Influencing the influencers

An influencer, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is one who exerts influence or a person who inspires or guides the actions of others. In today’s Instagram and TikTok-influenced world, a social media influencer can guide and impact the actions of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people.

Recognizing the positive value of how the Internet can be used to positively influence today’s youth, INEXTG (Israel’s Next Generation), a US-based nonprofit, has developed three initiatives to harness the power of influencers for good [effects]. The initiatives are carried out through the following projects: CTeen Israel, Chabad on Campus Israel, and the Journey of Leaders for Unity, which are led by Rabbi Moshe and Bracha Shilat.

The first program, called The Journey of Leaders for Unity, is an initiative designed for Israeli women influencers from the world of fashion, music, and media. The women, most of whom come from secular backgrounds, travel to New York in February to receive inspiration from the annual conference of Chabad women emissaries (shluchot) that meets every year at Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn, visit the grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and engage in activities that increase their spiritual growth.

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Bracha Shilat explains, “I saw the power of social media today, and felt I had to do something to influence for good via social networks. If we can create a positive influence we can then inspire millions of young people for good, because they are influenced by celebrities.”

Shilat enlisted the assistance of Sharon Adam, mother of Israeli pop singer Omer Adam. Sharon and Bracha approached a group of 18 Israeli women – all influencers with a minimum of 100,000 followers each – and invited them to travel to New York. The first tour was held in late February 2023 to coincide with the shluchot convention of Chabad women leaders. The group included leading Israeli women singers, models, actresses, dancers, and fitness personalities.

The second women’s journey was held in February 2024, four months after the beginning of Operation Swords of Iron. In addition to leading women influencers, it included a group of women who lost family members during the war, such as Iris Haim, whose son Yotam was accidentally killed by IDF soldiers in December 2023; Hen Zender, a correspondent for Channel 13 whose sister was murdered at the Supernova music festival; and Jessica Elter, whose boyfriend, Ben Shimoni, was also murdered there.

During their visit to New York in 2024, the women engaged in Israeli advocacy, visiting the scene of anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University and meeting with the Israeli ambassador to the UN, as well as with leading Jewish influencers in the US, such as Lizzy Savetsky. They also engaged in a debate with pro-Palestinians at Columbia and met with Shai Davidi, a Columbia professor known for his fierce defense of Israel.

Adam says that the week-long visit to New York enabled the women to grow spiritually as well. “We had kiddush on Friday night in Manhattan,” she reports. “On Friday and Shabbat, they stayed in their hotel. They did not go to any parties on Friday evening in Manhattan. They themselves became Jewish influencers.”

Shilat explains that the essence of the program is to strengthen the Jewish pride of the women, which will be expressed through positive Jewish messages on their social media communication. “I see the goals of the program as strengthening Jewish pride, providing positive women’s leadership, and expressing a feeling of Jewish unity,” she says. The women who went on last year’s journey, explain Shilat and Adam, are now communicating a message of holiness, religion, and Jewish unity through their social media.

“Our goal,” says Shilat, “is not for them to ‘repent’ but to help them return to themselves – to strengthen their Jewish identity, and in doing so, promote a greater Jewish presence on social networks.” With that being said, she reports, many of the women on the tour have expressed a desire to increase their Jewish observance.

Among the Israeli influencers who have participated are model Nataly Dadon, Einav Booblil, Tali Ovadia, Jenny Chervoney, and Yuval Matuk. Adam and Shilat are busy planning this year’s visit, which they say will also include Israel advocacy and the same type of inspirational tools that have been utilized in the previous trips.

INEXTG’s work with influencers is not only with women celebrities. The organization, through CTeen Israel, a part of Chabad’s worldwide CTeen organization, operates an annual convention that attracts 4,000 young Jewish leaders and influencers from its ranks for a four-day trip to New York. While the majority of the participants are from the United States, hundreds of CTeen representatives from Europe, South America, and Africa are also in attendance.

This year, some 200 Israeli teens will join the convention in New York. Naava Leebel, the activities coordinator for CTeen Israel, and Shalom Segal, who heads the CTeen branch in Lod, explain that members of the 40 CTeen branches in Israel choose the top members of their youth group to fill the slots to travel to the US.

On Friday afternoon, the students return to Brooklyn for a unique Shabbat experience, which includes Friday night prayers, Shabbat morning services, meals, and leadership seminars. On Saturday night, the thousands of teens convene in Times Square to show their Jewish pride through singing and dancing in the heart of New York City.

On Sunday morning, the students visit the grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, which is a memorable experience for all participants. The program concludes with an elaborate and festive banquet on Sunday afternoon, before the participants return to their home countries.

“The primary purpose of the convention,” explains Leebel, “is to create and increase Jewish pride and a sense of Jewish identity among Jewish youth worldwide.” Virtually all the participants, she says, including the Israeli students, are not observant and attend secular schools. “The goal is to strengthen their pride by being exposed to Jews from around the world.”

Leebel adds that the participants from the US and other countries are particularly excited to meet their Israeli counterparts. “When they meet them, they become connected to the history of the Jewish people,” she says. “They feel connected to our history.”

By the same token, she points out, Israeli youth, some of whom have grown up in an environment where they do not feel that being Jewish is special or unusual, enjoy meeting their counterparts who, though they may be in the minority in their home countries, feel pride in their Jewish identity.

Segal says that last year’s Israeli delegation included a group of teens from Gaza area settlements and towns, including Sderot, Netivot, Ashkelon, Maslul, and Patish. This year’s group, he says, will also include participants from the Gaza envelope communities.

Participants in CTeen’s convention, he adds, return with greater enthusiasm and pride in their Judaism. “We see a change in them. They are more mature, better influencers, and the effect is apparent in their lives going forward.”

Whether the participants are Israeli women celebrities or high school teens from around the world, INEXTG is educating the present and future influencers of the Jewish people to value their Jewish pride and increase their Jewish identity.

Chabad on Campus Israel trip to New York

Beyond INEXTG’s influencers’ journeys to New York, Chabad on Campus Israel, another branch of INEXTG, brings Israeli students to the US each year to maintain a connection with college students at other Chabad houses worldwide. In September, a delegation of 300 student leaders from Chabad on Campus Israel flew to New York and met with fellow Jewish college students from Columbia, Princeton, Yale, and Harvard.

As part of their visit, the delegation prayed at the grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and met with Ofir Akunis, the consul general of Israel in New York. While visiting Times Square, the students released hundreds of yellow balloons skyward and said a prayer for the release of the hostages held captive in Gaza.

Bracha Shilat, who headed the mission, wrote, “We walked along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue wearing yellow shirts and holding yellow balloons to support the hostages. Honestly, I expected a skirmish. I was afraid of hatred in the streets. The reality was the opposite and, in fact, shocked us all. We did not encounter hatred. Hundreds of people came out, took pictures, cheered, honked, left their offices, and joined us in the march toward Times Square.“We stood in a huge yellow circle and sang the famous song ‘Our brothers, the entire family of Israel who are in distress and captivity. May God have mercy on them and remove them from distress to relief, and from darkness to light.’”

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This article was written in cooperation with INEXTG – Israel’s Next Generation.