Hen Mazzig

Israeli writer, speaker, and activist

Hen Mazzig (Hebrew: חן מזיג) is an Israeli writer, speaker, and social media influencer. He is also a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute.[1][2]

## Biography

[edit]

Mazzig is a gay Mizrahi Jew of Iraqi and Tunisian descent, whose grandparents fled after the Farhud.[3][4] He served in the Israel Defense Forces, facilitating humanitarian efforts to assist Palestinian civilians. He spent time in the United States, working for Hillel International and StandWithUs, before returning to Israel, where he started a social media company.[5]

## Activism

[edit]

Mazzig has been a staunch defender of Israel during the Gaza war. He emphasizes the importance of careful word choice and framing in addressing Israel's actions. Mazzig co-founded the Tel Aviv Institute in 2019, an organization aimed at influencing younger audiences who are skeptical of traditional news media coverage and receive information from social media influencers.[5] He started a movement in August 2020 to take over the antisemitic hashtag on Twitter, #JewishPrivilege, by encouraging Jews to tell personal stories of discrimination and abuse.[6][7] Mazzig criticized a student Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions resolution passed at San Francisco State University in November 2020.[8]

In October and December 2023, Mazzig promoted false claims that dead Palestinian babies killed by Israel during the Gaza war were actually dolls.[9][10]

In 2025, Mazzig criticized the band Massive Attack, after they showed a clip of late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar walking in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip in a backdrop video at their show during the 2025 Lido Festival in Manchester. He accused them of "encouraging [sympathy] with Hamas" and incitement. The band responded by threatening to sue Mazzig for defamation, and defended the clip, which was cut with scenes from Jean Cocteau's Orpheus, as "placement and implicit tone of horrified lament; that an individual of power can take people down into hell". They also felt the criticism of the clip was selectively chosen from a broader montage of various issues and themes. Mazzig subsequently deleted the post.[11][12]

## Speaking

[edit]

Mazzig spoke to the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies in December 2020, commemorating the exodus of 850,000 Jews from Arab lands after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.[4] He was a panelist in 2020 with Arizona State Rep. Alma Hernandez, on antisemitism.[13][14] He debated left-wing British commentator Owen Jones on Sky News in April 2024 regarding Israel's response to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.[15][16] CNN commentator Van Jones described Mazzig as "someone who respects opposing points of view".[5]

A 2018 investigation by The Forward revealed that Mazzig had worked directly for the Israeli government, receiving undisclosed payments from Israel's Government Advertising Agency, LAPAM, during his 2017-2018 speaking tour of US college campuses, and thus may have violated US law by not registering under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.[17]

## Political positions

[edit]

Mazzig is a progressive and supported Black Lives Matter in 2020.[3] He endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris's views on Israel and the humanity of Palestinians during her presidential campaign in 2024.[5] His posts were shared by Pink, Amy Schumer, and Gal Gadot, and were turned into billboards in Times Square.[5]

## Works

[edit]

His first book, The Wrong Kind of Jew: A Mizrahi Manifesto, was published in October 2022 by Wicked Son Press.[18]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "פעיל נגד ה-BDS על הפעילה המעוכבת בנתב"ג: "יש כאן יותר מסטודנטית תמימה"". www.maariv.co.il. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
2. ^ אילני, עפרי (2018-10-24). "פוליטיקת הזהויות הגיעה לשלב האבסורדי ביותר". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2021-01-06.
3. ^ a b "How Hen Mazzig is Advocating for Jews and Israel Online". Jewish Journal. 2020-07-20. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
4. ^ a b Narunsky, Gareth. "Advocate's family story". The Australian Jewish News. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
5. ^ a b c d e Sperling, Nicole (2024-11-02). "A Whisperer to the Stars on the Middle East Conflict". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
6. ^ Schechter, Dave (2020-08-10). "What is 'Jewish Privilege?' It's complicated". Atlanta Jewish Times. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
7. ^ Schechter, Dave (2020-08-10). "What is 'Jewish Privilege?' It's complicated". Atlanta Jewish Times. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
8. ^ Greschler, Gabriel (2020-11-24). "S.F. State president opposes student BDS resolution". J. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
9. ^ Shuham, Matt (2023-10-16). "Israel Made False Claims About A Horrific Image, Says Palestinian Journalist". HuffPost. Retrieved 2025-06-05.
10. ^ Ismail, Aymann (May 30, 2025). "Welcome to Pallywood". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on 31 May 2025. Retrieved June 1, 2025. "This conspiracy has been around for years, but mentions of Pallywood spiked dramatically after Oct. 7, 2023, far surpassing previous peaks for the term during past Israeli military offensives in Gaza and the West Bank."
11. ^ Wilkes, Emma (9 June 2025). "Massive Attack threaten legal action against Israeli influencer accusing them of "incitement" over Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar footage". NME. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
12. ^ Ringel, Shai (June 10, 2025). ""מאסיב אטאק" מאיימת לתבוע ישראלי שהאשים אותה בהסתה". Haaretz. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
13. ^ "Sharanksy calls out 'progressive' antisemitism panel for anti-Zionism". The Jerusalem Post. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
14. ^ Writer, Jesse Bernstein | Contributing Writer and Ellen O'Brien | Staff (22 December 2020). "Diverse anti-Semitism panels focus on interconnectedness". www.jewishaz.com. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
15. ^ Hayes, Kathleen (2024-04-10). "The Holocaust as Jew-Haters' 'Gotcha'". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
16. ^ "'Have Some Decency': Debate Derails As Owen Jones Accuses Germany Of 'Making Palestinians Pay' For Its Holocaust Guilt". Mediaite. 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
17. ^ Pink, Aiden (2018-08-23). "Did This Pro-Israel Superstar Work As A Secret Agent On College Campuses?". The Forward. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
18. ^ Mazzig, Hen (2023-03-06). "Hen Mazzig on the 'Wrong Kind of Jew'". Hadassah Magazine. Retrieved 2023-04-06.

## External links

[edit]

* Twitter

This article about an Israeli writer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template