Emily Austin: The Jewish influencer who joined Israel’s UN mission

A 21-year-old social media influencer, actress and independent NBA broadcaster Emily Austin has joined the Israeli delegation to the UN as a media consultant. 

Austin, who has over 1 million followers on Instagram and nearly 500,000 followers on TikTok, was born in the U.S. to Israeli parents. Growing up, she often visited Israel and follows Jewish traditions — she keeps Kosher and does not work on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath).

The young celebrity, who is also an ambassador for sportswear brand Puma, told Ynet that she joined the Israeli mission to the UN in September as an intern after a meeting with Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan. Her main responsibility is dealing with communications and public relations in English. 

Austin said that working in sports, she realized that many people don’t understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She added that she always puts her Jewish identity front and center, and noted that her internship position in the UN, an organization she considers to be "antisemitic," is very important to her.