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When tourists stopped coming to Israel after Oct 7th, Oren Cahanovitc became a passionate advocate for Israel on YouTube.
Before the horrific Hamas attack on October 7th, Oren worked as a tour guide, leading groups of mostly non-Jewish tourists in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and other popular Israeli destinations. To help visitors to Israel, Oren began a YouTube channel, where he uploaded videos with travel tips, hotel recommendations, public transportation information, and popular as well as little known destinations in Israel.
Oren’s favorite topic was the Israeli society. Even before October 7th, he produced some political videos, and after October 7th, his focus shifted completely to Israel advocacy. “First of all,” he says, “there are no tourists in Israel, but also when the war ends and tourists come back, I will keep making videos, because there are enough great tour guides in Israel, but there are not enough people who are combatting the Palestinian lies.”
Oren’s most popular videos have gotten millions of views. His audience is from all over the world and mostly not Jewish. In an interview with Aish.com Oren says, “One of my biggest problems is that most of my videos have 80-85% likes, which basically means that a lot of it stays in the echo chamber, and I do want to get to those on the other side.” Oren is trying different strategies to attract viewers who oppose his position on Israel, but even with his current statistics, he says, “Millions are watching the videos every month, so even if 20% of those people don’t agree with me, it is still a lot of eyeballs.”
The videos get 50,000 comments per month. “Of course, not all are positive, but that’s good,” says Oren. Some of his videos are made in response to anti-Israel comments he receives. “I never delete comments. I really believe in free speech.”
In his videos, Oren focuses on facts and challenges the viewers to prove him wrong. For example, he says that Jews have never stolen land from Arabs and asks those who object to name at least one village that was stolen by Jews before the Arabs declared a war in 1948.
“I say there are zero,” he says. “By the way, I can give you many names of villages that Arabs stole from the Jews. Like, in Gaza – there was a Jewish community in Gaza until 1929, or in Hebron, or in Motza. After the Arabs started a war – yes, they lost land, because that’s what happens: when you start a war, you might lose.”
Or when people blame the Israeli settlements in the West Bank for lack of peace, Oren asks them to explain why there was no peace before 1967. Oren says that this approach of asking viewers to prove him wrong, challenging them and making them think, works very well.
Even though Oren has a Master’s degree in Israeli history and extensive experience leading tours based on history and religion, he says that one does not need to be an expert in history in order to defend Israel. The facts are out there, accessible to anyone.
However, people tend to take the side of the Palestinians because, explains Oren, “they’re seen as the underdog. And there are more casualties on the other side. Israel is stronger. And in this world we’re living in, there is nothing better than being a victim. And they play the victim card very well.”
In addition, Oren points out “an obsession with the Jews.” Besides, he says, “it’s easy to be a reporter in Israel. You have internet, electricity, food. Your life is not in danger. And you can say how terrible Israel is and what the Israelis are doing in the West Bank. But the worst conflict today in the Middle East is the war in Yemen. Nobody wants to be a journalist in Yemen. And Arabs killing Arabs? Nobody cares. If you can’t blame the Jews, then it’s not too interesting.”
Nevertheless, Oren believes that all of us can play a part in counteracting the anti-Israel propaganda, even those of us whose social media contacts are already pro-Israel. “Understand that you have a lot of power. When you’re on social media, you’re not just consuming information. You’re also teaching the algorithm what interests you and what you like. If you watch a pro-Israel video and like it, comment on it, or share it, it is a very strong message to the algorithm that this is valid, this is true, let’s push it a little bit further. There is a reason why all the content creators are asking to you like, share, and comment. We can see it in the analytics on the other side. It helps tremendously!”
For those who would like to participate in defending Israel, Oren suggests the following top 5 points:
The most surprising outcome of Oren’s advocacy has been the positive response and support from oppressed ethnic and religious minorities living in Muslim countries.
“You can see that people are writing from their hearts,” says Oren. “I do talk a little bit about it – Christians living in Muslim countries, the persecution there. And people from Iran, Syria, Iraq, Egypt write to me, ‘You’re describing our lives here under Muslim rule! You tell our story.’ This is something I didn’t expect, and these are the most emotional responses I get.”
The western world seems to close its eyes to the suffering of these minorities. Oren says, “There are about 50 Muslim countries, and you don’t see a single minority thriving there. They all live in fear, whether it is Christians in Nigeria, which are being slaughtered by the Muslims, or Christians in Egypt, or minorities in Iran. It’s not only that the Muslims hate the Jews because of what the ‘terrible’ Israelis are doing to the Palestinians. The Muslims act the same way towards Christians, and Yazidis, and Kurds. Bringing awareness to the atrocities in Muslim countries is extremely important.”
