LISTEN TO HEN MAZZIG ON TALKING POINT:
ISRAEL AT WAR – THE TEL AVIV INSTITUTE
Laura Kessler speaks with IDF veteran, social media expert and co-founder of the Tel Aviv Institute Hen Mazzig about the war, online propaganda, strategies for social media influencers, and why Jews in the diaspora should show their pride and never hide.
Hen Mazzig is an award winning Israeli author, a writer, and a speaker who has inspired thousands around the world with his story for over a decade.
He was named as one of the Algemeiner’s top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life in 2018 and 2021, Top 50 online pro-Israel Influencers, and Top 50 LGBTQ+ Influencers. In 2022 the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis choosed Hen to be its’ Portrait in Courage award laureate.
Hen’s first bestselling book, “The Wrong Kind of Jew” was released in 2022.
Hen is a prominent digital influencer; over 100 million users have interacted with his content, while his Instagram has a higher engagement rate than Kim Kardashian, Cristiano Rinaldo, and Nike. He has authored numerous viral campaigns such as “#JewishPrivilege,” where he inspired others to speak out about the falsehood of Jews having advantages in modern society, and “#JewishLooking” where thousands of Jews celebrated the ethnic and racial diversity of the community.
In 2019, Mazzig co-founded the Tel Aviv Institute, a non-profit dedicated to using data-driven social media strategies to stand up for Jewish people and other minorities online. As the Institute’s senior fellow, he has trained a dynamic roster of Jewish advocates in messaging and empowers a new generation of Jews to use publications, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and new media to advocate for tolerance and peace.
Hen’s award-winning articles have been published in the LA Times, Newsweek, NBC News, Haaretz, The Forward, Jewish Chronicle, International Business Times, and more. He has a proven track record of creating dialogue and changing hearts and minds where it seemed impossible. He has built relationships and changed hearts and minds, not simply by sharing the truth about the history of the region he grew up in, but by being a voice for justice for diverse groups and peoples. He is a rare voice in a divisive day and age that can unite people for a common cause rather than sowing discord over clashing narratives.
