1.
Last Friday, I received a message from one of the sharpest minds in Italian media: "The starvation campaign on social media proves that Hamas sees social media as a full-fledged war front. The longer Israel delays responding to this hybrid challenge, the worse things will get."
This hybrid threat means Hamas is not just fighting on the physical battlefield, it is operating in the realm of perception and consciousness, and not without success.
2.
Since the war began, Israel has not engaged systematically on social media, with the international press, in city streets abroad, or with Jewish communities, millions of potential ambassadors capable of spreading our message in their native tongues. Nor has it engaged with friendship associations and similar groups.
In truth, for 77 years, Israel has treated the global perception battle as a necessary evil, something to endure rather than to master. That is why I use the term "battle for perception" rather than the apologetic "Hasbara," a word that implies defensiveness, a need to "explain" why hostile media are wrong.
It brings to mind the IDF's outdated "containment" doctrine, do not eliminate the enemy, and just tolerate his provocations. Israel's Hasbara efforts have mostly been reactive, if they occur at all. Our enemies often find the goal wide open.
3.
This perception battle should be a well-organized, sustained offensive with tailored messaging for different platforms, one that conveys our story in full: the historical, geopolitical, diplomatic, religious, and moral dimensions.
Just as a military campaign involves infantry, tanks, air and naval forces, and intelligence, as we saw in some of the current war's brilliant operations, our global messaging should catch our enemies off guard and force them to react to us.
To do this, we need to shift our mindset for the next 50 years. No more video studios and apologetic Hasbara departments. We need a separate security arm, on par with the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDF. Start with an elite team, but the goal must be a large, resource-rich organization staffed with cyber experts, AI specialists, video producers, graphic designers, advertising professionals, behavioral scientists, and intelligence officers.
This National body should have dedicated departments for Jewish communities, pro-Israel allies, parliaments, governments, mainstream media, and every major social platform.
4.
I assume the IDF wasn't exactly pleased about the "starvation" lies, to put it mildly. Hamas propaganda managed to derail hostage negotiations, hamper IDF efforts to dismantle its infrastructure in Gaza, and trigger a massive surge in antisemitism worldwide.
Yet the IDF Spokesperson's response was: "Based on our available indicators, there is no starvation in the Gaza Strip. This is a false campaign run by Hamas. Sadly, media outlets in Israel and abroad are amplifying this false campaign. It is not true. It is being used against us."
That's it?!
The world is convinced we have set up concentration camps filled with walking skeletons, and this is the IDF's counter-message? If you do not view this as a strategic problem, then you will settle for a terse, defensive statement that does nothing to counter the global assault on our legitimacy and moral clarity.
5.
In fact, it should have been the IDF Chief of Staff himself, flanked by the General Staff, holding a press conference for Israeli and international media to demolish the lie with presentations, footage, testimony, and hard evidence.
Simultaneously, the foreign minister should summon foreign ambassadors and deliver a similar attack on the falsehood. Cabinet ministers should call their global counterparts and do the same.
Then, this offensive should be amplified across social media using all the tools at our disposal. That is how you win the battle for public perception. Courage for change must precede disaster's strike.
