Since Oct. 7, Montana Tucker has encapsulated the growing role of social media influencers in the sprawling effort to advocate for Israel.
Tucker, who has more than 3 million followers on Instagram (in addition to 9 million on TikTok), has uploaded videos and photos from the communities devastated by Hamas’ attack and from Auschwitz. She’s posted speeches at rallies and tried to interview people at campus protests. At the Grammys in February, she wore a large yellow ribbon over her dress displaying the words “Bring them home.”
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But her latest advocacy effort for Israeli hostages is dividing her pro-Israel fans — because in addition to featuring the harrowing story of a woman who was taken captive with her husband, the video also promotes a skincare product.
“Raz and Ohad have 3 beautiful daughters who did/do everything they can to bring back their dad/ remaining hostages, and take care of their mom,” Tucker wrote in the caption to the video, uploaded on Thursday. “@freskincare is not only an incredible, clean, and Israeli skincare brand, but it is Raz’s favorite.”
The video — and response to it — showcase the thorny questions raised by the melding of influencer culture and pro-Israel advocacy amid a brutal war and hostage crisis. Many of Tucker’s followers praised the video and her months of efforts to raise awareness of the captives’ plight, as well as a gesture of goodwill by the skincare brand. Some others lambasted her for, in their view, using a traumatized family’s story as an opportunity to promote a beauty regimen.
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“This is just vile and unconscionable,” human rights lawyer and Israel advocate Arsen Ostrovsky wrote on X. “How dare you @montanatucker come here to Israel to profit of the grief and massacre of our people. Have you no shame?”
Another user who responded to Ostrovsky’s post saw it differently. “She has done so much for our cause in social media since the war started, and because she did something for someone in partnership with a brand, your jumping down her throat,” he wrote. “Pick a fight with the correct people, this isn’t one of them!”
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The video starts like many of the other hostage testimonies that have emerged since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists took some 250 Israelis captive and brought them to Gaza. Raz Ben Ami, 57, sitting on a couch with her three daughters, recalls hiding in a bomb shelter during Hamas’ attack, and discusses her and her husband Ohad’s abduction from Kibbutz Be’eri.
The freed hostages who appear in the advertisement
Ben Ami was released during a ceasefire in late November. Her husband remains in captivity.
“We miss him very much,” Ben Ami, who is wearing a shirt calling for Ohad’s release, says in the video. “We’re working very hard to get him back. We hope he’s still OK.”
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The video then pans to Mickael Bensadoun, CEO of the Israeli skincare brand Fré, who is sitting next to Tucker. “We are praying for the release of all hostages,” Bensadoun says. “This is the least we can do.”
Bensadoun goes on to explain that while Raz was in captivity, her daughter Yulie, 27, had reached out to the company, “saying that she would love her mother to get some Fré products when she’s back. Our head of customer support showed me this message. I think I wanted to give all Fré to you.”
Tucker responds, “There are a million skin care brands, but I think what makes a brand so special is when there is a personal story.” Later, she hugs Ben Ami and says, “You are amazing, really, you inspire me so much.”
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At the end of the video, Tucker asks for permission to rub some cream from the brand on Ben Ami’s face. Tucker reassures her that her hands are clean. Ben Ami responds, with a laugh, “I’ve been in Gaza.”
The video concludes with the group shouting, in unison, “We love Fré!”
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The post has garnered many positive reactions praising Tucker for bringing attention to the atrocities of Oct. 7 and the plight of the hostages.
“@montanatucker Do you even know how much this means to every Jew in the world?,” one user wrote on Instagram. “The fact that you’re getting their stories out there for ALL to hear and see ! Thank you so much for EVERYTHING you’re doing for your community!”
Tucker shared the video during a week when Israel Defense Forces soldiers have recovered hostages’ bodies from the city of Rafah. The same day Tucker’s video went up, the families of five young women hostages released a video showing their capture by Hamas, sparking heightened pressure on the Israeli government to negotiate their release.
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In light of the dire news, some people objected to Tucker featuring hostages in a video promoting beauty products.
“After you thought you’ve seen it all, watch this video and see how some people and the brands they’re pushing apparently have no problem capitalizing on the backs of people who have been to hell and back,” Yaakov Katz, the former editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post, wrote on X.
