By Alison Weir
Over 300 social media influencers with 260 million followers gathered recently to oppose the growing resistance to Israel’s mass murder campaign in Gaza and the West Bank.
The mostly young influencers came to a conference billed as “Voices for Truth: Influencers United Against Antisemitism” held in New York City. The two-day extravaganza was hosted by the Israeli Foreign Ministry in partnership with the Israel advocacy organization “Combat Antisemitism Movement.”
The topics of the panels ranged from “Refuting Misconceptions About Israel and the Gaza War” to “Shaping the Discourse” and “Navigating the Science of Social Media to Maximize Impact.”
According to JTA, the conference organizers recruited attendees by contacting anyone who posted in support of Israel or against antisemitism, and who had more than 50,000 followers.
They particularly went after people with numerous non-jewish followers.
They stayed away from people who worked in ‘hasbara,’ the Hebrew term for Israeli public diplomacy efforts. The goal, instead, was to attract influencers who have large numbers of non-Jewish followers, and who therefore may be able to reach people who don’t know much about Jews or Israel.
The summit featured Israeli Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis; New York City Mayor Eric Adams; Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY); Andy Cohen, executive producer of “The Real Housewives” franchise and the host of “Watch What Happens Live!” on Bravo; musician Matisyahu; Julia Haart of “My Unorthodox Life,” and social media influencer Montana Tucker.
In his speech Israeli Consul Akunis proclaimed:
“We live in a world in which lies become truth, truth becomes a lie, victims become aggressors and aggressors become victims. But know this: Those who started this war will be defeated.
While Akunis was presumably (and inaccurately) referring to Israel, in many ways his statement is apt for Palestinians.
Although Israel and its partisans continually claim that Israelis are the victims, in reality, far more Palestinians than Israelis have been killed in the conflict. In fact, so far this year, over 100 times more Palestinians have been killed (the majority women and children) than Israelis (the majority of whom are soldiers).
Thousands of Palestinians have been rounded up, imprisoned, and grotesquely tortured. Men, women, and children in Gaza are being intentionally starved.
Meanwhile, Israel and its advocates have disseminated numerous lies about Palestinians that have been refuted over and over, but continue to be distributed by Israel and its advocates.
Finally, and of fundamental importance, it is the Zionist movement that started this war, with its colonial endeavor to dispossess the indigenous population of Palestine, its 1947-48 founding war of ethnic cleansing, its 1967 war of illegal expansion, and its continuous cruel violence against Palestinians in the decades since.
Adams dutifully weighs in
Mayor Adams, who has reportedly been influenced by billionaires working on behalf of Israel, emphasized the power wielded by the pro-Israel influencers with their millions of followers:
“You only have to pick up your device to change the course of history. This is your moment to use your platforms to change the course of what we’re experiencing across the globe.”
New York Congressman Richie Torres gets in on the action
Torres slammed former Rising co-host Briahna Joy Gray for her principled, factual statements about Israel’s genocidal actions, claiming the Harvard graduate is “stupid.”
Jewish Currents reports that early in Torres’ political career, “He began to build relationships with Israel-advocacy groups. In 2015, he agreed to join a trip to Israel for New York lawmakers planned by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the UJA-Federation of New York.
“The junket attracted the attention of Palestinian rights activists, and a coalition that included groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, Al-Awda NY, the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, and Queers Against Israeli Apartheid tried to pressure the politicians to cancel it. Torres refused to meet with them.
Torres’s alignment with the Israel lobby has proved strategic. The ambitious young politician won the backing of pro-Israel groups and their funding help. Politico reported last year: “Despite running uncontested, he received more campaign contributions last cycle from pro-Israel sources than any New York member other than House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.”
During the gala, featured speaker Montana Tucker pointed out: “Jews today have a voice, we are strong, we are powerful, and we are resilient. We are fortunate to have social media to use our platforms to reach people all the around the world.”
Her point was undoubtedly valid. In addition to their millions of followers and hundreds of pro-Israel organizations, Jewish Americans are the most affluent group in the United States.
The program also featured the Chabad rabbi who had performed Montana’s Bat Mitzvah in Israel when he took her on a Birthright trip 11 years ago.
In his speech Rabbi Jacob and his wife both quoted The Rebbe, whose teachings included supremacist and racist views.
The gala speeches can be seen here:
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Below are some of the facts the Israeli foreign Ministry did not show these young social media influencers:
Full documentary here.
Alison Weir is executive director of If Americans Knew, president of the Council for the National Interest, and author of Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel. See her presentation on the issue here.
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