At the beginning of his career, Matan Peretz became famous as a stand-up comedian who mainly tells jokes about his father - but with the outbreak of war he quickly returned from abroad, enlisted in the reserves and stood at the forefront of public relations. Since then, with hundreds of thousands of followers, photographed in military uniform and with excellent English, he has been waging online battles against Israel-haters – and sometimes even against the management of TikTok, which he claims is obstructing his steps.
He grew up in a traditional home, but took off his kippah at the age of 27. His father is secular ("a Moroccan mourner of yesteryear, with Kiddush and Shabbat") and his mother repented together with six brothers and sisters. The boys questioned, the girls remained religious. The exit process in his question was slow: first a TV on Shabbat, then a telephone, then the dome. "I realized it was less for me. I don't connect with practice, I don't like going to synagogue. It's very hard for me to keep Shabbat, when I find myself locked at home on my free day without a phone or TV."
@matanperetz#israel🇮🇱#palestina🇪🇭#hamasisis#amisraelchai#unrwa#un#jurnalist♬ original sound - Matan Peretz
Today, Peretz's living space is mostly on social media. Since the outbreak of the war, it has become a significant pillar of Israeli public diplomacy. A few weeks ago he was released from reserve duty, during which he served in Judea and Samaria. Between patrols, he uploaded videos to TikTok and Instagram, in which he explained to all our haters how wrong they were, with receipts.
And what does he think about Israeli hasbara? In an extensive interview to be published Friday in the Shabbat supplement and on the Israel Hayom website, Peretz says that in his opinion, this is "a shame and a disgrace. The very fact that pro-Palestinians assume that we are being paid to upload informational videos shows how much the Ministry of Information, with a budget of millions, is failing and embarrassing."
Galit Distal Atabrian, Photo: Arik Sultan
"A week after the war began, Minister Galit Distal Atabrian resigned from her position. And I ask: What have you done so far? The world receives 24/7 pictures of dead babies in Gaza. We're in three months of war, and we're saying: 'But it's not like that.' In what world will we win like this in this arena?"
The full interview with Matan Peretz will be published on Friday in the "Shabbat" supplement and on the "Israel Hayom" website
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