an award ceremony where she was honored.

Many of the drawings featured the colors of the Palestinian flag — red, black, white, and green, or the flag itself. Others featured watermelons, a symbol of pro-Palestinian activism, or olive branches.

“I’m carrying their stories in my heart,” she said in an interview at the event. “They all know about the dress, and they’re so excited.”

The entertainment personality, whose name is Rachel Accurso, was honored as one of Glamour’s 2025 women of the year at the ceremony in New York City. In giving her the award, the fashion magazine cited her Gaza advocacy, which has earned plaudits from some while sparking controversy and allegations of antisemitism from others.

Accurso has spoken out frequently since last year on behalf of children in Gaza, raised money on their behalf, and brought a Gaza toddler who is an amputee on her show.

“My love and care for children doesn’t stop at my own children,” she told Glamour in a recent interview. “It doesn’t stop at the children in our country. It embraces every child of the world. And I don’t think that our love should end at religion or skin color or where people are born.”

In response, some pro-Israel voices have accused her of anti-Israel bias. The organization StopAntisemitism accused her of spreading “Hamas propaganda” and called on US Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate her.

Accurso has also spoken out a number of times on behalf of Israeli children as well, including Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were kidnapped in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught and, according to an Israeli assessment, murdered by their captors. She has rejected allegations that she is tied to Hamas as “absurd,” and told Glamour that being called antisemitic is “incredibly painful.”

“Saying that I don’t care deeply about one group of children because I’m focused on children in an emergency situation isn’t right,” she told Glamour. “It’s not true. My friends know who I am and God knows who I am.”

She said she is now looking into ways to help children suffering in the brutal civil war in Sudan, where the US State Department said earlier this year that a rebel militia committed genocide.

The black-and white dress was embroidered in color with the children’s drawings. One appeared to show a little girl hugging a giant watermelon slice. Another showed what appeared to be the solar system. A large drawing on the front of the dress was of a giant dove covered in flowers and holding an olive branch.

Accurso also carried pictures of the children who made the drawings.