BEACHWOOD, Ohio — As we approach six months since the Israel-Hamas war, immense trauma remains on both sides. Islamophobia is up, as is antisemitism, and the Jewish community here in Cleveland is working to push back against it.
For Hen Mazzig, Oct. 7 feels like yesterday — a day filled with lots of pain, lots of conflict, and, hopefully, change.
He is the co-founder of the Tel Aviv Institute, a research center that aims to combat antisemitism. He was recently invited to Northeast Ohio by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland to help educate the community as an influencer in this space.
"The amount of antisemitism around the world has increased dramatically," Menzig told us. "A thousand percent in London alone."
And, he says, there are many misconceptions circulating.
"One of the biggest issues that we are seeing and people don’t realize [is] the connection of Jewish people to this land, and they don't understand what Israel really is and the makeup of Israel," he explained. "The majority of Israel Jews are descendants of Jews from North Africa, like my family."
After his family had to leave North Africa and Iraq due to antisemitism, Mazzig was born and raised in Israel, and like all Israelis he ended up serving in the military. His was a humanitarian unit, working to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to build hospitals and roads.
Now living in London, he's been open about his feelings about being Jewish today (and his nuanced views about his home country) to his hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. Though his devotion for Israel is strong, he is not afraid to point out things he may disagree with.
"I think every American can probably relate to having leaders who you don't feel like speak for [you] and decisions being made that you don't feel like reflect what you believe politically or [from a] social aspect," Mazzig said. "Israel is just like any other country, and I love my country. It's beautiful. It's not perfect, but it's beautiful enough for me to risk my life for."
He expresses concern for Gaza, too, having worked there for several years.
"Gaza could have been a modern city that could draw tourism and could have been a flourishing place with development," he remarked. "The beach in Gaza is gorgeous and there is so much potential in this place, and just because it was ruled by this terrorist and genocide organization that has such disregard for human life, it has been destroyed.
"My heart is breaking for Gaza and my hear is breaking for Palestinians that are suffering there, but the blame cannot be put on Israel because Israel is fighting a war that they didn't want to start."
Mazzig is hoping to reach more people with his platform, and to create a sense of peace moving forward.
"I think [the] younger generation is where hope lies, and if we focus on education for both [the] Israeli and Palestinian side, we bring people together, and there are so many brave organizations that [are] working for coexistence," he said. "We need to resist the hate. We need to see each other. We are fighting a campaign of dehumanization, and for us to humanize each other is the only way to move forward."