CT-born Israeli siblings caught in Clavicular storm

Appearing alongside one of the internet’s most controversial influencers has rocked the lives of two Cape Town-born siblings. It has triggered disciplinary action by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), unleashed vicious online abuse, and split Israel’s pro-Israel influencer community. 

At the centre of the storm are Shira and Daniel Braun, who made aliya about nine years ago. They return regularly during the summer to visit family and friends in the Mother City. 

For years, the two have dedicated themselves to promoting Israel to international audiences. They now find themselves in one of the biggest controversies to hit Israel’s online advocacy community. 

Shira, 20, an IDF soldier who served in the military’s Spokesperson’s Unit, has borne the harshest consequences. 

She appeared repeatedly in livestreams with controversial American influencer Braden Peters, better known as Clavicular, as he toured Tel Aviv. 

Peters has built a massive online following through “looksmaxxing”, or extreme physical enhancement content, but has drawn fierce criticism for his links to antisemitic and misogynistic personalities and inflammatory behaviour. 

He and Braun have been seen holding hands, and in livestreams on the Tel Aviv promenade, at restaurants, nightclubs, and in a widely circulated acrobatic yoga video. Peters jokingly referred to Braun as his “girlfriend” during one livestream. In another, she identified herself as being part of the team managing the IDF’s international TikTok account. After learning this, Peters asked whether he would receive $7 000 (R115 000) for posting pro-Israel content. He suggested she upload one of his videos to the military’s official TikTok account, but Braun declined, saying doing so would “land her in jail”. 

The IDF disciplined Braun after she appeared repeatedly in Clavicular’s livestreams without authorisation, saying she had acted without coordinating with her commanders and that her conduct fell short of the standards expected of IDF soldiers. She has since been removed from her role in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and transferred to another unit for the remainder of her military service. According to reports, she received a suspended military prison sentence, meaning she could face imprisonment should she commit another disciplinary offence before completing her service. 

The online backlash has been equally severe. 

According to Israeli media, Braun received a torrent of abuse, including death threats and violent messages, prompting her to delete her social media accounts. 

South African content creator Chad Nathan, better known as Ginger With A GoPro, told the SA Jewish Report, “I don’t like the way [Clavicular] talks about women and how he treats them. He has been criticised for making antisemitic remarks and misogynistic comments and I have no idea why he would even want to go to our beautiful homeland. 

“I’m a huge fan of Daniel’s work. A little disappointing seeing his sister hang out with [Clavicular] for clout. Daniel being in his live streams … pretty disappointing.” 

Daniel Braun is one of Israel’s best-known young English-speaking pro-Israel influencers. Together with his close friend and business partner, Moshe Shear, he co-founded Let’s Do Something, a digital advocacy initiative whose videos explaining Israel, combatting antisemitism, and countering misinformation have reached millions of viewers across TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms. 

Braun appeared in several livestreams during Peters’ visit, including footage showing him laying tefillin while Peters sat nearby. Shear also featured in content filmed during the trip. 

Clavicular had arrived in Israel with considerable baggage. He had appeared in a widely circulated video ‒ filmed at Miami’s Vendôme nightclub earlier this year ‒ alongside white nationalist Nick Fuentes and other controversial online personalities like self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, while Ye’s song Heil Hitler played. Following criticism, Peters said, “I am not sorry. I don’t apologise for what I did. I would do it again today.” 

His arrival in Israel immediately prompted questions as to why he had been allowed into the country at all. 

Peters found himself collaborating with a relatively small circle of Israeli influencers and content creators. They included Braun, Shear, Rabbi Yossi Farro, and lifestyle influencer Shira Klein, who later distanced herself from him. 

Farro, a Chabad outreach activist and social media creator who is known for encouraging prominent Jewish public figures to put on tefillin, emerged as one of his most visible Israeli hosts. He met him at Tel Aviv’s Royal Beach Hotel, filmed several collaborations and presented him with a necklace combining the OpenAI logo and a Star of David, joking that it amounted to “ChatGPT mogging David”. In another post he wrote that Peters was “loving Israel and Israel is loving him.” 

The collaborations immediately divided Israel’s advocacy community. 

Some argued that engaging Peters offered an opportunity to expose his enormous online audience to Israel and perhaps change perceptions of the country. Others insisted that it risked legitimising him while undermining Israel’s own advocacy efforts. 

Israeli-American journalist and commentator Emily Schrader was among the most outspoken critics. “It is not a win or a strategy to bring a Nazi who streamed Heil Hitler with his Nazi friends at a club a few months ago to Israel,” she said. “Who said his only goal in coming to Israel was to go viral. Clavicular is only famous as a joke, not because people respect him.” 

Israeli-American activist and content creator Hallel Silverman wrote in The Jerusalem Post that the episode reflected “a growing culture within parts of Israel’s advocacy and creator community that mistakes influence for integrity”. 

“Somewhere along the way, we started believing that if someone has enough followers, we should be grateful they’re willing to talk to us at all, even if they have spent years platforming hatred, extremism, or misogyny,” she wrote. 

Israeli influencer Aaron Morali recognised Peters at Tel Aviv’s Loullie beach club and alerted staff to his associations with antisemitic figures. Peters was asked to leave the venue. 

Peters’ visit continued to unravel. He later walked out of a Channel 13 television interview after being pressed about the antisemitic incident reported in January. He asked the interviewer, “Why don’t you talk about how much I have done for this country’s reputation? Because it’s in utter shambles”, before announcing that he was leaving Israel and did not intend to return. 

Yet even after his departure, the controversy continues to reverberate. 

Daniel and Shira Braun have kept a low-profile since the storm erupted. Neither responded to requests for comment before publication.