What if the best weapon against antisemitism wasn’t a counterattack—but a story? That’s the radical, hopeful bet that Deborah Apeloig has been making for the past three and a half years with her platform, Tikun Talks. I sat down with Deborah at the ADL’s Never Is Now Conference, and what followed was one of the most candid, passionate, and urgently needed conversations I’ve had in years.

Deborah is not a politician. She’s not a pundit. She is the granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors, a former advertising strategist, and a woman who made a decision: to use every tool she has to repair the world—one conversation at a time.

From Advertising to Advocacy

I opened our conversation by asking Deborah about her unique approach to combating hatred—not by confronting darkness directly, but by flooding the space with goodness.

“As a content creator, you have a very interesting way of finding hate. It’s actually through goodness, good stories. I like to say—pro-Semitism. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you’ve been developing.”

Her answer was immediate, personal, and deeply rooted:

“I am the proud granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors, and ever since I was a little girl, I knew that I had a purpose and a responsibility and a commitment to be a voice for the Jewish people. That’s my Tikkun.”

That word—Tikun —is the heart of everything. In Jewish tradition, Tikkun olam  means “repairing the world.” For Deborah, it’s not metaphor. It’s mission.

Drawing on years of experience in advertising and brand strategy, she recognized something most activists miss: narrative is a product. And like any product, it needs to be sold. So she built Tikun Talks three and a half years ago—exactly one year before October 7th—to sell a different kind of story about the Jewish people.

“Using all of my knowledge and strategy as a person that has worked in advertising and innovation, selling products and services, I found out that it was my time to sell narrative about the Jewish people, about Tikkun Olam in a positive way.”

“I found out that it was my time to sell narrative about the Jewish people, about Tikkun Olam in a positive way.”

October 7 Changed Everything—and Nothing

Deborah launched Tikun Talks with a non-Jewish audience in mind—inviting changemakers from outside the community to discuss acts of repair in the world. Then came October 7th, and everything shifted.

“October 7th came, and it was like a shock and a big moment for all of the Jewish people around the world. The strategy shifted. I found out that it was also very important to talk to our Jewish people, to our communities, to our students—people in the younger generations that need some kind of thought leadership and voices that are more moderate and not as radicalized as everything that people are seeing online.”

This is the in-reach she speaks of—turning the lens inward, toward young Jews who are frightened, isolated, and drowning in a social media landscape that amplifies extremism on every side. I’ve spoken to high school students across the country who say they feel utterly alone. Deborah’s platform is becoming something of a lifeline.

“High school kids on the ground—they’re saying they’re alone. They don’t know what to say, and they need resources. Your type of content is that inspiration they need. How could people use your content to be uplifted in this environment—to know that they’re not alone?”

The Algorithm vs. The Soul

Here is where Deborah’s answer took on real moral weight. She didn’t pretend the battle is easy. She acknowledged the seductive pull of divisive content and what it takes to resist it:

“I have also seen how algorithms boost the more divisive kind of content—and it’s tempting, because if you want to grow on social media and you do rage, and very scolding kind of content, it’ll give you more views. But it also harms our youth, our society. So I’ve done a pretty strong work of regulating myself, and not falling into that trap, because I believe in the responsibility of every word and every image that we use.”

“I believe in the responsibility of every word, and every image that we use—especially in these very delicate times.”

It is a striking and countercultural stance. In an era when outrage is the currency of virality, Deborah is choosing something harder: emotional truth, human stories, and bridge-building. She told me that her content is always designed to be “uplifting, inspiring, educational, and a bridge builder.”

Stopped on the Street in Mexico City

Every content creator knows the frustration—you pour your heart into something, it gets two hundred likes, and you wonder whether it matters. Deborah knows that feeling well. And then came Mexico City.

“You’re walking on the street in Mexico City, and someone stops you and says, ‘Oh, you’re the girl from Tikun Talks.’ Yeah, oh, I love your content. It really fills my cup and makes me feel that what I’m doing really matters. Knowing that what I do is making people all over the world—mostly in Latin America—feel that they’re not alone, has been so fulfilling.”

The reach of Tikun Talks has grown especially deep in Latin America, where Jewish communities often feel geographically and culturally isolated from major centers of Jewish life. For those communities, Deborah’s work is not just inspiring. It is sustaining.

Builders, Not Destroyers

When I asked about her hopes for the coming year, Deborah’s answer circled back to a concept she had introduced earlier in our conversation—and one that she has made central to her platform: the idea of being a builder.

She described a recent panel she hosted with Nuseir Yassin—better known as Nas Daily—a Muslim Israeli-Palestinian creator, alongside his American-Jewish partner, Alyne Tamir. More than 200 people in Mexico City’s Jewish community attended.

“The main learning that all of the audience took is the concept of being a builder. Mostly on social media, you see a lot of videos and content where people are just dividing and radicalizing. Nuseir Yassin is a big reference for me, because he has grown and had such success and impact—but it’s always been about getting people together and about building bridges.”

“I want to stay rooted and keep growing as a builder—not falling into the trap of being a destroyer, even though the algorithm will make your content go farther.”

It is perhaps the defining tension of our digital age: destruction is rewarded, construction is quiet work. Deborah Apeloig is choosing the quiet work. And in doing so, she may be doing more for the Jewish people—and for the world—than a thousand outrage cycles ever could.

Deborah invites everyone to join her community at Tikun Talks. She is most active and interactive on Instagram, and hosts her podcast and long-form interviews, including conversations with Holocaust survivors, on YouTube. She is also on LinkedIn. For collaborations, you can reach her directly via email or WhatsApp.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)