On March 16th, the SAZFCC hosted Let’s Talk: Zionist Connect 2025; a vibrant gathering that celebrated community and collaboration.
Esteemed Israeli speakers, panels made up of local luminaries and a diverse audience came together for an afternoon filled with engaging discussions, interactive workshops, and impactful talks focused on contemporary Zionism and the obstacles of disinformation and antisemitism.
Participants left feeling empowered and united, with many expressing newfound motivation and tools to address these pressing issues. This was a true edah – a gathering of purpose – that inspired attendees and reinforced the resilience of our Jewish community in the face of modern challenges.
Top takeaways from our sessions…
1.
Daniel Braun | Cape Town-born Israeli activist, full-time content creator and Creative Director at Let’s Do Something @letsdosomething Daniel creates engaging educational content for his millions of followers while empowering the youth to embrace their Jewish pride, and push back against antisemitism and anti-Israel propaganda in real life and through digital advocacy.
- The first three-seconds of a video is your window to draw viewers in.
Embrace perfectionism and make everything you put out there your best.
If your content doesn’t make people stop, react and talk about it, it’s just background noise: make something that sticks. Before you create: think about how you can spark engagement in the comments; get people to share; and produce content that creates dialogue.
You need to escape the echo chamber to get the message out there.
2.
Elad Simchayoff | Israeli journalist, podcaster and international news correspondent Elad contributes to many publications on top of his role as UK-based European correspondent for Israel’s Channel 12 News. In addition, he hosts Israel’s highest-rated podcast, ‘One A Day’. Elad’s talk, Swords of Iron: The 8th Front, highlighted the battle for public opinion and legitimacy.
- Since October 7th Israel has been waging a multi-front war.
One of these isn’t fought with military strategy or weapons, but words – The 8th Front.
The battle for public opinion is critical.
The battleground is college campuses, street protests, institutions such as the ICJ (International Court of Justice), and on traditional and social media.
There is very little scrutiny from legacy media regarding their information sources.
In discourse about the conflict, the framing of questions is vital.
People are as likely to get their news directly from social media as reading a news article.
Social media has greatly influenced the rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.
Just 30-minutes on TikTok daily, significantly increases the holding of antisemitic views.
3.
Gusti Yehoshua Braverman | World Zionist Organisation Executive Board member and Head of the Department of Irgoon and Connection With Israelis Abroad
Gusti has dedicated her career to fostering meaningful ties between Israel and Jewish communities worldwide, while forging a path of empowerment for Israeli women. Her talk, Women At The Frontline: Leadership, Resilience and Empowerment, offered insight into the representation of women in Israel and the role they played post-October 7th.
- Globally, women earn around 20% less than men; this is around 30% less in Israel.
The courage of Israeli women after 7th of October, 2023, has been remarkable.
An all-women tank crew made history that day as the world’s first exclusively female-led armoured tank regiment; they saved hundreds from Hamas terrorists.
Despite the severe violence faced by Jewish and Israeli women on October 7th, international women’s organisations stayed silent due to politics and bias – a shocking failure of their mandate.
This hypocrisy and lack of principle is referred to as the ‘Me Too, Unless You’re A Jew’ syndrome – highlighting an immoral set of double-standards.
Despite adversity, the resilience of Jewish women endures.
4.
Prof Moran Yarchi | Head of Digital Influence & Perceptions Specialisation at Reichman University In The Image War: Fighting Over International Legitimacy, Prof. Yarchi emphasised the challenges of representing the truth about Israel in an unstable landscape of changing international relations and political and technological revolutions.
- A battle of ‘ideas’ is occurring alongside military confrontations.
The borders of the conflict have dissolved: they are wherever people receive information.
It’s emotions vs facts.
The opposing strategies are vastly different: Israel relies on fact-based evidence, while the pro-Palestine movement utilises mis- and disinformation (reframing the meaning of ‘genocide’, for example); redirection (the ICJ case); and emotive online activism.
A successful example of emotive propaganda is the AI-generated ‘All Eyes On Rafah’ graphic that was shared 47-million times (May 2024), despite misrepresenting the situation.
The majority who shared it had never previously mentioned Gaza on their social media.
The media is being used as a weapon and effective messaging strategies are critical.
5.
Ambassador Gilad Erdan | Israel’s former Ambassador to the United Nations (2020-2024) and the United States After October 7th, Ambassador Erdan became widely known for his forthright speeches that highlighted the plight of the hostages and upheld Israel’s right to defend itself. Every seat was filled as he gave his closing keynote address that was received as inspiring and empowering, reaffirming our resilience as Jews and deepening our connection to Israel.
- Our Cape Town community is one of strength that recognises (and acts on) the importance of standing united in our values, identity and unwavering Zionism.
Israel is a nation of resilience, innovation and creativity: from people to its economy.
The United Nations is a failure that has become captured by undemocratic nation blocs.
It displays an obsession with demonising Israel – over 70% of its condemnations focus on Israel.
The UN’s moral distortions fuel real-life consequences including: BDS, the ICJ genocide claims, university protests, decisions that are detrimental to Israel on the battlefield and the rise of antisemitism.
Gazan society must be de-Nazified of the Jihadist ideology that celebrates terror and the death of Jews.
With the downfall of Hezbollah and the brutal Assad regime as well as the continuing battle to eradicate Hamas, the opportunity for real change in the region is a reality.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is the head of the snake; the brave Iranian people want change and Israel stands with them.
The Free World is waking up.
Israel is playing a key role in crushing the forces of terror – ‘I predict that a year from now, we may be looking at a very different Middle East.’
6.
Panel Discussion | Prof. Adam Mendelsohn | Rabbi Nissen Goldman One of the most topical issues of the moment – being Jewish On Campus 2025: Counting The Costs of Anti-Israel Capture – was covered with clarity by two men on the frontlines
at UCT.
- The boycott resolutions and anti-Israel rhetoric are proving to be catastrophically detrimental to UCT both financially and reputationally.
The Israelophobia has significantly affected the experiences of Jewish students and staff on campus, but there is a galvanising of resilience, unity and support.
Through shared insights and active participation, including from alumni, we can drive meaningful change to address and rectify the situation.
7.
Panel Discussion | Simone Sulcas – Brad Gottschalk – Ross Kudo Three well-respected community members – all proud Zionists – discussed the theme of Zionism, Identity and Survival: What Does It Mean To Be A Zionist Today: a question intrinsically connected to the contemporary challenges faced by Diaspora Jews.
- It’s vitally important to have intergenerational conversations within the Jewish community about Zionism.
The community has to unite to help young people fight the anti-Israel hate and rising antisemitism.
Get young people involved – we have to be creative with the ‘how to’.
Despite the difficult times post-October 7th, there is a lot of hope.
The younger generation, down to the very young, are proving themselves to be an engaged group that truly cares about the future. ●
Post-Conference Engagements
Our visiting speakers made the most of their time in Cape Town and appeared at intimate, tailor-made sessions that provided additional opportunity for engagement, learning and discussion beyond the main conference programme.
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