Alan Rosenbaum
Jerusalem Post, July 4, 2024
“We’re talking to those who don’t know anything, or a lot about Israel, who don’t hate it or love it.”
‘Most teens and young people in the United States don’t know a lot about Israel,” says Elena Yacov, executive director and president of TalkIsrael, the US- and Israel-based nonprofit whose goal is to positively change the conversation about Israel on social media among American teens and young people.
TalkIsrael was founded in 2023 in the US and has attempted to change the conversation by empowering people aged 18 to 26 – Gen Zers – to engage in informed content creation about Israel online, providing them with knowledge and equipping them with the tools and skills needed to post original, positive content about life in Israel.
“When you search the word ‘Israel’ today on Instagram or TikTok,” says Maya Vorobyov, TalkIsrael’s director of operations, “you most likely are going to find photos and videos of war, weapons, propaganda, and political matters. We want to highlight and show the positive things that Israel has to offer.” To that end, TalkIsrael has trained a network of 150 content creators who create short, punchy, positive, apolitical content about everyday life in Israel, on subjects such as food, culture, comedy, a day in the life of an Israeli teen – subjects that will engage and attract Gen Zers.
The creators have produced and shared over 900 pieces of content on TalkIsrael’s platforms alone, reaching over 4.5 million views on popular social media outlets such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. “We encourage them to share their personal experiences and perspectives about Israel,” says Vorobyov, adding that many of their creators highlight and share their internship or volunteering experiences in Israel online. A brief examination of some TalkIsrael videos on TikTok is evidence of this casual, yet attractive style.… [To read the full article, click here]