The question of Israel's hasbara resurfaced last week following the silence of the IDF spokesperson regarding reports from Gaza about gunfire targeting civilians at food distribution centers. In real time, hasbara officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the national hasbara apparatus claimed they lacked information to address this recurring challenge. However, this specific case reveals only the tip of the iceberg concerning Israel's dire situation in facing global questions about the ongoing war in Gaza.
Some might summarize this as Israel's hasbara failure under its leadership, but this is only a partial picture. The country's largest hasbara apparatus, in practice, resides in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where hundreds of ambassadors, staff, and spokespersons are supposed to engage in hasbara and policy as routine, exporting them to the world. Additionally, the ministry received over half a billion shekels (approximately $135 million) in the latest budget solely for hasbara, yet Israel Hayom found that the budget remains unutilized, no positions have been filled, and the ministry continues to operate with existing resources alone.
Let us begin with the facts: since Moshik Aviv resigned as head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate a year ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not appointed a replacement to tackle the immense hasbara challenges Israel faces in its longest war. According to knowledgeable officials, short-term search efforts failed due to interference from Netanyahu's office and household.
As a result, the head of the hasbara apparatus – who should be close to the prime minister's decision-making table, with observer status in the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet and an active participant in government meetings to coordinate hasbara for government policy – has simply not been appointed, and the effect is immediate.
Shortcomings on display
The initiative is lacking. Days after the October 7 massacre, Aviv managed to bring in dozens of temporary and reserve workers to address the challenge. In a short time, a depleted apparatus was filled with dedicated individuals, veterans and newcomers, working shoulder to shoulder on Israel's hasbara front.
Yet, since then, the apparatus has quietly dwindled, far from public scrutiny. Without permanent positions from the Civil Service Commission, the critical apparatus is left with a scandalous number of staff – fewer than ten, as reported to Israel Hayom. These workers struggle to manage the coordination of the Israeli government's hasbara efforts, without a leader at the decision-making table, and often receive information too late.
Some might summarize this as Israel's hasbara failure under its leadership, but this is only a partial picture. The country's largest hasbara apparatus, in practice, resides in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where hundreds of ambassadors, staff, and spokespersons are supposed to engage in hasbara and policy as routine, exporting them to the world. Additionally, the ministry received over half a billion shekels (approximately $135 million) in the latest budget solely for hasbara, yet Israel Hayom found that the budget remains unutilized, no positions have been filled, and the ministry continues to operate with existing resources alone.
When asked about the inadequate response to the international attack on Israel, I received a flood of videos and interviews given by ministry personnel worldwide in recent weeks. Yet, against billions invested by adversaries in propaganda, Israel appears to move sluggishly, not at full strength. As images from October 7 fade and are replaced by harsh war visuals from Gaza, Israel is inherently at a disadvantage. Reactivity emerges naturally, but the question arises about the lack of initiative.
Is Oct. 7 fading?
A recurring question in Israeli public discourse is whether enough has been done with the harsh October 7 images for hasbara purposes, against Hamas' daily propaganda from Gaza alongside inherently difficult war zone images. Knowledgeable officials claim that screening an atrocity video to targeted groups achieved the desired effect, and a website on the massacre's atrocities, closed to Israelis, reached hundreds of millions. Now, the hasbara apparatus is working on alternatives and producing new or renewed information about October 7 to counter the narrative battle with content that has a longer shelf life.
Another entity on the frontlines is the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, responsible for de-legitimization and antisemitism but lacking formal hasbara authority. The ministry primarily works with Jewish and pro-Israel organizations, equipping them to counter rampant antisemitism and producing research on pro-Palestinian organizations and activists, including at foreign universities. Minister Amichai Chikli's request for additional authority after the dissolution of Galit Distel-Atbaryan's ministry was also denied by Netanyahu's close circle.
Plagued by lack of successes
The failure is longstanding, not isolated. Hasbara officials, past and present, say the failure spans years. While Netanyahu has diminished the apparatus' status in recent years, it saw brief revivals under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett when Elad Tene was appointed head (and swiftly sacked by Yair Lapid) and after October 7 with Moshik Aviv.
Without consistent "orchestra conductor" from the hasbara apparatus and proximity to decision-makers, Israel operates in the international battlefield oppositely to its conduct on the physical battlefield. Ultimately, this neglect costs Israel not only in lacking sympathy but also in hostile policies from near and far countries. "We have a gap against the challenge, but we have capabilities, and the proof is that in a long war, no operative decision has been made against us in the United Nations Security Council," said an official familiar with hasbara efforts.
However, even this official admits a vast gap exists against what Israel needs on the hasbara front, compounded by the next challenge: AI. If information about Israel once stemmed from news sites or Wikipedia (where antisemitism has also spread), today it is consumed via AI tools, which must be calibrated with Israel's story before it's too late. "These are not just tools that shape reality but also describe history in its entirety," said the official.
