Black Israelis Defend Israel On Front Lines And On Social Media Battlefield

This commitment extends beyond the physical battlefield in Gaza, reaching into the ceaseless propaganda war being waged on various social media platforms.

As reported by The Jerusalem Post on Monday, Kalkidan Tegin, an Ethiopian Israeli with a following of over 25,000 on TikTok, is among a group of Black Israelis in their 20s and early 30s who have been staunchly defending Israel online, and in English, since the war with Hamas commenced on October 7. This group, while informal, is becoming an increasingly noticeable component of Israel's public diplomacy, or hasbara. The hasbara aims to protect Israel from criticism and enhance the country's international image, particularly during times of war. TikTok, in particular, has emerged as a significant online battlefield, with recent analyses indicating that pro-Palestinian hashtags are vastly outperforming pro-Israel hashtags on the platform.

Through their social media posts and television appearances, these individuals have been sharing personal accounts of how the war has impacted them and other Black Israelis. They have openly challenged African-American critics of Israel, including those associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Furthermore, they have countered race-based, anti-Israel narratives propagated by pro-Palestinian activists, such as the portrayal of Israelis as white, European colonizers of land belonging to indigenous Palestinians.

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Prominent Black content creators in this effort include Titi Aynaw, an Ethiopian Israeli model and former Miss Israel; Noah Shufutinsky, an African-American Jew who immigrated to Israel last year and is better known as the rapper Westside Gravy; Ashriel Moore, a former contestant on Israel's version of the reality show "The Amazing Race" and a Hebrew Israelite activist; Yirmiyahu Danzig, a Caribbean-American Israeli educator; and Lilaq Logan, an IDF commander with both Jewish and Hebrew Israelite heritage.

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December 20, 2023

Since October 7, Black individuals have been targeted by Hamas, with terrorists killing African farm workers on Israeli kibbutzim. Despite this, the Black Lives Matter organization in the U.S. has expressed support for Hamas in the days following the attack.

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The Black Hebrew Israelites comprise several sects, some of which are antisemitic, while others are pro-Israel. A significant group immigrated to Israel, converted to Judaism decades ago, and relocated to the southern city of Dimona, in the Negev desert.

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Recently, a Black Hebrew Israelite school in Indiana was the target of a terror attack when a woman drove a car into the school under the mistaken impression that it was Jewish. She claimed she was seeking revenge for "her people back in Palestine."