Data from the "Nation Brands Index" published by Ipsos, an international research institute that measures global public perceptions of different countries, point to a sharp decline in positive sentiment toward Israel in 2025. For the second consecutive year, Israel ranked last among the countries surveyed, but this time its score fell by 6% compared with the previous year. Such a steep drop over such a short period has never been recorded in the history of the Nation Brands Index.
The good news is that, with all due respect to perceptions and goodwill or the lack thereof toward a given state entity, they are not what ultimately determine its survival. Over the past two years, Israel has managed to strike its enemies on seven different fronts, and the worsening sentiment toward it did not prevent those military successes.
Military victory is infinitely more important than anything else, and the enormous gap between Israel's ability to defeat those who rise up against it and the problematic perceptions surrounding it only underscores this reality. It is better that they hate us and we continue to exist than that they write eloquent speeches about us and recite them over our graves, as is done in Auschwitz and other killing fields across Europe.
That said, it would be a mistake to conclude that perceptions do not matter. In a world increasingly built on perception, the way citizens of other countries view us is more and more translated into concrete action. Image dictates behavior. Those infected with hatred toward Israel will avoid visiting it, and thus will miss the opportunity to see the real Israel and shatter their own prejudices. They will refuse to consume Israeli products, and ultimately will demand that their governments boycott Israel. This dangerous process is already well underway.
It is no coincidence that we saw its effects during the war, when countries led by ostensibly friendly leaders imposed measures against Israel. The political calculus of those leaders was chillingly cold and cynical. They feared backlash from their own citizens and chose to turn against Israel simply to placate voters. They knew Israel was in the right, but preferred their political survival over considerations of justice.
The most troubling element in this year's Nation Brands Index data is the collapse of Israel's image among Generation Z in Western countries. At the same time, young people in the West increasingly view a totalitarian state such as Saudi Arabia favorably, proving that there is no correlation between reality and perception. In reality, Israel shares the West's core values of freedom. In perception, Saudi Arabia overtakes it thanks to heavy investment in marketing and glossy packaging, desert skyscrapers, a football league headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo and other attractive adornments.
In the past, whenever disappointing image data were published, we heard advice, mainly from the Israeli left, that amounted to capitulation. Give in, and the world will love you. It did not work, for us or for others. Israel does not need to change its policies. Instead, it needs to change its approach to investing in its image. In other words, the time has come to define image improvement as a central national objective and to fund it accordingly.
In the new branding game, Israel too must play by the new rules, building a multi-front positioning strategy and not skimping on the resources required to carry it out.
