Talia Khan, a doctoral student at MIT and president of the MIT Israel Alliance club, whose social media advocacy for campus safety for Jewish students amid ongoing anti-Israel protests led to her attendance at the State of the Union address and congressional hearings, spoke with Israel Hayom in an exclusive interview about the concerning rise of antisemitism in the US following Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on Oct 7 during her recent visit to Israel. In this second part of our conversation, we focus on the struggles of hasbara – Israel's public diplomacy efforts to spread its message – and where those efforts fall short, as well as the consequences Khan suffers for openly supporting Israel on social media.
Q: What is the most effective thing you can say to anyone who supports terrorism or is explicitly anti-Israel?
A: "There are people in this group that are very strongly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish and you can't convince them. I think they were always antisemites and now they just got to take off their mask, you know? But for the rest of the people that are being drawn to this and don't know what's happening, I think it's really important to arm as many people as possible in the diaspora with facts and stories. For example, I think that a lot of people don't know the extent to which the IDF goes to avoid civilian casualties. There are basic facts, for example, about the hospital bombing [Shifa hospital in Gaza] and the Rafah attack."
Q: You raise an interesting point. We see many celebrities and influencers participating in trending campaigns such as "All eyes on Rafah" without necessarily knowing the facts. What would you say to them?
A: "I mean, it's just sad because they are absorbing so much propaganda that's totally fake news, and spit it out. There's this video that came out of this woman screaming 'The IDF is beheading babies in Rafah!' and no, the IDF doesn't behead babies, we are not animals."
She stopped for a second, smiled, and added "It's so funny, sometimes I catch myself saying 'we', but I'm not Israeli, I'm not a part of the IDF, but I think a lot of American Jews feel that way. When I was in the Knesset [Israeli parliament], Bibi said they're not only the government of Israel, they're the government of the Jewish people. That was very important for us to hear, that we're not being left alone. But that's another topic.
"I'm trying to work with some Israeli people to do more tours of the US college campuses, to share stories," she continued, "I think when people hear what actually happened on Oct. 7 and see the humanity of Israelis, it's harder to hate them. More education and more Hasbara, better Hasbara."
Q: Where do you think our government's Hasbara efforts fail?
A: "It's complicated. I talked to a lot of people about this in the past few days, the Israeli government is the government of the Jewish people, but their primary job is to serve the people in israel, to create media in Hebrew. In English too, sure, but not to the extent that we need. I think Israelis don't always understand what Americans and the diaspora audiences need, I even see it being here. I think we have a perspective living in the diaspora that is so different from the perspective of people that have only been here their whole lives. Even if they visited or lived in the US for a little bit, if you haven't been there since Oct. 7 it's hard to understand what we need and what is messaging that works. We need to figure out how to better spread the messaging in the US and in the diaspora, so it appeals to non-Jewish audiences and isn't just preaching to the choir. Everyone here knows Hamas are terrorists, but you have to explain basic things to the diaspora. People don't know Hamas was elected, people don't know that these people are given billions of dollars from Iran, people don't know that Hamas leaders are living in mansions in Qatar, people don't know the atrocities, they don't know what they do to gay people, they don't know any of this. They just hear that Israel does apartheid and genocide and they just accept. They see a picture of a starving Gazan – they don't know how much aid we're sending into Gaza, but Hamas is stealing it from the people."
"You have to explain basic things to the diaspora. People don't know Hamas was elected, people don't know that these people are given billions of dollars from Iran, people don't know the atrocities, they don't know what they do to gay people...They just hear that Israel does apartheid and genocide and they just accept."
Q: Why do you think that is? Many media outlets cover these stories, take us at Israel Hayom for example – we constantly write about this. The Israeli satire show "Eretz Nehedert" has done SNL-type sketches to raise awareness and they received millions of views, yet something isn't working.
A: "Because it's coming from Israelis, and people don't trust Israelis."
Q: So what can we do as Israelis? That's the big question.
A: "I think you have to work with people in the diaspora, non-Jews and non-Israelis. Unfortunately, people won't read Israel Hayom unless they're Israeli or Jewish, they'll say 'If it has Israel in the name – it's fake news, propaganda.' We obviously know Al-Jazeera puts out propaganda, but they'll read their stuff and eat it all up. I'm not sure why, but a guess that I have is the amount of money foreign governments are putting into bots, into making sure that in front of 18-year-old Americans' faces – the next voters who are going to vote in the next election – they will see all of this propaganda as much as possible, in TikTok, Instagram, and more."
Q: So you're essentially saying "Use social media ASAP."
A: "Absolutely. People are saying, even in the Knesset, 'Don't worry, the vast majority of Americans are pro-Israel even though it doesn't feel like that.' Ok, but that's the old generation. When you look at the polling for the young generation under 30, the vast majority are anti-Israel," she emphasized. "These are the people who are going to be the next generation of leaders – business leaders, community leaders, the next generation of people who will decide whether or not we fund the Iron Dome, whether or not we continue allying ourselves with Israel or we let these Islamic extremists take over the whole region. I think people aren't scared enough to be perfectly honest, and again, you said it – we feel an existential threat in the diaspora. It feels very, very urgent," she stated, her voice heavy with concern.
