Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

We need to feel empowered, not scared.

In 2020, my TV show “Skin Decision: Before and After” premiered on Netflix. In it, I helped people bring out their best selves through performing life-changing plastic surgery procedures.

I quickly gained a huge following online. Suddenly, I had over a million people who wanted to hear what I had to say.

At first, I kept the conversation light. I talked about my work and showed pictures and videos of surgeries I was doing and the incredible transformations my patients made.

But when the 2021 Israel-Hamas conflict happened, and there were rockets flying into Israel as terrorists were attempting to kill my people, I couldn’t stay silent any longer. I couldn’t sit back and watch the media lie about Israel and say we were the aggressors.

I went online and tweeted, “IF YOU ARE SILENT WHEN TERRORISTS MURDER ISRAELIS, STAY SILENT WHEN ISRAEL DEFENDS ITSELF.”

My message spread like wildfire. People were proud that I was standing up for Israel, especially when I had such a large following. I was excited to be that voice and try to influence others and show them the truth about the Jewish people and homeland.

But I also received tons of hate and death threats. Someone sent a pig snout to my office. Another person sent me a picture of a gun and told me they were coming to my house. I lost thousands of followers as soon as I revealed that I was pro-Israel.

I was nervous, but it didn’t stop me from speaking up. I put the police on speed dial, hired security, and made sure I was armed. I knew that it was only natural to be scared, but at the same time, it’s never served the Jewish people throughout history to be scared. We only accomplish things when we are brave and strong. Just look at the state of Israel.

Growing up in post-revolutionary Iran, I faced hate head-on. There, the Iranian government wouldn’t let Jews hold certain positions or have the same rights as other citizens. For example, if a Jew were valedictorian at their school, the government wouldn’t let them receive that honor.

My parents didn’t see a future for us there because my sister and I were Jews. Women were being oppressed and treated as second-class citizens as well. We escaped in the night in the back of a pick-up truck and drove through the desert while being shot at by the Iranian police.

Nothing I’ve faced has been as scary as that. I’ve witnessed what happens when antisemitism and hate are played out in a society, which is why I do my part to combat it — online and off.

Thankfully, I live in America, where we have free speech, though I believe it’s slowly being taken away. As Jews, we need to fight for free speech. It’s important to allow people to say what they think. It opens up the lines of communication and allows us to address ignorance and hopefully help people see the truth about us.

When people post ignorant things about Jews or Israel, but they are not being disrespectful, I try to engage with and educate them. I have a conversation or send resources like factual articles their way. If they come from a place of disrespect, I either restrict them or block them.

In a time when antisemitism is on the rise, especially online, we need to feel empowered, not scared.

We need to stick to our core values and understand that we have been given the gifts of free speech and free thought. We can’t waste it or not use it, or else it could be taken away.

You can slowly push yourself out of your comfort zone and say what you feel. You’ll see that everything will be alright.

I knew that speaking up was more important than how I felt. I felt it was an obligation to say something when we were constantly being attacked in Israel and in the media. I continue to speak up to this day.

I’m a big proponent of self-defense too, since physical attacks on Jews have been happening all over the country. Having situational awareness, carrying pepper spray, learning self-defense like krav maga, and being a responsible gun owner can make you feel physically safer and empower you, too.

Antisemitism has plagued us throughout our entire history, but we don’t have to sit back and take it. We can be proactive and stand up for ourselves, whether that means posting about being proudly Jewish on Twitter or going to a pro-Israel rally or holding our politicians accountable and ensuring they take action to protect the Jewish people.

Make sure you engage with people when it’s worth it and when they are willing to listen to you. Be open to hearing them out as well. Many times, people are just uneducated and don’t know any better. Don’t shut people out; it only makes them more extreme. If they are open to having a dialogue, you should be too.

We must also unite with allies. If you spend all your time on Twitter looking at the replies to trending hashtags like “the Jews” or “Israel,” you’ll probably think the whole world is against you. But this is not true. We have plenty of allies who are willing to stand up for us, which is incredibly reassuring and powerful.

The Jewish people are an eternal nation. Antisemitism has existed for all time, but we are still here. You can ensure that we have a bright future ahead of us.

Don’t be afraid. Speak up. And know that you’re doing your important part to perpetuate our people and our purpose.