Prominent Jewish social media influencers and activists gathered at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York to publicly discuss antisemitism, Jewish identity, and the responsibilities of public advocacy in the face of global hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people.
Among the panelists were Lizzy Savetsky, an American influencer and outspoken pro-Israel activist; Rudy Rochman, a filmmaker and advocate for Jewish rights; and Zach Sage Fox, who recently put himself at risk traveling undercover in the West Bank to document Palestinian views on Hamas and the Jewish people.
Savetsky opened the conversation with heartfelt praise for US President Donald Trump, whom she credited for securing the release of hostages and for standing with the Jewish people during times of crisis. “There is no better friend to the Jewish people than President Trump,” Savetsky said, adding, however, that “no human being is God.” She emphasized the importance of being honest with her followers—even when that means expressing concern or criticism, including over Trump’s recent visit to Qatar.
Being unapologetically fearless comes with backlash
“I’m just living out loud and expressing that,” Savetsky said. “I try to be unapologetically fearless... That comes with backlash, but I want to have that level of trust between my followers and I.”
The conversation then turned to the personal experiences of Zach Sage Fox, who traveled undercover to Ramallah in an attempt to better understand local perspectives. Fox, who comes from a family deeply marked by Holocaust memory and American antisemitism, explained that his activism was born out of the shock he felt following the October 7 Hamas attacks and the lack of condemnation in Western media.
“Before October 7, I really thought antisemitism was a thing of the past,” he said. “But the silence from Hollywood and the media shook me to my core.”
Motivated to uncover the truth firsthand, Fox crossed into the Palestinian territories posing as a tourist. “I genuinely felt like I needed to go understand—do they want peace? Do they not want peace? Do they like Jews? Do they hate Jews? Is Hamas loved?”
What he found was disturbing. “If in the most moderate parts of Palestine you're seeing this massive love for Hamas—which is what I found over and over and over again—I think that was really telling,” he said. “I couldn’t find a single soul [who didn’t support them].”
Despite the risks—he narrowly escaped danger while filming—Fox said he has “absolutely no regrets,” emphasizing that such work is necessary to confront reality and protect the Jewish people. “Some days it feels like we’re screaming into a void,” he said, “but then you sit here and you go, look—these people are worth fighting for. They are our brothers and sisters.”
Rudy Rochman, a longtime advocate known for his work in Jewish identity and education, focused on the ideological roots of antisemitism and the Jewish people’s mission in the world. He recounted his early days at UCLA, where Jewish institutions advised students to avoid confrontation. But Rochman believed differently.
“When we say ‘Never Again,’ it’s not a statement. It’s a generational commitment,” he said.
Rochman described antisemitism as a unique form of xenophobia in which Jews are blamed from all sides—left, right, and extremes across the political spectrum. He called for a re-examination of Jewish purpose, invoking the concept of Tikkun Olam—the Jewish mission to repair the world.
“The Jewish people chose to be the world’s immune system,” Rochman said. “When the immune system fails, the body becomes sick. Antisemitism is the world rejecting a Jewish people that is failing in its purpose.”
He concluded by urging the community to look inward. “The solution is not going to come from the world feeling bad for us. It’s internal. We need to write the next chapter of Jewish history—not just to survive, but to thrive.”
The evening ended with expressions of solidarity among the panelists and the audience, many of whom had direct ties to hostage families and frontline activism. “We are one Jewish family,” Fox said. “And these people are worth fighting for.”