This year, a team of 27 TikTok content creators worldwide are coming together at the March of the Living as a powerful force to commemorate the Holocaust through their cell phones. They are reaching millions of people using their content, trying to make a difference.
The Media Line talked to passionate Israeli TikTokers about their experiences combating hatred and fighting for Israel on digital platforms.
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Shayna Heidi is a member of the influencers team who has joined the March of The Living 2024. She is a 32-year-old dancer, and most of her content is about the LGBTQ+ community. Since October 7th, Heidi has been creating explanatory content, advocating for Israel, and sharing updates about what is happening in Israel with her followers worldwide, facing backlash from those on the opposite side.
Heidi admits that before October 7th, her platform was only about fun and dancing. After the Hamas attack, she started explaining what was happening in Israel.
"Every video that I posted in English has gotten hate comments from people outside the country. That's just a fact. People were writing 'Free Palestine,' cursing Israel and me," shared Heidi.
"I don't try to get hate on my page, but I am and will defend the place where I live," she said to The Media Line.
Heidi is also involved in helping Israeli followers emotionally.
"We do have to talk about what's going on. I try to talk more to teenagers about stress control, being safe, giving them space to talk," said Heidi.
Combating antisemitism through humor
Uri Cohen, a 30-year-old content creator, has been creating humorous content focusing on Israeli advocacy and combating antisemitism for the past three years. Uri makes fun of terror supporters and hatred toward Jews and speaks up for his country.
Cohen shared with The Media Line that he categorizes his creations into two types of activism: first - making fun of haters who spread lies and antisemitic propaganda, and second - talking about the pain of Jews and Israelis in a more serious manner.
"Jokes make it easier for me to deal with difficult subjects," he admitted.
According to Cohen, antisemitism is a persistent issue that has endured and will likely continue to exist despite efforts to eradicate it.
"There are two ways to deal with this: to be sad and emotional or to take it to the funny part—laugh at the people that hate you so much. When you turn something serious and sad into a comedy, it becomes easier to deal with it," Cohen told The Media Line.
Meanwhile, the influencer acknowledges that not every topic is humorous.
"There are some things that you can't make fun of. For example, the massacre and the victims of October 7th," added Cohen.
By refusing to take individuals who produce antisemitic content seriously and mocking them instead, Uri demonstrates that their views have no place in society.
"This is my strategy," Cohen emphasized.
Creating pro-Israel content online takes immense bravery in the face of bullying and threats directed towards those who support Israel and the Jewish community.
"I think their hate is giving us power. It unites us. Our haters give us a lot of power and remind us that we must be together," Cohen shared with The Media Line.
As an active member of the LGBTQ+ community, Shayna Heidi expressed her sadness about members of the community actively supporting anti-Israeli movements all over the world, especially in the US universities campuses, where thousands of students protest against Israel, including the queer community that usually uses the slogans like "LGBTQ+ for Palestine."
"Protesters, especially on campuses, don't know the history. We've seen that a lot on social media, too, but they just don't know the facts, and they're protesting, and it makes no sense," Heidi explained to The Media Line.
According to Heidi, you cannot be part of the LGBTQ+ community and protest for Palestine, as the values are on the opposite sides.
"It just shows that they're uneducated. I have tried myself to speak to people from the queer community in America, my friends, and I've lost many of them since October 7th because they refuse to listen and they don't care what we have to say," she said.
Heidi told The Media Line that anti-Israel protests have almost become a trend among young generations.
"It's become cool to protest about this. They believe they're protesting for human rights, but you can't protest for something unless you get all the facts down. It is just a trend, and they're all copying each other," she said.
At the same time, Heidi admitted that many influencers support Israel. Seeing creators all around the world using their platforms and talking about Israel, being willing to lose followers and get hate, gives her hope.
"It pushes me forward to do what I do," she said.
Although not part of the younger generation of influencers, Lea Schenirer is a popular content creator with 113 thousand followers on Instagram. She is a 66-year-old Pilates studio instructor, lecturer, and owner. Lea Schenirer is a second-generation Holocaust survivor, and her mother, who is also a Holocaust survivor, is one of the Mengele twins.
Lea shared that her mother, Olga Grossman Shalmon, was four years old when she went through Mengele's experiments.
"I was born against all odds. Till today, no one knows what he put in the injections," she explained.
Schenirer told The Media Line that her mother and her twin sister were born in Kosice, in Czechoslovakia, and were taken to Auschwitz.
"Till today, my mother remembers everything there, every stone, every corner," explained Schenirer.
Lea's mother managed to maintain her positivity despite going through unimaginable traumas.
"My mom always covers her lips with red lipstick. She covers her lips with optimism. On the way to Auschwitz, the first thing she put on her lips was the red lipstick," said Schenirer to The Media Line.
Schenirer shared that she believes that every person is born with a mission.
"It is my duty, as a second generation of the Holocaust, to pass the memory about it on," she explained.
"It is important to approach all your platforms. For example, TikTok, a young platform, reaches the second and third generations and tells about the Holocaust survivors. They are heroes, and they give us an example of strength to remember that this can happen any time," added Schenirer.
Visiting Auschwitz for the first time, Uri Cohen explained how important the event was for him.
"I think that every Jewish person in the world needs to go to Auschwitz at least once. October 7th was a massacre that reminded us why we need to never forget about the Holocaust and about the antisemitism that still exists and will keep existing. Now, we also always remember our hostages".
Shayna added that the March of the Living is also very personal for her.
"Half of my family are Holocaust survivors. They're Hungarian. I grew up knowing that my grandparents were Holocaust survivors," she explained.
"This year, it's just so much bigger and stronger. We need to be united, all Jews from all over the world and all of Israel. We have to use our platforms to show what hatred can bring and say that this can never happen again. We need to keep fighting the evil and the hatred and do whatever we can to spread that," added Shayna.
"We don't have the privilege to break down in situations. Pain has strength, and the living, the starving for living, being alive is stronger than anything," Lea Schenirer told The Media Line.