On October 7th each one of our lives changed dramatically.

As a community we wrote checks, we comforted one another, we rallied, wrote letters, and some have and will soon be traveling to Israel. As we struggle with the ongoing war, casualties and the hostages being held, supporter of Israel and those working to combat anti-Zionism and antisemitism, have taken to social media.

United Jewish Federation is excited to host Hen Mazzig, a social media influencer, speaker, educator and author, on Wednesday, February 28 at 7:30pm to share his personal story and outlook on Israel. The event will be held at Congregation Agudath Sholom, 301 Strawberry Hill Avenue. Tickets are $18 in advance at $25 at the door. Sponsorship is available at $180.

Mazzig has gained 500k followers across his social media platforms, and over 100 million users have interacted with his content. He has appeared as an expert on Jewish issues in media on four continents, including BBC, CNN, The Washington Post, SkyNews, LA Times, Haaretz, and more.

Hen was named in Algemeiner's Top 100 People positively influencing Jewish Life in 2018 and 2021, the Top 50 online pro-Israel Influencers, and the Top 50 LGBTQ+ Influencers. For his advocacy, he was recently awarded CAMERA’s Portrait in Courage Award. Mazzig's first book, "The Wrong Kind of Jew" was released in 2022.

In 2019 he co-founded the Tel Aviv Institute which researches and combats online antisemitism.

“Several years ago, I heard Hen at a national Federation conference, 'the General Assembly' and another with other local participants, we were blown away by his presentation and framing of Israel and Judaism for the next generation.

Over these past few months following the attacks on Israel, Hen has become a voice that needs to be heard and we are so grateful that we have him coming to speak in Stamford”, shared UJF CEO Diane Sloyer.

For registration, please visit www.ujf.org/hen.

This article appears in the February/March issue of The New Jewish Voice newspaper. To receive The New Jewish Voice delivered free to your home, sign-up today at www.ujf.org.