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In response to an inquiry from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a representative for Tucker said that Ben Ami and Tucker had met at a recent rally for the hostages’ release before meeting in the temporary housing where the Ben Ami family has been living following the destruction of their home on Oct. 7.
“She wanted her story told, her husband’s story, told by Montana,” said the representative, who gave her name as Michelle. “She always goes to their houses.”
The representative added that the idea for the video came from Fré and that Tucker was not paid to go to the house.
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“It was totally a mitzvah thing,” she said. “She will always be there for the hostages until everyone’s home.”
Fré, which did not respond to JTA’s request for comment, is not the only company to tell stories about the hostages with its products. Wines on the Vine, an online wine store and project of the nonprofit Israel Innovation Fund, has released a line of wines featuring the faces and short biographies of the remaining hostages called “Wines of Hope.” A third of the proceeds will be donated to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum advocacy group, according to the website.
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“Wines of Hope tells the story of the 257 hostages who were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, and specifically the 128 people who remain there until today,” the website says. “With every sip we take, we drink this wine as a symbol of hope and a yearning for their return, until the day we can drink together with them, fully rejoicing and celebrating true freedom.”
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Montana Food Bank Network announced a new partnership with Albertsons and Safeway grocery stores.
The partnership will put advertisements in 40 Albertsons and Safeway grocery stores statewide to assist with fundraising for MFBN, the only statewide food bank.
This comes after MFBN launched its Campaign for Bigger Impact over a month ago, with the goal of raising $15 million. The organization is $3 million short of meeting the goal.
To learn more about the campaign, or to donate, click here.
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The Montana Food Bank Network sent out the following:
Across the state, 1 in 9 Montanans don’t have enough food, including 1 in 6 children, and the need is only getting greater. As Montana’s only statewide food bank, Montana Food Bank Network (MFBN) has a network of 360 partners statewide, including community food banks, pantries, schools, senior centers, shelters, and tribal centers. This summer, MFBN is partnering with Albertsons Companies, which has 40 Albertsons/Safeway grocery stores statewide—a fitting and timely partnership, as MFBN officially announced its Campaign for Bigger Impact just a little over one month ago. Through the campaign, MFBN will build a new facility that will allow it to source, store, and distribute more fresh, nutritious, and locally sourced food to its statewide partners.
“We are grateful for the ongoing partnership from Albertsons/Safeway stores in Montana,” said Bill Mathews, Chief Development Officer at MFBN. “Everyone has a part to play in ending hunger in Montana, and the support of Albertsons and their shoppers will have an impact in our communities across the state.”
Come early June, shoppers will find every Albertsons/Safeway store in the state of Montana supporting and advertising to help spread the word and raise funds towards the $3 million still needed to complete MFBN’s $15 million campaign.
“Hunger relief is the number one priority for Albertsons Companies,” said Kathy Holland, Communications and Public Relations for Albertsons Companies Intermountain Division. “Helping support individuals and families having access to food and helping support the programs at Montana Food Bank Network is just so incredibly important for us.”
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To learn more about MFBN’s Campaign for Bigger Impact, visit www.mfbn.org/campaign-for-bigger-impact.
There hasn’t been a business at Kiowa Junction in years, but the new Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile aims to fill that gap — including bringing back the junction’s famous fried chicken at the request of many locals.
Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile is named after the Blackfeet word for bear (pronounced “key-eye-oh” k̇yīyō) That’s according to owner Will Hammerquist, who has also run the Polebridge Mercantile with his wife Katerina for nearly 10 years. He didn’t have plans to expand the business, but when the opportunity arose to build something at the Kiowa Junction, he decided to give it a shot.
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“This was an opportunity to expand and do it in a way where I saw real need. We’re also kind of in a little bit of a food desert out here. There’s a lot of cars that go by and we’re at least 12 miles from the closest stores. And it’s a busy intersection, so we saw it as an opportunity to do something that people could really enjoy,” Hammerquist said.
Kiowa Junction is the area where Montana 49 (or Looking Glass Highway) meets U.S. 89 just west of Browning. The land was on the market for several years before Hammerquist purchased it after the start of the pandemic. There was a year of demo work, tearing down the dilapidated buildings that used to be a pit stop for many at the junction. The area was developed around the 70s or 80s and included a store where the current mercantile sits and a now defunct small amusement park across the street.
The store is now selling fried chicken, in addition to other deli items, to pay homage to the former store — cheekily referred to as Kiowa Fried Chicken on shirts and stickers at the mercantile.
