Meet the Palestinian-American Influencer Exposing 'Genocidal' Israelis Online

About this episode

Hamzah Saadah discusses his experiences as a Palestinian-American influencer exposing anti-Palestinian rhetoric in Israel.

Since Oct. 7, 22 year-old Palestinian-American influencer Hamzah Saadah has gained international notoriety for doing something that no mainstream news outlet would dare to do: asking regular Israelis what they think about Palestine. The results have been shocking, as Hamzah's interviews with civilians and soldiers alike demonstrate a comfort and willingness to use "genocidal rhetoric" across Israeli society. Hamzah now joins Mehdi for a live taping of 'We're Not Kidding' at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah to discuss his work on social media and take some questions from the audience. Before Oct. 7, Hamzah was a gaming influencer, musician, and magician (yes, you read that right) with nearly 8 million followers across social media. But once Israel's genocide began in Gaza, Hamzah made the decision to use his massive following to expose the anti-Palestinian rhetoric of some Israeli soldiers. The two also discuss: Receiving threats for their political work. Larry Ellison and censorship on TikTok. The time the police showed up at Hamzah's house at 3:00am. How to change the minds of audiences. How old Mehdi is, again, and again, and again. 2026 Sundance Film Festival…

People in this episode

Host: Mehdi

Guest: Hamzah Saadah

Topics covered

• Palestinian-American influencer
• Israeli society
• social media
• genocidal rhetoric
• Sundance Film Festival
• political threats
• audience engagement

Keywords

• Hamzah Saadah
• Mehdi
• genocidal rhetoric
• social media
• Sundance Film Festival
• political threats
• audience engagement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MPAC, Doris Duke Foundation

Places: Park City, Utah

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