Israel Asks Taylor Swift for Help

The State of Israel has called on Taylor Swift to help in locating a teenage soldier who has been missing since October 7, the same day that Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israel.

Hamas said the deadly attack was retribution for worsening conditions for Palestinians under Israeli occupation. The group is estimated to have taken more than 200 hostages from 25 countries and has threatened to kill some of them.

Human rights organizations have called for an urgent ceasefire after Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and put the territory under a siege that has caused a shortage of water, food and electricity for the more than 2 million people living there.

Over the past several days, ground units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been expanding their operations in Gaza.

In the days since the conflict began, a host of celebrities have weighed in and shared their thoughts on the situation, with stars such as Amy Schumer and Gal Gadot sharing frequent posts on Instagram calling for the Israeli hostages to be released.

Israel has now turned to pop star Swift to use her powerful social media reach to help locate one of its young soldiers who was last seen on the morning of October 7.

In a post shared on X, formerly Twitter on Sunday, the verified Israel account shared a photo of the missing young woman, who was doing her mandatory military service.

"Putting this message out into the universe with the hope that it reaches @taylorswift13," read a caption on the account, which is run by the Israel Foreign Ministry. "Roni (19) Eshel who is a huge Swiftie has been missing since the October 7th Massacre. It would mean the world to Roni's family if Taylor would use her platform to call for Roni's return."

An accompanying post stated that while Swift's fans around the world enjoy her work, help is needed in locating one of the pop star's admirers.

"While Swifties all around the world are watching the Eras film and enjoying 1989TV, Roni Eshel, a 19 year old Swiftie, is still MISSING," read the message. "The last time her family heard from her was the morning of October 7th."

"Fearlessly, hundreds of Swifties are coming together to raise awareness about Roni by making friendship bracelets with her name, hoping for her to COME BACK, BE HERE and for all of the hostages to return home," they said.

In a follow-up post, the Israel account gave more details.

"Israeli Swifties are wearing bracelets with Roni's name to Era tour screenings in Israel, to raise awareness and help bring Roni home," read a caption alongside a photo of the yellow bracelets. "@taylorswift13, please please use your platform with millions of followers to help us find Roni and bring her home."

Swift, who has more than 94 million followers on X, has yet to publicly respond to the request.

This is not the first time Israel has publicly contacted Swift. In October, the State of Israel tagged the star in an Instagram post as they confirmed that one of her former bodyguards on her Eras tour had returned to join the IDF.

"Hey @taylorswift, we promise you'll never find another like him 💙," read the caption. "Taylor Swift's #ErasTour body guard returned home to fight for his country."

The verified @stateofisrael Instagram account previously sparked criticism for targeting model Gigi Hadid over her support of Palestinian civilians.

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Swift via email for comment.

Swift has not used her X account to address the Israeli conflict, which has seen celebrities attract criticism and praise as they weigh in on the situation. Swift has faced pressure to speak out in support of both sides of the conflict, with some of her fans rallying around a #SwiftiesForPalestine hashtag on X.

The Gaza Health Ministry says that more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict as of Monday, according to the Associated Press. Israeli officials report that over 1,400 people were killed in Israel, mainly during the initial surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, the AP said.

On October 30, a report by the United Nations said that 70 percent of those killed in Gaza were women and children.

While a number of social media users criticized the Israel account for turning to Swift for help in raising awareness, her influence is well documented.

On September 19, National Voter Registration Day, the singer took to Instagram to share a message urging her fans to register on the nonpartisan, nonprofit Vote.org. According to the organization, Swift's post was followed by a surge of more than 35,000 registrations—an almost 25 percent increase over the same day last year.

Andrea Hailey, the CEO of Vote.org, said in a statement that the single-day surge in registrations was a "highly encouraging sign of voter enthusiasm," particularly as there was a 115 percent spike over 2022 in newly eligible 18-year-olds registering to vote.

Mere footage of Swift cheering on Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at a game back in September led to a 400 percent spike in sales of the sportsman's jersey. He also gained millions of social media followers in a matter of days.

Jeffrey R. Dudas, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut, previously told Newsweek that because the "breadth of [Swift's] reach is so impressive," the pop star's influence cannot be dismissed.

UConnPopCast co-host Dudas also shared his belief that Swift is more likely to have fans whose ideals align with her own, rather than change the minds of those whose values fall on the opposite end of the political spectrum.

"Most of the passionate Swifties with whom I am familiar tend to share an outlook on the world that is broadly consistent with the one that Taylor Swift puts out," he explained. "She has a very particular view on the world, be it through formal politics, including voting and legislation, but also the informal politics of everyday life, like things surrounding gender relations and sexuality…Most of her fans understand and connect with and find resonance with [these issues]."

Update 11/7/2023, 7:07 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further details.