Israel News, Tuesday, 21.11.2023 View in browserGidon Lev, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who became a TikTok sensationwith nearly half a million followers, explains why he deactivated his account this week, as TikTok was unwilling to confront the spike in antisemitism since the Hamas massacre on October 7 
Haaretz 
It isn’t as if an effort isn’t being made by Israel to professionally curate and manage information about the war with Hamas in a responsible way and with reliable “high value content,” he tells Allison Kaplan Sommer on the Haaretz Weekly podcast. “The problem is when you juxtapose that to what Hamas is doing.”
In today’s digital space, Benjakob explains, “highly produced graphics looks like your country hired a PR company to do PR for you, which is literally what we do and what we’ve always done. The whole idea of hasbara – that you need to do a professional-level kind of explanation – is actually shooting us in the foot right now. Hamas is just flooding the internet with raw materials that people can then supposedly check on their own.” When it’s checked, much of it is unreliable and untrue, but by then it’s too late because they have controlled the discourse for days.
Benjakob worries that the “perfect storm” of malicious actors deliberately creating fake material, irresponsible and sometimes biased social media platforms, and well-meaning citizens circulating false stories that they feel support their side is bringing the Israel-Hamas debate to the point where, as in U.S. politics, it is impossible to get to any form of generally recognized truth.
Also on the podcast are 88-year-old Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev, who became a TikTok sensation with nearly half a million followers, and his life partner Julie Gray. They explain why, with “grief and anger,” they deactivated their account this week, as TikTok was unwilling to confront the unprecedented wave of antisemitism that has overwhelmed the platform since the Hamas massacre on October 7.
When asked about his initial reaction to the atrocities, Lev says: “I said to my son: ‘These people that did the massacre, they must have had Nazi instructors.’ In some ways, they were even worse. I can’t describe what they did.”
Gray talks about the sense of helplessness in the face of a wave of denialism and antisemitism that came with the war. “Our followers, who thanked us for learning [about the Holocaust], are the same people who are hating us now,” she says. “I feel that Gidon was tokenized. They liked this little Holocaust survivor with a sad, sad tale. I’m used to getting hate from Nazis, the ones with the thunderbolts and swastikas. I can deal with Nazis any day of the week. But the people that are sending us this hate now, their bios say ‘vegan’ and ‘organic fiber creators’ – they are our followers. So I feel like our three years of work have unraveled. That nothing was taught to them at all.”
Read more about Israel’s war against Hamas:
■ Ex-Human Rights Watch editor explains shocking indictment of ‘politicized’ organization
■ High on captagon and antisemitism: Everything about ‘the ISIS drug’ used by Hamas
■ Israeli army warned Netanyahu: ‘Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas see opportunity for perfect storm’
■ Israeli held hostage by Hamas dedicated her life to helping African farmers
■ Why U.S. white nationalists are waving Palestinian flags
■ Chances of Gaza hostage deal grow thanks to change of direction by Hamas – and Israel
■ Why Netanyahu won’t shut down the crazy talk about ‘resettling’ GazaPODCAST | This Holocaust survivor is used to fighting deniers on TikTok. Hamas apologists broke himLISTENInside the ultra-Orthodox Operation to Bring Cholent to Israel’s TroopsIn LGBTQ Milestone, IDF Lists Three Parents on Tombstone for Fallen SoldierIsrael’s Chief Banker Must Tell Government: Do the Right ThingIsrael’s State Prosecutor Warns Police: Unjustified Arrest of Dissenters Harms Rule of LawIsraeli Embassy in D.C.: Minister’s Op-ed Calling for Gazans’ Transfer Is Not Gov’t PolicyGerman Police Raid Homes of 17 People Accused of Posting Antisemitic Hate SpeechUnsubscribe from mailing list.For more Haaretz newsletters, click here.or contact support: digital-english@haaretz.co.ilUnsubscribe from all mailing listsAll rights reserved © Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd.Schocken 21, Tel – Aviv, 6653207, Israel.Company Registration No. 51-001544-9.
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