‘The more hate I get, the more I keep going’: Montana Tucker's fight for Israel

“My name is Montana Tucker, I am a singer, a dancer, an actress, a social media activist with over 14 million followers, but most importantly, I am a proud Jew that stands with Israel,” she says in one video from the Stand With Us international conference earlier this year.

But for Tucker, 32, who already had a massive following before October 7, her stance comes naturally.

“After the Holocaust, my zaidie [grandfather] would speak at all the schools down in South Florida where I was from, and he would wear pins every day that read, “Never Forget,” “Never Again,” and “Survivor,” she said, “I grew up hearing those stories, and my zaidie would always warn me that something like that might happen again.”

“We documented my grandparents’ story and my family’s history, and we made it solely for social media so that the younger generation could learn about the Holocaust,” the star told the Report.

That was a year before October 7. When Hamas attacked southern Israel on that dark Saturday, she didn’t hesitate to utilize her enormous platform again.

“Something just completely took over me, and I was like, ‘This is what I absolutely have to do. You know, there’s no other option for me,’” Tucker said.

“I know that if social media was around during the Holocaust, then my grandparents would have done everything that they could to make sure people understood and knew what was actually happening, even if they only had one follower,” she continued. “So for me to have 14 million followers across all platforms, it’s my responsibility, my duty, to do this.”

Since then, Tucker has visited Israel seven times and hopes to make many more visits. During her trips, she has met survivors and families of victims, and addressed thousands at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

“Originally, when I made that documentary, it was supposed to just be for my social media, but I pushed really hard, and we managed to get it to Paramount+, and I’m so grateful,” she said.

Tucker, who donated all the profits from the film to the participating families, said making such a documentary was “really, really special.”

“These kids are so strong and brave; they and their families deserve it all,” she said. “I feel that everyone can have their own opinions about the conflict… but when you hear directly from the children, I think it changes your perspective, and these are real, raw, personal testimonies.”

“If I have the opportunity to do something and make a difference, then I have to do it,” she said, adding that her only regret during her visit to Gaza was removing all her Jewish jewelry for safety reasons.

“I was hugging all the women and hugging all the children, and they were saying to me, ‘I love you’ and ‘Thank you,’ and I wished, in that moment, that I could have said to them that ‘I’m Jewish and I’m here helping you’ because who knows?” Tucker said. “We know that in their schools they’re learning to hate Jews, or they’re learning that Jews are evil, and so who knows if I could have made that difference in those women’s and children’s lives?”

Tucker’s social media content impacts millions, but as antisemitism and anti-Zionism rise, her voice is still just a drop in an ocean of hate.

“Fortunately, unfortunately, social media is so important,” Tucker said. “I say ‘fortunately, unfortunately’ because social media is just where everyone is getting their information, especially, especially, especially our younger generation. They’re not going to put on CNN and Fox; they’re going straight to social media.

“But unfortunately, if you talk about the numbers game, then realistically we [Jews] are outnumbered,” she said, adding, “I think that that’s why I continue to use my platforms… you just have to keep going.”

That persistence fuels her creative approach. “People might think I’m crazy to do a dance video about the Nova music festival, but that video really cut through to a whole different audience and made a big impact, especially in the dance community – so every single piece of content is so important on social media.”

However, the more she posts, the more backlash she faces.

“I get death threats, even from the very beginning,” she said. “I lost hundreds of thousands of followers. People that I’ve danced with or collaborated with, were like, ‘We won’t collaborate with you anymore.’

“I know that my message is unity and peace and bringing everyone together,” Tucker said. “It was really sad in the beginning, and honestly shocking that so many people were against what I was doing.”

Asked about other celebrities who’ve turned on Israel, and on her, the influencer said that it all came down to being “popular and trendy to be anti-Israel and antisemitic right now.”

“It would be one thing if these people had been to Israel before or had ties to the Middle East or were really, really educated about all this – but all the people that have turned on me literally don’t know anything, and they just don’t want to lose followers or go against what’s popular,” she explained.

For Tucker, however, it is the hate – and getting people to change their minds about this polarizing conflict – that keeps her creating and posting.

“The more hate I get, the more I keep going,” she said. “Through my content, I have been able to open people’s minds and make a difference… so that’s why I keep going, and I’ll always continue to keep going.”

Her visits to Israel and her meetings with survivors, wounded soldiers, and rescuers, such as those from recovery agency ZAKA, with whom she has forged a special bond, also renew her resolve.

“I take what I absorb from Israel and bring it to the world,” Tucker said. “It’s the mentality of Israelis in general and their resilience – that’s what keeps me going.”■