Currently, Hammerquist and his team are building cabin rentals across from the mercantile, but remnants of the amusement park are still there, like a bumper boats pond where a beaver has now made a home.
Living with the flora and fauna at the Kiowa Junction is a goal for Hammerquist, and he doesn’t plan to develop the sites larger than what the original footprint encompassed. It’s one reason why he chose the name Kyiyo, because bears, along with moose, foxes, elk and deer frequent the area. He’s also heard wolves howling nearby.
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The developed area of the property is around three acres, but the wild land of the property is over 100 acres. Eventually, he said nature trails will be created for people to enjoy.
“There’s an incredible diversity of wildflowers too, so it’s a really special place. This is definitely a wildlife corridor. The wildlife comes up off Two Medicine Ridge, out of Glacier Park, and they use this little area here to work their way out into the river bottoms,” Hammerquist said.
Working with members of the Blackfeet Nation was also a top priority, as the property is on the reservation and has historically served the community in and outside of Browning. The mercantile is selling Blackfeet made products, like bison jerky made from the tribe’s herd and jewelry made by local artisans.
The tribe’s cultural preservation office gave Hammerquist the go ahead to use the name Kyiyo — as a way to honor the bear and also the history of the Blackfeet people in the area.
“Working with the Blackfeet Nation on this project has been a real honor and having the support that they’ve given us has really been special,” Hammerquist said. “Hundreds of Montanans made this project happen. We had a lot of workers coming from Great Falls, we had a lot of guys come in from Kalispell. And so that’s really just been a neat thing to see, so many Montanans come together to make this project happen.”
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Despite its distance from town, Kyiyo isn’t nearly as remote as Polebridge located on the west side of Glacier National Park. So, there are many aspects of running the east side business that Hammerquist said is much easier to contend with — like paved roads, easy connection to electricity and garbage service.
Hiring for the location has been a bit different from Polebridge, too. Hammerquist said since the mercantile is close to Browning and its surrounding communities, it has a local workforce to pull from. This differs from the North Fork, where Polebridge hires mostly seasonal workers from other places. He said some seasonal staff was still hired for Kyiyo, and he was able to offer housing by renovating an old motel on the property.
“It’s gonna be a good mix. I think part of the fun is that exchange of someone who might be in college who’s never been to Montana here, working with a cashier who’s lived on the Blackfeet Nation their whole life, you know, that’s a cultural exchange,” Hammerquist said. “We’re having a lot of laughs and we’re learning a lot. We’re making some mistakes, but we’re having fun while we’re doing it.”
Still, Hammerquist sees a lot in common with his two stores. Both are surrounded by wilderness and aim to make their visitors appreciate a slower pace of life, he said.
“I always tell my employees at Polebridge that our customers are having the best day of their life and you’re a part of that experience, right?” Hammerquist said. “To have a bakery where you don’t have a rush of people who are late for work at 7 a.m. is a very unique thing. So, none of this would be possible without our customers and their support.”
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The long-term vision for Kyiyo Mercantile is to have it become a destination for families, he said. Eventually, he wants to build a playground and put in picnic tables around the store, creating a place where both visitors and locals know they can make an enjoyable pit stop.
“I kind of feel it’s a special area, when you look down you see the aspen grove, and it’s always just been its very shaded spot. It’s pretty protected from the wind, it’s still windy, but it’s not as windy as it can be in other places. So, it just sort of came to me that this could be a great place for people to come again,” Hammerquist said.
Kyiyo Bakery and Mercantile is now open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find more information at www.kyiyomerc.com.
Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.
The 2024 Montana All-Star Volleyball Classic took place at Lockwood High School in Billings on Saturday afternoon. MSU-Northern commit Macy Uffelman represented Hardin High School one last time as a member of Team Red, which comprised of players going to college at the NCAA and NAIA levels.
Team Red ended up taking the match over Team Blue in a four-setter, (25-16, 23-25, 27-25, 25-23). Uffelman contributed 11 kills throughout, including setting the tone early on in the match with one of those kills to pilot her team on a (10-2) run to open the game.
Uffelman’s next meaningful competition will bring her north to Havre, where she will enroll at Northern and play for volleyball coach Jerry Wagner as part of the 2024 recruiting class. The first time fans can see her at the Armory Gym will be in early August for the team’s “Alumni Game”.