Digital Defenders: Learning from Content Creators Combatting Antisemitism on Social Media

Loay Alshareef is a linguist and educator based in Abu Dhabi with a passion for Semitic languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, and Syriac. Born in Saudi Arabia, his views on Jews and Israel transformed during his studies in France, where he lived with a Jewish host family. This experience inspired him to counter antisemitic disinformation and advocate for the Abraham Accords. Since 2012, he has created educational content on language and history, aiming to foster understanding and cooperation between Arabs and Jews. Loay holds a Master’s degree in Software Engineering from Penn State.

Aliza Licht is the founder of Leave Your Mark, a multimedia brand and consultancy advising businesses and individuals on brand strategy. She is an award-winning marketer, bestselling author, and personal branding expert whose insights have been featured in Harvard Business Review, WSJ, Fast Company, Inc., Financial Times, and other leading publications. Included in Forbes’s “19 Top Global Personal Branding Experts,” one of “America’s Next Top Mentors” by The New York Times, and among Business Insider’s “Top 20 Most Innovative Career Coaches,” Licht has been a prominent figure in the fashion and media industries for over 25 years. Credited as an award-winning social media pioneer and one of the first fashion influencers, Licht was the former anonymous social media phenomenon DKNY PR GIRL.

Her books include On Brand: Shape Your Narrative. Share Your Vision. Shift Their Perception. (2023 Union Square & Co.), which was awarded Best Book of 2023 in Business: Marketing and Advertising by the American Book Fest. Leave Your Mark: Land Your Dream Job. Kill It In Your Career. Rock Social Media. (2015 Grand Central), delivers career mentorship and advice for early professionals, and she is a contributing author to On Being Jewish Now, a USA Today bestseller (Zibby Books 2024). Her career advice podcast, Leave Your Mark, has garnered over 2 million downloads. Licht has appeared as an on-air expert in major media outlets, including Good Morning America, The Today Show, E!, Bloomberg, and more.

Melinda Strauss (@therealmelindastrauss) is a New York-based Jewish content creator and influencer with over 1.4 million followers on TikTok and Instagram. She is celebrated for her engaging and educational content, which explores Orthodox Judaism, kosher recipes, Jewish history, Antisemitism, and Zionism, while sharing insights into her everyday life. Through her blend of cultural practices and modern storytelling, Melinda provides followers with a fresh perspective on preserving tradition. Born and raised in Seattle, WA, Melinda has been blogging and sharing her love of cooking since 2011. Her debut cookbook is set to release in fall 2025. Connect with Melinda on TikTok and Instagram @therealmelindastrauss or visit her website at melindastrauss.com.

Zach Sage Fox is a Philadelphia native turned YouTube sensation by high school, which then quickly landed him a development deal with the Disney Channel at just 17 years old. He went on to create two shows for the network in Los Angeles, where he then started a production company. Their studio relocated back east when Fox attended the University of Pennsylvania, where Fox studied film and political communication. While a junior at Penn he made his first feature film, which he wrote, starred in a directed before selling to Hulu, followed up by another hit with Amazon Prime.

In the years since his business has become an NYC multimedia empire both known for its award-winning film and TV division, where he’s sold, written, directed, produced, and starred in, projects for TLC, Amazon and HBO MAX; as well as pioneered the new world of viral video and meme marketing with juggernaut brand partners like goPuff, Kickstarter, What Do You Meme?, Pioneer, Bud Light, MTV, Bloomberg and more. On social media Fox has millions of followers across TikTok and Instagram where his videos on mental health, voting, and combatting anti-semitism have made him an actor turned viral activist, racking up billions of views for brands and non-profits alike. He has a musical in development too.

Since October 7th, he has spearheaded and been the star of “Facts for Peace,” a social media initiative backed by Jewish titans of business, where his studio’s viral videos combatting Hamas propaganda and antisemitism have racked up well over a billion views and impressions, and have even been featured by the Israeli government, United Nations, and most recently the US Congress during its hearing on college antisemitism with his global journalistic sensations, “Gaza Graduation” and the “Wild West Bank.”