Nearly twenty months after one of the worst atrocities humanity has ever witnessed, the October 7 massacre, it is almost unimaginable how paralyzed Israel's hasbara, or public diplomacy, has become. Despite the fact that the terrorist attack by Hamas was broadcast in real time and constitutes a crime against humanity, and despite the abundance of resources available to present it to the world, even Israel's friends admit the memory is fading.
As US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delicately put it yesterday while observing Gaza from the Black Arrow Monument: "In America, we remember but we don't remember how terrible it was and what Hamas did to the Jewish people on October 7." Yes, even Donald Trump's representative is already starting to forget. What can be expected from those hostile to Israel?
It is no coincidence that Noem and others have lost sight of the massacre. The reason is that Israel has stopped talking about it. The government, responsible for safeguarding the country's image and explaining the justice of its cause, is effectively frozen, preoccupied with internal quarrels and seemingly unaware that there is a world beyond its borders.
Rather than Israel and the Jewish people shouting day after day, "I accuse," the country has been pushed into a corner. The anti-Israel propaganda machine has filled the vacuum with false accusations of starvation and war crimes. And Israel? It remains paralyzed. There isn't even an effort to push back against these modern-day blood libels.
When silence speaks volumes
What does this look like in practice? No spokespersons taking interviews, no videos circulating on social media, no proactive briefings to journalists, no planned campaigns. At a time when it is most needed, Israeli public diplomacy is simply absent. The impression left on the international media, including in sympathetic countries and among supportive leaders, is that something is off in Israel's conduct.
The result: international initiatives against Israel are gaining ground. This is a textbook case in which the absence of public diplomacy leads to tangible diplomatic harm.
Take, for instance, the incident involving the alleged killing of nine children from the same family. Regardless of whether the claim is true or false, a functioning hasbara apparatus would have immediately deployed a commander or pilot to explain the efforts Israel takes to avoid civilian casualties. Without that effort, falsehoods spread like wildfire.
Another example: a capable public diplomacy unit would explain that the war has dragged on precisely because Israel is exercising caution for the sake of hostages and Gaza's civilians. In the current void, the world buys into the narrative that Israel is waging war without purpose.
Missing in action
This dramatic failure stems from years of governmental paralysis. As far back as two decades ago, it was decided that the Prime Minister's Office would oversee the national hasbara system. In the past, that unit handled far less severe crises.
And yet, for years now, there has been neither a head of the national hasbara apparatus nor an acting one. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who once made public diplomacy his calling card, has not appointed replacements for those who left. Some staffers have been reassigned to other roles; those who remain are doing their best, but it's far from enough.
Meanwhile, the new IDF Spokesperson has yet to fill the void left in international media circles since the departure of Daniel Hagari. Hagari had a keen understanding of the importance of external communication and ensured that Israel's message was conveyed in multiple languages. That is no longer happening.
As a partial substitute, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar now holds weekly press briefings for foreign correspondents. He also secured a massive 500 million shekel budget for the Foreign Ministry, much of it earmarked for public diplomacy. However, government bureaucracy and delays mean that none of that money has yet translated into actual campaigns. The results? Plain to see.
A house divided
At the same time, infighting among the very agencies and individuals tasked with managing Israel's global messaging is further undermining the effort. Instead of fighting the flood of anti-Israel hate, they are fighting each other.
In the end, during a period in which Israel and the Jewish people should have been waging a full-scale "battle for hearts and minds," they are standing by, divided and ashamed. And that, quite frankly, is unfathomable.
