(LifeSiteNews) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with American influencers last week to urge them to use their clout on social media to promote talking points that cast his country in a positive light.
“What we have to do is secure that part of the base of our support in the United States that is being challenged systematically … How do we fight back? Our influencers, I think you should also talk to them if you have the chance,” Netanyahu said to attendees.
Netanyahu was meeting with just over a dozen social media personalities, most of whom were women, at the Israeli Consulate in New York. His speech at the UN before the meeting saw most of the delegates walk out of the assembly hall, seemingly in protest of his continued bombing of civilians in Gaza, which has been described by many as “ethnic cleansing” and even “genocide.”
Influencer Debra Lee shared footage of the meeting. She asked Netanyahu about Evangelical support for Israel after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Netanyahu responded by mentioning the “woke right” and the need to “fight back” to ensure young Americans support Zionism.
“Weapons change over time … we have to fight with the weapons that apply to the battlefield on which we’re engaged, and the most important ones are on social media,” he remarked.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response to my question:
(I’m so mad I didn’t record the intro of “as Debra mentioned” 😭) pic.twitter.com/3nYk5RA7tK
— Debra Lea (@thedebralea) September 26, 2025
Netanyahu’s meeting comes as attitudes among Generation Z Americans, those who are 30 years old and younger, toward Israel are at a low point. A 2022 Pew survey found that 55% of Americans had a favorable view of Israel but that only 41% of those ages 18-29 had a favorable view of Israel, compared with 69% of those age 65 or older. A 2024 study confirmed those findings. A 2023 article published by The Hill similarly reported that Generation Z “is more skeptical of Israel than older Americans. On TikTok, where half the users are under 30, #freepalestine has 31 billion posts compared to 590 million for #standwithisrael — more than 50 times as many.”
Netanyahu specifically mentioned TikTok during his meeting as well as X. He praised TikTok’s recent sale is “extremely consequential” and one of the “most important purchase(s) that is going on.”
Netanyahu was referring to President Trump’s decision to recently sign off on a forced sale of TikTok that allows Oracle, a tech company owned by pro-Israel billionaire Larry Ellison, to purchase a minority share in the company. Free speech advocates view the sale as a blatant effort to stifle criticism of Israel on the platform.
Netanyahu then brought up X owner Elon Musk. “We have to talk to Elon. He’s not an enemy, he’s a friend. You should talk to him. Now, if we can get those two things, we can get a lot, and I can go on about other things, but that’s not the point right now,” he said. “We have to fight the fight. Give direction to the Jewish people, and give direction to our non-Jewish friends, or those who could be our friends.”
While most of the influencers who met with Netanyahu are not household names, they do carry significant weight on social media. Lee herself has just over 103,000 followers on X and has routinely appeared on Fox News. Others who were in attendance include Emily Austin, Debra Lea Schwartzben, Shay Szabo, Lizzy Savetsky, Destiny Albritton, Emily Talento, Isaac Woodward, and Luke W. Moon, among others.
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS WHO MET NETANYAHU TO HELP ‘TAKEOVER TIKTOK AND X’ph
✅ Yair Netanyahu
✅ Emily Austin
✅ Debra Lea Schwartzben
✅ judeanceo: Shay Szabo
✅ Lizzy Savetsky
✅ ThatZionistGirl: _thatopinionatedgirl_
✅ Destiny Albritton
✅ Emily Talento
✅ Isaac Woodward
✅… pic.twitter.com/XrFmIrxGD9— Khalissee (@Kahlissee) September 28, 2025
Anonymous X user American Reform pointed out that Moon is the director of the Philos Project, a Catholic organization that promotes Zionist messaging.
The director of the Philos Project, Luke Moon, recently lead a group of influencers called “Generation Zion” to meet with the Jewish prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. This meeting occurred two days ago, and was surely held to shore up support for the Jewish “state”, its… pic.twitter.com/HQDVtPqXMD
— American Reform (@AmericanReform_) September 28, 2025
Earlier today Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House. This is his fourth visit in the past eight months. Ahead of their joint press conference, the White House announced Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. It involves a transitional government that would be overseen by Trump himself but would also feature former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair overseeing operations. Last Thursday, Trump said he “will not allow” Israel to annex the West Bank.
