Meeting Israelis and performing in Israel helped comedian and influencer Daniel-Ryan Spaulding confront his misconceptions about the country, and led to him advocating for the Jewish state, he explained to The Jerusalem Post.
Raised in Canada, Spaulding moved to Europe in his mid-20s. As a stand-up comedian and writer, he's traveled throughout the world. But while living in Berlin, he became friends with Israelis.
That's what led to him vesting Israel and performing in the Jewish state, and therefore confronting many of his previous misconceptions.
How a comedian learned the truth about Israel
"I didn't actually really know much about Israel or the conflict," he explained. "It all just seemed very disturbing and scary. I didn't get hooked into these sort of wormholes of propaganda against Israel, but I just definitely didn't really understand the conflict. And once I got here, I sort of learned more about the country, and a lot of the misconceptions that people have about Israel, I sort of resolved within myself."
This led to him working to advocate for Israel.
"When October 7 happened, I was so disturbed by everything and disturbed by this vicious anti-Zionism and all the lies about Israel that i felt compelled to speak up."