The ‘spokeskid of Israel’ challenges protesters in London – and on social media

“Don’t be afraid. We are strong. We are brave. We know that we are standing with the truth, and that is the right thing.” Composed and determined, this was 10-year-old Israeli Ben Carasso’s message to British Jewish children, on a recent hasbara (PR for Israel) visit to London.

Ben was speaking at Menorah Foundation School, where the Israeli addressed Years 4 to 6 about what life is like for children growing up amid conflict in the Middle East.

The schoolchildren – of a similar age to Ben – were particularly interested in his own personal connections to October 7, asking him how the Hamas terrorist attacks and war in Gaza had affected his life.

Ben Carasso addressing pupils at Menorah Foundation School (Photo: MFS)[Missing Credit]

Sadly, Ben has multiple connections. One which spurred him into action was that his friend Yarin’s father, Hanan Yablonka, was murdered after fleeing the Nova music festival. At the funeral, Ben asked himself: “Why should a 10-year-old have to deal with this when the world is believing the fake news of Hamas? I wanted to speak, not just for Israel, but for my friend, who lost his father.”

Designated as the “spokeskid of Israel”, Ben was in London to raise awareness of the continued plight of the hostages in Gaza, as well as attempting to combat antisemitism, which he noticed had increased since his last visit to the UK in December 2024.

Fluent in both Hebrew and English, Ben’s confidence at such a young age enables him to confront anti-Israel protesters.

Ben Carasso challenges an anti-Israel protester in London (Photo: @bencarasso)[Missing Credit]

In central London, Ben approached a woman clad in a keffiyeh and holding a large Palestine flag. When she claimed that “Israel like to brainwash their children with a false sense of reality”, the 10-year-old calmly replied: “I’m not brainwashed, and there are still hostages in Gaza, starving more than anyone right now.”

Although Ben understands that there are a lot of people who are anti-Israel on social media, he welcomes their comments on his videos. “If they are commenting, it means they are mad that I am telling the truth about what’s going on.”

From a young age, Ben travelled around the world hearing his mother lecture about her father, a Holocaust survivor. It was on these trips where he “learned what antisemitism is, what happened in the Holocaust”.

Ben Carasso and Lord Polak (Photo: @bencarasso)[Missing Credit]

Ben, who has amassed over 22,000 followers on Instagram, told the JC how he had met “a lot of great people, who stand out there and speak” during his London visit. One such person is Lord Polak, who spoke to Ben just outside Parliament. Ben asked the honorary president of the Conservative Friends of Israel: “What is the British Parliament doing to free the hostages?”

In an era which is “all about social media”, Ben, who is also a gymnast for Maccabi Tel Aviv, believes a shift needs to be made - it can no longer just be down to the adults to speak up. “Children [should] speak to children in the language of children.”

@bencarasso