Introducing TikToker/podcaster Margot Touitou, the cure to your bad day! Courtesy of Kiss and Tel Aviv.This Valentine’s Day, I got to thinking: why can’t more rom-coms be set in Tel Aviv? No shade to New York City, of course, but can we give that place a break for once? One day, I’d like to see a romance set in sunny, gorgeous Tel Aviv. There are probably lots of movies like this produced in Israel, but I’m not familiar with them, unless we count Sublet as a rom-com. (Such a sweet movie.) With the city’s diverse, wildly attractive population, nightlife, beaches, and more, there’s romance everywhere. Romance, that is, but also the bad dates, dreadful one-night stands, and all the baggage that comes with a relationship. Margot Touitou knows all about this. In her funny, brutally honest TikTok videos and podcast episodes, she lays out all her opinions on men, love, and being Jewish in the one and only Tel Aviv.
If someone decides to make a romantic comedy in Tel Aviv and needs a funny, strong-willed, passionately outspoken female lead, I BEG them to cast Margot Touitou. She’s not an actress, but she’s absolutely hilarious. Margot Touitou (I will refer to her as Margot moving forward, but it’s hard because I just LOVE this last name), an American Jew based in Tel Aviv, is a freelance social media manager with over 10 years of content creation experience. Her content has been viewed by millions. Her TikTok, @margotexplainsitall, has over 13,000 followers. Her podcast, Kiss and Tel Aviv, described as “the first and only podcast about dating, sex, and relationships in the White City,” has reached over 26,000 listeners.
Margot loves to speak her mind on dating, sex, boyfriends, hookups, etc., but she wants everyone to know the most important thing: she is “unapologetically Jewish.”
“We’ve survived the Inquisition, the gas chambers, the ghettos,” she says in one TikTok video, a video that would later make its appearance on an episode of Dr. Phil. “We’re not going anywhere. In fact, we’re going to be more proud than ever. And we’re going to show all the people who hate us what it means to be a Jew.”
This video was in response to the antisemitic diatribe Kanye West spewed last year. Margot is SASSSY, her reactions funny but deeply composed and pragmatic. There are a lot of morons on social media, and she has no time for stupidness. No time for Jew hatred. Enough is enough, and with her razor-sharp wit, Margot responds to hateful comments and news stories in a comically peaceful way.
“If you’re antisemitic, you’re embarrassing,” she repeats in another video. “Y’all think you’re going to take us out? What are you going to do? Crawl out of your mom’s basement, put on a fedora and a pair of Yeezys and come after me? We’re not scared of you anymore!”
And it’s not just antisemitism that Margot isn’t afraid to speak out against. When men, in general, are acting like pigs, she lets them know it. In one video, she responds to a user who commented, “You gross me out. I bet a million Israeli men used you.”
“You actually lack the emotional skills necessary to have meaningful relationships with us and actually get laid,” she says. “So in order to feel better about your pathetic existence, you have to come and preemptively reject us, but that’s based on the assumption that we would ever want to fu*k you to begin with.”
OUCH. Am I right?! I laugh as I remember this video. Now, forgive me if I’m misrepresenting Margot as a mad, angry woman. Oh no. This isn’t a “mad” or political social media influencer. Her videos and podcast episodes aren’t just of her ripping apart idiots who deserve it. In addition to defending her Judaism, Margot offers a plethora of advice on dating in Tel Aviv; in particular, dating Israeli men in Tel Aviv.
The names of a select Kiss and Tel Aviv episodes give you a good impression of Margot’s riotous candor:
- Traits of a F*****y You Need to Copy
- Are We F****d? Addressing Your Biggest Frustrations with Dating in Tel Aviv
- Beige Flags: How to Tell if a Guy is Boring
- Why Splitting the Check is B******t
- I love condoms (the birth control episode).
I could go on. Margot occasionally features special guests on her podcast, but for the most part, it’s
30-40 minutes of her detailing everything we should know about dating in Tel Aviv, being Jewish and dating in Tel Aviv, what men are like in Tel Aviv, what kinds of men you should typically avoid in Tel Aviv, etc. I am sometimes weary about podcasts with just one solo host, but there is never a dull moment with Margot. She has earned her platforms in every way.
In one TikTok, she goes over the signs a man will never ask you out on a real date. He won’t use the word “date” or anything in the “family” of date. He will use words like “hang out” or “chill” instead. His timing is always vague. Lastly, he only reaches out at the last minute. (Kudos to Margot’s outrageous, spot-on Israeli accent too.) In another video, she clarifies the best way to meet handsome Israeli men: Stay in, get nice and cozy, put on your favorite pair of sweatpants, spill your food on it, go outside to take out the trash or walk the dog in the same sweatpants, and then a man will comment on the stain on your sweatpants.
In my personal favorite TikTok of hers, titled “The World Cup is astrology for men,” Margot, walking at night on the streets of Tel Aviv, explains that she was on her way to a date when the guy said he had to “delay” by 15 minutes because “Japan is in the penalties.”
“That’s the dude version of Mercury is in retrograde,” she says. “What the fu*k does Japan went into penalties even mean?!”
Dating, let alone talking about dating, can be especially tough. It’s not for everyone. It’s so wonderful to watch and listen to someone like Margot, someone who is so open and confident about her journey to find love and celebrate her religion. There’s no reason to be shy if you’re dating. There’s no reason to keep quiet when someone makes a nasty comment about your body or religion. Margot’s MO isn’t necessarily to “fight back” but to own what you say. Tell the truth. No, antisemites of the world, it’s not OK to spread hate with your inexcusable vitriol, and you will be reprimanded. No, gentlemen of the world, it’s not OK to be an imbecile. (For the record, I wish I could curse in this post like Margot does, but I won’t. Imbecile? I don’t think I’ve ever used that word before!)
We deal with dating troubles and awful people every day on this planet. Let’s all be a little bit like Margot. Let’s all just cut the BS and say what’s on our minds. No more tiptoeing around insecurities. No more being silent when an atrocity is made against Jews. We only live once. If you’re ever feeling down, watch or listen to Margot. She’s the cure to your bad day! And if you watch her content a lot, she may just boost that confidence hiding in you.
@margotexplainsitall Be unapologetically Jewish now and forever. Prode dispells hate and ignorance. #jewish #jewishpridealways #shabbatshalom
Learn more about Margot Touitou at MargotTouitou.com and follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
KISS AND TEL AVIV is available to listen to on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.