"I think this was on our campuses, in our leftist-woke professors hired through the DEI infrastructure. DEI administrators at MIT said they believe that Israel is a settler colony that doesn't deserve to exist...more of these people with a crazy mindset have been infiltrating the universities. After Oct. 7 the cloak ripped off – you see the Palestinians cheering on the street, handing out candy on Oct. 7 – it's the same kind of feeling."
Q: Why do you think the situation has escalated so quickly and has gotten out of control the way it did, reaching a level of hostility and violence we have never seen before?
A: "I think this was on our campuses, in our leftist-woke professors hired through Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) infrastructure for the past few years. The DEI doesn't believe that Jews count as part of a diversity equity inclusion. DEI administrators at MIT said they believe their role is purely political in nature, that Israel is a settler colony that doesn't deserve to exist, and that Jews are not a protected class in the DEI in terms of harassment. Over the past few years, more of these people with a crazy mindset have been infiltrating the universities. After Oct. 7 the cloak ripped off – you see the Palestinians cheering on the street, handing out candy on Oct. 7 – it's the same kind of feeling. People felt like they could finally open up. They saw other people doing it more and more and getting closer to going over the line. There's mob mentality as well, being a part of something. A lot of people who are part of these groups are looking for community, and they are finding it in the encampment. I'm obviously not a psychologist, but I think there's that aspect to it."
Q: Do you feel the upcoming elections impact Biden's administration's policies or rhetoric regarding this situation?
A: "Yes. I think we see the administration being affected by the campus protests. They are afraid of these mobs. These people are scary. I do think these people are going to be using the elections and the wave of hate against Donald Trump, they're going to ride the hate train with the anti-Trumpers. I think the anti-Israel club and the anti-Trump group are going to join up and expand, allying Trump with Israel, combining all those people who weren't necessarily involved in the anti-Israel stuff before but very involved in the anti-Trump stuff, and it's going to be bigger and more violent. It's very scary. So yes, I do think that the fall is going to be horrible. Regardless of the outcome of the elections, even after – it's just going to get even worse in the US, not even on campuses."
Q: You have been very outspoken on social media, advocating for campus safety and speaking out against antisemitism. That takes courage, as many would hesitate before taking such a public stance. Can you share what motivated you to use your platform in this way and not remain silent on these issues? When did you realize you can't keep quiet any longer?
A: "Immediately after Oct. 7, the anti-Israel club on campus put out an e-mail with a bunch of other clubs on campus, saying that the attack on Israel was justified, that it's Israel's fault, and that everybody deserved to die. Only Israelis have died at this point, and I had people tell me 'Israel also rapes women,' 'Israel also beheads babies.' It became very clear to us that there was no choice, other than to fight. We immediately created the MIT Israel Alliance, which is a club that I'm president of, it didn't exist before. I don't think we even thought about it before we did it, we just did it. We felt we had to do something. I'm not the loudest one at MIT, I'm not the only one at MIT – there are so many amazing, strong people, American-Jews, Israeli-Jews, and even Jews from Costa Rica."
"They're going to ride the hate train with the anti-Trumpers. I think the anti-Israel club and the anti-Trump group are going to join up and expand, allying Trump with Israel, and it's going to be bigger and more violent."
Q: Surely being this outspoken about the issue has its consequences. You mentioned you lost friends.
A: "It's like Pesach [Passover] cleaning," she jokes. "It's hard. There is a friend I was very close with, we have traveled together before, and now he won't talk to me anymore. The two Arab girls, we hung out, we celebrated birthdays together, and it's definitely not easy losing friends. You learn who your true friends are, and you learn who your non-Jewish true friends are, who are the people who would hide you in their basement." For a second I was flabbergasted by those words. "By Nov. we knew who those people were," she recalled, "It's crazy to think about it but that's how we felt. I have a few friends who are very supportive of me even though they are not outspoken."
Q: Do you feel MIT's administration is doing enough to allow safe access to campus for its Jewish students?
A: "No," she emphasized. "It's not doing anything. It suspended people, it took down the encampment, but all the suspended people who were about to graduate got to graduate. No consequences whatsoever. They are going to continue harassing Jewish students. We definitely have a lot of security, the campus police, and security cameras in the Jewish people's offices, and we are starting Krav Maga lessons. We're trying to work together to make sure we are prepared for the fall. We're glad to do it but we're tired. It's a lot of work."
Q: If you could deliver a message for those observing from the outside as the war continues, and the tensions on campuses continue to escalate, what would it be?
A: "Everybody needs to know this situation doesn't only affect Israelis or Jews, it affects anybody who believes in Western values, liberal values, and democracy. If you don't know what's happening – ask questions, try to get information, talk to your Jewish friends and support them. I know it is scary to take a stance publicly, and it's hard to tell people that they should but even if you can't publicly support people, do your best to support them in private, support the students fighting on campuses, and vote wisely because at the end of the day this isn't just about Israel, this is about not extending Islamist extremism and Sharia law to the West."
