Dov Forman

Dov Forman (born 6 December 2003) is an English author, spokesperson and social media creator.^[1]

Dov Forman
Forman in 2021
Born	(2003-12-06) 6 December 2003 (age 21) London, England
Known for	Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live published with Lily Ebert Media appearances and social media videos
Relatives	Lily Ebert (great-grandmother)

Forman is best known for co-authoring Lily’s Promise with his great-grandmother, Auschwitz survivor Lily Ebert, and for using digital platforms to educate millions of followers about the Holocaust, Judaism and to advocate against antisemitism. His videos and posts have reached over one billion views across all platforms.^[2]

Personal life

Forman is a religious Jew of Ashkenazi descent. He is the youngest of three children, one of Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert's 38 great-grandchildren, and lives in northwest London.^[3]

In October 2024, Forman's great-grandmother, Ebert, passed away at the age of 100. He delivered a widely shared eulogy at her funeral in London and has since written and spoken about her legacy, the rise of antisemitism, and the importance of Holocaust memory in the post-October 7 world.^[4][5][6][7]

Forman is currently undertaking his undergraduate studies in History and Religious Studies at University College London.^[8] He is employed by Conservative MP Robert Jenrick as a Senior Parliamentary researcher and previously worked as Jenrick's Campaign Coordinator and Head of Digital for his leadership bid.^[8][9]

Activism and social media

At age 16, during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid a rise of antisemitism, Forman wanted to raise awareness of the Holocaust and anti-Jewish racism. He used Twitter to share his great-grandmother's story of surviving the Holocaust; his Tweets reaching over 70 million Twitter users in 2020 and 2021.^[10]

In February 2021, Forman, in addition to his work on Twitter, set up a TikTok account to raise awareness among people his own age about the Holocaust and the consequences of hate, having seen other people going viral for dancing.^[11][12][13] Forman posted videos with his great-grandmother answering questions about the Holocaust and Judaism. In June 2021, the pair reached one million TikTok followers.^[14]

Forman has advocated in opinion pieces, speeches and in his governmental work for new ways to teach young people about the Holocaust, and worked with the LADbible Group and Twitch.Tv to bring Holocaust survivors to their platforms for the first time.^[15]

Forman was invited to speak about 'Social Media and Holocaust Commemoration' to the CEO of Google, at Oxford University and Cambridge University, and Dov has also spoken to more than 200 news outlets - including on live television and radio - in over 20 countries.^[16][17][18]

In November 2020, Forman spoke to a UK Parliamentary committee for planning, in favour of the proposed UK Holocaust Memorial to be built in Victoria Tower Gardens.^[19]

Forman has worked on educational projects with several UK government departments - including the Foreign Office,^[20][21] Department for Education,^[22] and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - and international organisations, including the United Nations.^[23]

In March 2022, Forman was announced as a 'young spokesperson' for the USC Shoah Foundation,^[24] the archive of Holocaust survivor testimonies initiated by Steven Spielberg in 1994. He served in the role for the designated six-month period, contributing to educational outreach and digital campaigns.^[25]

Book

Dov co-authored the memoir Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live,^[26][27] published by Pan Macmillan in the UK on 2 September 2021 and by HarperCollins in the US on 10 May 2022.^[28][29]

Lily's Promise is a five-time Sunday Times bestseller and was the Waterstones and Daily Mail best history book of 2021. In March 2022, Lily's Promise (Lily's Belofte) became a bestseller in Holland.^[30]

The United States edition of Lily's Promise is a four-time New York Times bestseller, debuting at number 2 - in its first week, and was chosen as the Costco US buyers' pick for May 2022.^[31][32]

In a foreword to Lily's Promise, King Charles III (known then at publication as Prince Charles of Wales) paid tribute to Forman for his "engaging and effective use of social media". He said Forman had "demonstrated a determination to share his great grandmother’s story with a global audience".^[33]

TED Talk

Forman delivered a TED Talk, titled: ‘Anything is Possible - The Accidental Gamechanger’, in August 2022, at a TEDx event with the theme 'Game Changers and Disruptive Thinkers.'^[34]

Awards

In November 2021, Forman received the Points of Light award from the UK Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, for services to Holocaust education.^[35][36]

In March 2022, Forman - alongside his great-grandmother Ebert - was presented with the Jewish Care community award by Andrew Neil at the Jewish Care Topland annual community business lunch, hosted by the Topland Group.^[37]

In 2025, Forman was selected for the inaugural Masa Changemakers List, honouring 18 global leaders from Masa’s 200,000+ alumni. Forman was a Masa participant during his time in Israel as a Nitzavim Fellow, studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Talmudic college in Jerusalem.^[38][39]