Teddy Fresh is a Los Angeles-based American streetwear brand founded in 2017 by an Israeli-American couple Hila and Ethan Klein.
The Kleins are known for their YouTube channel, h3h3Productions, and the H3 Podcast. They both hold dual-citizenship in both the United States and Israel. Ethan was born in Ventura, California in 1985, and met Hila (née Hacmon), at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel in 2007 while he was on a Birthright trip and Hila was serving in the IDF. They married in 2012 and launched their YouTube careers while living in Florentin, Tel Aviv, before moving to New York, and eventually settling in California in 2015. In 2019 they bought a mansion in Bel Air.
https://www.distractify.com/p/ethan-klein-wife
https://h3h3.fandom.com/wiki/Ethan_Klein
https://h3h3.fandom.com/wiki/Hila_Klein
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/youtubers-ethan-hila-klein-buy-202811773.html
They launched the Teddy Fresh apparel brand in 2017. Products include t-shirts, hoodies, sweaters, and jackets for men and for women.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/hila-klein-went-youtube-star-120000913.html
In 2020 Teddy Fresh collaborated with the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. In 2021, the company released clothing in collaboration with the Care Bears brand. In November of that year they hosted a pop-up event in Los Angeles featuring the brand’s 2021 collection— a collaboration with the Looney Tunes brand. And, in February 2022, the company announced a new collaboration with singer Elton John. In November 2023, Hasbro announced a collaboration between Teddy Fresh and their Wizards of the Coast card game Magic: The Gathering.
Most recently, the couple has been sued by an employee for allegedly violating California’s Family Rights Act. Apparently they fired their housekeeper two days after she asked for time off to undergo hernia surgery.
Pro-Israel Connections
Ethan and Hila Klein have strong connections to Israel. Ethan Klein is an American-born Jew who became an Israeli citizen, while Hila Klein is Israeli-born. The couple met at the Holocaust Museum in Israel. They lived in Israel for about five years before moving to the United States.
Their connection to Israel significantly influences their views on Palestine and Israel. Ethan Klein was raised in a Zionist family who sent him on a Birthright trip to Israel, and has held pro-Israel views all his life.
The Kleins’ stance on the conflict has been a subject of much discussion and controversy.
In the past Ethan Klein has at times expressed sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and condemned Israel’s military and settler crimes. Here is an Instagram message he posted in May 2021, and an emotional podcast comment from October 2023 after seeing Khaled Nabhan hug the body of his little granddaughter Reem:
@middleeasteye American-Israeli content creator Ethan Klein broke down while speaking about Palestinians killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza. Klein condemned the Israeli siege of Gaza while co-hosting the Leftovers podcast on Thursday with American-Turkish political commentator Hasan Piker, during which they discussed developments in the Israel-Palestine war. At least 1799 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began launching air strikes on Gaza last Saturday, following a large-scale assault by Palestinian fighters on Israel that killed at least 1,300 people #israel #Israeli #blogger #gaza #children #fyp #viral
And here is a Reddit montage a fan made of the times Klein has expressed solidarity with Palestinians: https://www.reddit.com/r/h3h3productions/comments/1gmje5w/ethan_has_been_and_still_is_silent_about_palestine/
However many people accuse the Kleins of performative, insincere sympathy and of spending a lot more time strongly defending Israel, using Zionist talking points, including refraining from calling what Israel committed in Gaza as genocide, or refusing to recognize Israel as an apartheid state. People accuse Ethan Klein of caring more about his ‘Jewishness’, his connections to Israel, and the people who share his ethnicity.
https://www.reddit.com/r/h3h3productions/comments/1gmje5w/comment/lw3t9va/
https://www.reddit.com/r/h3h3productions/comments/1gmje5w/comment/lw39bsr/
https://www.reddit.com/r/h3h3productions/comments/1gmje5w/comment/lw3c3sq/
The couple’s views have been criticized as being strongly pro-Israel, with some accusing them of lacking understanding of the Palestinian perspective. Ethan Klein has a tendency to accuse anyone who points out he’s expressing Zionist talking points of being antisemitic, often going so far as to call them ‘terrorists’ and accusing them of being “terrorist sympathizers”.
He has also been involved in heated debates with other streamers and content creators, such as the time he called out HasanAbi (Hasan Piker), a Turkish-American online streamer, YouTuber, influencer, and left-wing political commentator, for what Klein described as “antisemitic, pro-China, pro-Russia” remarks, referring to HasanAbi’s strong pro-Palestinian stance.
Hila Klein has also expressed pro-Israel views, going so far as referring to the former Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, as a ‘good guy’. Ethan chimed in that Gallant was a ‘moderating voice’.