As part of the Arutz Sheva - Israel National News Jerusalem Conference in New York City, a special panel was held with several individuals who have been active in defending Israel online. The participants were honored with the Jerusalem Award.
Sports broadcaster Emily Austin claimed that supporting Israel is a matter of logic: "If somebody who supports terrorism and rape and murder hates me, I must be doing something right. I saw the calls to 'globalize the intifada' and that opened my eyes to the predicament we were in. For me it was a no-brainer - I have to stand up for the truth."
Tanya Zuckerbrot, the CEO of the F-Factor diet and health line, agreed with the shock at the world's response. "The world's response to October 7th is what really shook me to my core. When I started to see what was trending on social media, I knew I had to use my platform at the very least to turn the tide just a little bit."
Victoria Zirkiev, the CEO of Hoshen Media Group, spoke about how the artists she represents joined the cause: "All our entertainers were soldiers, and they became spokespeople for Israel. Any way we can bring in awareness is there for Israel."
Comedian Ami Kozak talked about how he is able to bring some humor to the situation. "I just started speaking clearly. It cuts through a lot of the noise, and comedy is good at that."
Austin said that the war has taken a toll on her career. "I've missed an entire season of sports broadcasting. I lost brand deals with clothing and drink companies who boycotted Israel. I wouldn't want to share that with the younger generation, though - I would never want to discourage anyone from advocating."
Tanya added that the war has shown some disturbing things about those she considered close: "What's been surprising is the silence of so many female CEOs that I considered to be colleagues and friends. These are Jewish women who have companies, but more importantly social media platforms, significantly greater than mine, and I was really shocked to find that they were not speaking out. I realized that they're fearful of losing customers, sales, and partnerships. When I see these women, I want to say to them to think about how every voice matters right now."
Victoria talked about the projects that her media group is working on: "There's the series Handles, which focuses on October 7th and is already signed with Fox and Yes in Israel. I have also turned my advocacy efforts from focusing on Jewish communities in America to focusing on Israel. October 7th has made us realize that there is no place like home."
Ami contemplated the future of American Jewry. "As the grandchild of Holocaust survivors on both sides, I've seen this movie before. There are two options - one, of course, is to stay and fight the rising antisemitism, and the other is how you've heard people ask "why didn't the Jews just leave?""
"In the meantime, day to day, I'm going to commit to continue telling the truth. There are a lot of people who know what's right and wrong, a silent majority without the words to articulate what they want to say. I don't fault them for it, but as they are watching, they should say "I'm not on the side that kicks down Grand Central Station and sets flags on fire. I'm on the side that has an Israeli flag and an American flag."
Following the panel, the influencers were presented the Jerusalem Award for their ongoing efforts for Israel.