When overseas celebrities, politicians and social media influencers come to Israel to tour the horrific scenes of October 7 in Gaza border communities to get a firsthand perspective, there is a soldier designated to accompany them. She's 24-year-old Capt. (res.) Maya Bentwich. For almost two months now, she's been all over the Gaza border region, walking officials and celebrities through what happened, orchestrating countless show-and-tells.
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In charge of soldier's needs and conditions during her active duty days, the war prompted her to ask for a different post in the advocacy arena. With the fluent English she learned at home, she joined the Foreign Affairs section, which is responsible for the many delegations that come from abroad, with the aim of influencing international public opinion. Now she walks them through the horror so they'll be able to spread the word back home.
Maya Bentwich gives Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump a tour
(Photo: Nathan Weil, Knesset Spokesperson)
With over 200 visits under her belt, Bentwich has already given the grand tour to Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, actor Michael Rapaport and actress Debra Messing, as well as many social media influencers.
"Anyone who arrives and expresses empathy is of the utmost importance to me," she says. "Some visits don't get as much coverage and hype as others, but are just as important. When the tour ends, I always tell them they're now Israeli ambassadors as well. Watching this with your own eyes is different than through a TV screen."
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Influencer Caroline D'Amore was visibly moved by the horrors
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Since the beginning of the war, the IDF's advocacy department has carried out over 1,000 tours, both online and on-site.
Not one to be star-struck, Bentwich says celebrity visits "are nice, but that's not the point. The point is conveying the message. We welcome anyone who wants to come and exert international influence. We can see the change in their eyes when they leave. It really shakes you up. For example, influencer Caroline D'Amore (Pizzagirl), who is a Christian, burst into tears when she saw Kfar Aza. Ivanka Trump was equally shaken."
"While these tours are widely covered, the effect is bigger than a screen and camera could possibly convey," Bentwich adds. "One of the messages I try to pass on is that's we're talking about human beings. Citizens who believed and acted on behalf of peace, and yet were brutally murdered. The world needs to understand that, which is hard to do from the other side of the world."
While most visitors are either Jewish or share some affinity to Judaism, Bentwich strives to reach wider audiences.
"We need to open up to as many visitors from as many different faiths as possible, as well as the LGBTQ community. We can see demonstrations from those who lack understanding about the very subject they keep yelling about, which primarily stems from lack of credible information," she explains.
A main focus of Bentwich's tour is the Kfar Aza residence of Lilly and Ram Itamari, who were both murdered on October 7. Their daughter, Raz, is a good friend of Bentwich. Their acquaintance prompted her to arrange receiving the rank of captain right in front of their house, awarded to her by none other than music star Idan Raichel, who recently also took part in Bentwich's tour. "I wrote the date, 7.10, as well as Lilly and Ram's names right on the ranks, so they'll both always be with me," she shares.