This article was first published on July 10 2025 by Australian Jewish News.

“I’ve got some hate, but the vast majority has been nothing but love,” Eitan Chitayat told The AJN about walking around in his “I’m That Jew” shirt.

“I’m That Jew” is a global movement empowering Jews of all backgrounds to proudly own and express their identity, while helping the world truly get to know who the Jewish people are. 

When Chitayat arrives in Australia for a series of UIA and other Jewish community events later this month and early August, his shirt is bound to be a conversation starter. 

“My experience, and lots of people who have worn it say the same, is that people look at you and smile,” said Chitayat. 

“They come up to you and say I just want you to know that I stand with you. “People are finding it easier to express they’re Jewish with ‘I’m that Jew’. That’s the purpose.”

The “I’m That Jew” movement was kickstarted in 2015 by a viral video which has been viewed over 10 million times on various platforms, coupled with Chitayat’s TEDx talk about why he created the video. 

It was shortly after the Charlie Hebdo shooting when a friend in Paris told him she was too afraid to tell anyone she was Jewish. 

“It made me sit down and write ‘I’m that Jew’,” he said. 

“But it was really a letter to my Jewish brothers and sisters, my family, to allies, to explain who it is that we are. And I think that it’s critical that we keep doing that – remember who we are for ourselves.” 

Chitayat said “I’m That Jew” is not about showing your Jewish identity in a dangerous situation, nor is it about trying to talk to the “haters”. It’s about speaking to each other and anyone who is open to understanding what “I’m That Jew” means. 

“People don’t know who we are because we don’t show it,” he said. 

“The more we show it, the more people get to see it. 

“It’s so important to speak up and to counter the hate with your own sense of identity. Not a lot of people know Jewish people. They hear the rumours, they hear the lies. That’s why we have to be louder – consistently. Our enemies have destroyed, or are attempting to destroy, the true Jewish story, the true connection to Israel. They have created a falsehood everyone believes. 

“This is a step towards challenging that.” Chitayat, who is also the founder and creative director of the Natie Branding Agency, believes it is so important for every Jew to act as a brand ambassador for the Jewish people. “What ‘I’m That Jew’ means is different for everyone,” he said. “But it’s a set of values. It’s family. It’s hard work. It’s Israel. It’s a belief in a set of values – whether you believe in God or not. It’s a culture. 

It’s a heritage. It’s a way of life. And you get to connect with people about that and do the work that’s needed on your own, one person at a time.” Chitayat is looking forward to being in Australia to help strengthen the “Jewish awakening” that so many have experienced since October 7, 2023. 

“I’ve developed a really special bond with the Australian Jewish community,” he said. “So many have expressed that I’m helping them, but what they don’t understand is that they’re helping me as well.” Chitayat said his wife and children keep him going, but that Israelis have yet to fully process the trauma of the last 21 months. 

“I don’t think we realise yet how to deal with it, and the extent of it, because we’re still in it,” he said. “But there’s no time for wallowing in misery, as difficult as it is and as much as you want to sometimes. 

You have to keep at it. That’s the resilience. ‘I am going to come out of the bomb shelter and even though the food on the table is cold I will eat it and I will say l’chaim to my wife.’ “In other countries, maybe people would go home. In Israel, we carry on.” 

The Lewis Family Foundation is generously sponsoring Chitayat’s visit to Australia. 

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