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Hen Mazzig, an Israeli social media influencer known internationally for defending Zionism and Jews, will make his first trip to the Bay Area as a scholar in residence this weekend at San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El.

Mazzig also speaks on news networks including the BBC, i24 News and Sky News on topics such as the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, Israeli elections and antisemitic attacks. As a pro-Israel advocate, he has gained attention for his social media activism, primarily on Instagram, where he has 313,000 followers, and on X, where he has 231,000 followers.

In 2019, Mazzig co-founded the Tel Aviv Institute, which seeks to uplift Jews and other marginalized groups. Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the institute has gained more visibility through its Social Media Laboratory, which provides resources for combating antisemitism online. 

The institute has an international roster of “associates,” made up of scholars, journalists, artists, activists, social media influencers and media personalities, such as Israeli actress Swell Ariel Or and Canadian comedian Daniel-Ryan Spaulding, who are trained in messaging and using new media.

Mazzig comes from a Mizrahi family. His parents were refugees from Tunisia and Iraq. According to his personal website, he is a descendant of the Amazigh tribe, commonly known as Berber, one of the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa.

He served in the Israel Defense Forces for five years as an openly gay commander. On his website, he details his military service and his work as a humanitarian officer in the West Bank, where he describes coordinating communications among the IDF, the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations and NGOs. 

Following his military service, Mazzig earned a bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern and Jewish studies at Bar-Ilan University. His first book, “The Wrong Kind of Jew: A Mizrahi Manifesto,” was published in 2022. 

Though a pro-Israel activist, Mazzig recently wrote an opinion piece in the British publication Jewish News, arguing that a Palestinian should have been invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month. 

“Elevating one of the courageous Palestinian peace activists, who risk their lives to speak out against Hamas, could have profoundly redirected the emotions of countless young Democrats,” he wrote.

Mazzig will appear at three events at Emanu-El, including at Shabbat services at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, a program for teens and parents on combating antisemitism on social media at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, and a talk on his journey to Jewish activism, also on Sunday, at 4 p.m. Registration is required for all events at emanuelsf.org/henmazzig.