A voice for Jewish children
Ben Carasso speaks out in Australia, sharing the reality of growing up amid war and loss.
Israeli Ben Carasso is only 11 years old but has already lived through multiple conflicts including the current war with Iran.
Seeking to be a voice for Israeli children, Carasso – who is currently in Australia – started posting on social media after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in response to a friend whose father was missing at the Nova music festival and was later found to have been killed.
Speaking to The AJN, Carasso shared, “I’m speaking about it so the whole world understands what kind of childhood we have.”
He wants people to learn about Israeli trauma – to know that he has Israeli friends who fear being taken hostage, who were evacuated from their homes because of rockets, who ask where the bomb shelter is when they enter a party.
“I couldn’t just sit there and stay quiet and not share what I have to say … and help others … and give them a platform,” he said.
Carasso has become one of Israel’s leading advocates, known as the “Spokeskid”, and received the Resilience Award from the Jewish Agency and Keren Hayesod.
Carasso also interviews Jewish children in the Diaspora to share their experiences of antisemitism. In Sydney, Carasso met with children including Summer Britvan, the sister of Matilda who was killed in the Bondi terror attack.
“I met with Summer, the sister of Matilda … and she opened up so much about her sister and how she missed her, and she’s so strong.
“[Children] share with me what they’re going through and how can they deal with it … It’s new for Australia to deal with this. For example, when I talk about sirens, I talk about sirens when rockets are coming, but here it’s a siren of an ambulance,” he said.
“The side of the children is not talked about. And it’s really, really important that… people will also look behind stories. For example, also, there’s a lot of children who had their parents being murdered or injured. Now, it’s not the same life for them and their young children,” he said.
His advice for those who would like to make posts calling out antisemitism and antizionism is to “Be yourself, be authentic.”
He adds not to be disheartened by hateful comments because it improves your reach.
“Believe in yourself when you do advocacy. I started it at the age of eight, so I believe you will do it way better than me. Am Yisrael chai.”