Abraham Hamra in Melbourne

Abraham Hamra describes himself as a “loud and outspoken Syrian Jewish ex-refugee” on Instagram where he has over 71,000 followers and has become a leading advocate for Israel and against antisemitism.

Hamra was born in Damascus and fled Syria with his parents and two siblings in 1994, when they moved to the US to build a new life. He works as an immigration lawyer, and he did not intend to become a ‘social media influencer’ but after witnessing a Jewish person get beaten in Times Square four years ago, Hamra realised he needed to speak out. Since October 7 Hamra has became even more active, seeking to counter misinformation with his own unique style. As an Arabic-speaking Syrian Jew he calls himself “uncancellable”.

Hamra was recently in Australia for a series of events hosted by Magen David Adom and Caulfield Shule. At an event on May 5 Hamra spoke in conversation with local social media activist Zara Cooper, also known as “Clammy Fraud”, where she mocks the views of leading anti-Israel voices in Australia. Cooper has faced online threats and harassment and the lack of recourse led her to start the organisation “Digital Defence” to respond to online harmful conduct.

Discussing antisemitism and misinformation about Israel on social media Hamra told the audience, “We need to learn how to stand up for ourselves … We need to speak louder, we need to speak tougher.”

He explained his “techniques” for advocacy. Firstly, he said he did not believe in justifying Israel’s existence on the Holocaust. “We continue whenever we’re pressed about Israel’s existence, to bring up the Holocaust to justify Israel’s existence and this plays right into the hands of the antisemites … Their entire advocacy, their entire propaganda machine counts on painting a Jew as European, painting the Jew as a white coloniser.”