Social media star Montana Tucker inspires Jewish youth IRL at Maccabi Games
'We have to meet kids where they are...I’m always trying to find unique ways to educate and inspire'
Montana Tucker came to the JCC Maccabi Campus Games hoping for more than a particular team to win. She wanted to see each participant succeed.
“I want them to be proud of who they are, proud of where they come from,” she said.
Tucker, a social media star with 9 million followers on TikTok, 3 million on Instagram and several hundred thousand on other platforms, was born in Boca Raton, Florida, before training as a dancer and performer. As a child, she appeared in commercials and television shows, including “Barney & Friends” and “E-Venture Kids.”
Now 32, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors has spent years dedicating posts to memory and advocacy. A 10-part series traced her visit to Holocaust-related spaces in Poland. A separate video, filmed at the site of the Nova music festival massacre, included dancers and survivors in a choreographed performance. Another post included excerpts of a program Tucker held alongside Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a pro-Palestinian Gazan-American, titled, “I’m a Palestinian & I’m a Jew. Ask us anything.”
Since Oct. 7, 2023, the influencer has increasingly posted about Israel and the plight of hostages remaining in Hamas captivity. Numerous reels and stills reference in-person engagements and public gatherings she’s attended.
“I’ve spoken at probably 80 different events in the past two years, for all different generations and ages, in different countries,” she told the Chronicle on Aug. 5.
Seated on a white cushioned couch inside the Petersen Events Center in Oakland, Tucker had just conducted a dance session with Maccabi teens. At the conclusion of the 45-minute program, she joined dozens of Gen Zers for selfies, group shots and short videos. Even after organizers repeatedly mentioned her need to move on, she agreed to each teen’s request.
Following the Pittsburgh stay, during which she headlined the Maccabi Games’ Opening Ceremonies, hosted a dance party with teens and spoke with hundreds of young people, Tucker will head to Australia, Mexico and Canada.
The value of each visit, she said, is “because in-person is so important.”
It’s an odd claim from someone whose fame largely stems from digital connections, comments and shares. Still, showing up is essential, she said. “I think having that eye contact, that direct connection, with somebody — especially when they see my videos all the time online — to be able to just connect with them is so special.”
Posting, prevalence and pause
About 95% of children ages 13-17 report using social media, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Despite near universal practices among a generation, then-United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote in a 2023 advisory that social media can present a “profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”
The American Psychological Association shortly followed by asserting social media platforms often become places that provide “community and training that fuel racist hate”; still, adolescence is a gradual process and every finding about social media doesn’t “apply equally” to every adolescent.
The push and pull isn’t lost on Tucker.
“Social media gets such a bad rep and such a negative rep, but we have to realize that this is where kids are,” she said. “For me, with over 14 million followers, if I have the opportunity to educate, I need to find unique ways to do it.”
Tucker described her digital presence as a curated blend of learning and entertainment.
“If you look through my content, you will see that it’s kind of all over the place,” she said.
Posts alternate between interviews, explainers and seemingly unrelated dances.
The commonality, she explained, is instructional.
“We have to meet kids where they are,” she said. “So I’m always trying to find unique ways to educate and inspire.”
The latter comes with an awareness of certain challenges.
Tucker recalled a young participant of the Games asking her what message could be shared among high schoolers.
“I don’t envy them,” Tucker told the Chronicle. “Being a young Jewish teenager, right now, in this climate, I can’t imagine how hard it is.”
Jewish teens today, tomorrow
American Jews account for merely 2% of the U.S. population; however, based on a hate crime report released by the FBI last week, offenses against Jews are second most common.
In addition to that study, troubling data concerning Jewish youth was reported by the Jewish Federations of North America and Stanford University.
“For Jewish teens, typical adolescent struggles are compounded by rising antisemitism and the aftermath of October 7,” authors wrote. Although a positive correlation was found between overall well-being and those who reported “Jewish identity centrality,” the same respondents also experienced “more stress related to school and the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza.”
During a gathering at Rodef Shalom Congregation in April, Pittsburgh Jewish teens articulated related concerns when discussing experiences with antisemitism, antagonistic posts, social isolation and inadequate support from schools.
Tucker told the Chronicle she’s heard harrowing accounts from Jews of all ages.
“Whatever generation, whatever age you’re in, right now a lot of people feel alone,” she said. “People feel scared to be Jewish.”
Part of the Games’ benefit is its reminder of community, she continued. The Games were a chance to see young people passionate about Israel, “about being Jewish and wanting to make a difference at such a young age.”
It was a “beautiful” experience, she said.
“At a time when the world just seems so dark and scary, you come to a place like this and it gives you hope and it gives you true motivation, inspiration to keep going.”
Perseverance, whether IRL — in real life — or online, is a demonstration of success, the social media star continued.
“I think about the history of Jews from the beginning of time: of Jews existing on Earth, people always try to bring us down, always try to erase us, but we keep going,” she said. “We will come out of this stronger than ever. I truly believe it.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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