Oren wonders if his correspondents from Muslim countries are risking their lives when they respond to his videos and speak out against their countries’ regimes. He believes that the western world can do much more to help these oppressed minorities.
Though Oren at times receives death threats and other nasty messages, “I don’t take them too seriously,” he says. “Golda Meir used to say that pessimism is a luxury that a Jew cannot afford. This is what keeps me going, and I’m seeing the results. I get many supportive comments, but the comments I really love are, ‘you know, I don’t agree with you on everything, but you made me think.’” That, to Oren, is mission accomplished.
Oren is optimistic about Israel’s future. “We have something really good going on,” he says. “When you look at the history of the Jewish people, you see that we’ve overcome a lot worse. And we will overcome this challenge as well.”
Visit Oren’s Youtube page here: https://www.youtube.com/@Travelingisraelinfo
Does Oren have an Instagram page?
I watched some of his videos before going to Israel in September. His tips were very useful. Israel is a great place to visit as a solo female traveler. I loved it so much and felt so safe, I’m going again next year. I think spending our tourist money in Israel is supporting the local businesses which is very important. If you’ve ever thought of going, watch some of Oren’s videos on YouTube.
Great article about a great guy. If not for Oren, I would probably believe in the version the news channels tell here- the same as BBC. Most of my friends or family still do. We never get to hear the other side. US president Trumps bad reputation in Europe makes things worse for Israel , because people doubt anything that he supports. But I thinks it's obvious who are the bad and violent guys and who are the good guys. Thank you Oren!
Oren, we've been watching for months, but it feels like YEARS! Keep up the good work!!! Aish, thanks for covering this guy!
There is one major Muslim thought - that has not been expounded upon.
That is: As the Muslim Imams teach - according to their Quran - every place a Muslim sets his foot & lives - automatically becomes - HALLOWED Muslim ground. They must wait patiently - UNTIL - there is enough MUSLIMS living there - to begin infiltrating at every societal & governmental level. Then - when there is enough Muslims - they can begin the HOSTILE TAKE OVER & begin installing & enforcing their laws. In America & other countries - there are now - NO GO ZONES - where Muslims have congregated. We need to appeal to G-D - & ask Him - what we're doing wrong - that He allows them - or others - to take the WHOLE BIBLICAL INHERITANCE OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL - away from us.
Actually, Allah holds that WHOLE BIBLICAL INHERITANCE OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL belongs to the Jews!
And [mention, O Muhammad], when Moses said to his people, "O my people, remember the favor of Allah [God] upon you when He appointed among you prophets and made you possessors and gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds. O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back and [thus] become losers." — Quran, Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:20-21.
Muslim females in Minnesota, probably with really minimal education about anything say that they are the INDIGENOUS people of Minnesota. Seriously.
Thank you Oren for the facts and for showing us the beauty of our people in our incredible country!
Thank you so much for featuring Oren in this prominent article. I have followed him and his YouTube channel for a long time, even before last October. His information is fantastic, and I love his dry humor. I can hardly wait to tour with him the next time I am in Israel, may it be soon!
These Muslim imigrants were well received, and social cohesion was not undermined. But as the years pased and their numbers have increased we are seeing a different picture emerge.
We have Muslim ghettoed areas where even police fesr to go. Violence today has reached epidemic proportions, these groups see no reason to integrate, just the opposite. They are breeding grounds for xenophobia and hatred, and governments which would ideally love to see them be contributors to their host society are at a loss how to respond.
All this is just a repeat of what occurred nearly 100 years ago in pre-State of Israel.
If only we had learned from History.
I find his presentation powerful and persuasive, especially as he deals with the truth and only documents facts.
A throw away comment from one of his videos 'hit me like a bolt out of the blue'.
He mentioned that as the Yishuv started to grow in the late 19th century as (Eastern) European Jews arrived, Arabs too, looking for work opportunities and a better life also started to immigrate. At first both communities lived side by side with little social interaction except for work. Once Arab numbers passed a certain point ('critical mass') violence started to erupt, and has basically continued ever since.
If we compare this to what has been happening in Europe we see a repetition of history.
Muslims emigrated from their homelands looking for better conditions. They were well received...
I began following Oren's videos on You Tube some years ago. Having lived and worked in Israel I enjoyed his accent and the straight talking he uses!
I do admire his commitment to his country and the Jewish people.
Hi Oren, I saw a lot of your videos and they are very interesting and full of knowledge and they are built very well. I can understand why pro-palestinians would hate you... you demolish everything they think of the conflict.
Having said that, you mentioned in one of your videos that you are married to a German woman. I assume a non-Jewsih one. Just so you'll know, that really made me sad!
This article concludes with you talking about how optimistic you are about the Jewish future, but unfortunately, I am not optimistic at all about your Jewish future.
Take care, I wish you nothing but the best.