The Jews around the world and in Israel, are experiencing a threatening reality in the last two months. While here in Israel – we are in the midst of a severe war following a horrific massacre, the Jews of the world suffer from anti-Semitism not experienced since the Holocaust. Every day we witness dozens, if not hundreds of anti-Semitic incidents on colleges and university campuses around the world. The attackers are no longer ashamed to say out loud: We are not anti-Israel; we are anti-Jewish. Jewish students hide their identity, some even drop out of prestigious universities to feel safe.

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This reality was not born overnight, there are those who made sure that this anti-Israel and anti-Semitic aggression seeps into society, especially on campuses. According to a study published about a year ago by the National Association of Scholars in the US, between 2001 and 2021, the Qatari government and its affiliates, invested a whopping USD 4.7 billion in universities in the US. The year 2001, as most recall, is the year in which the biggest terrorist attack in US history took place, September 11, a disaster on a national scale like the one we are experiencing now. After September 11, a wave of opposition to Islam and the representation of this ideology began in the US.

Miraculously, within two decades in total, Qatar has managed to reposition itself as a country that the leading democracies attach great importance to, especially among young people. It did this by supporting leading soccer teams, and hosting international events such as the World Cup, but first and foremost, Qatar was able to influence global public opinion by manipulating the most prestigious academic institutions.

A study by the NCRI Institute at Rutgers University published in recent weeks shows that from 2014 to 2019, funding to academic institutions from foreign countries amounted to USD 13 billion, nearly USD 5 billion of which was not originally reported to the US Department of Education. Of this total amount, Qatar is the country that invested the highest amounts, in hundreds of academic institutions. The investment in American educational institutions was not necessarily in the construction of new buildings but in the launch of faculties, some of which echo strictly anti-Semitic messages. In addition to investing in the academy, in 1996 – the giant media group Al Jazeera was established, promoting Qatar's messages to the world with great success.

Through the IDF, the State of Israel knows how to surround itself with defensive measures against all its geographical fronts, but in the explanatory aspect, we are deficient. As a major lesson from the current war (as was also supposed to happen in the other combat incidents of the last decades), a systemic change in thinking and the adoption of the "Qatari model" is required: Not just soldiers, tanks, planes, and a multi-layered system of missile defense, but the establishment of a long-term publicity system. This system must be organized into four 'layers' of defense: the first: the Jews of the Diaspora, followed by: Christians who love Israel, citizens of democratic countries, and finally countries that are enemies of our enemies.

Qatar's strategy must be adopted: investing in academic institutions and their students. "Publicity" as a concept does not refer to secret psychological warfare that countries and other actors use against their enemies, but to the contrary: exposing the truth and the Israeli point of view in the most legitimate and visible ways. There is no better advocacy than revealing the truth about what is happening in Israel, despite all the conflicting voices that characterize Israel – the only democracy in the region.

In front of the Jews of the world, Israel must act in a long-term and systematic strategic manner. First, to increase the number of those who tour Israel in frameworks such as Birthright Israel Tours, Onward and Excel, Momentum, and Masa, because there is no substitute for sight in person. Only those who have visited here will be able to understand the complex and sensitive reality. These days, we see the results of the investment in the graduates of the tour programs in Israel, in the form of their massive activism and their courage to stand against the lies spread on social media. We must expand these programs so that in the next conflict we will not regret that we did not act in time again.

Christians who love Israel are, as mentioned, the second most important strategic group for advocacy: for projects like Passages – which bring young Christians from evangelical communities to Israel, like the Birthright Israel model, has the potential for far-reaching change in the US – but the number of participants in these programs needs to be increased by hundreds of percent.

The third front is the democratic countries. World Jewry deals with philanthropy, which is usually oriented towards commemoration, in the form of buildings and monuments. But just like Qatar, we must encourage, mainly in the US, Canada, the UK, and France, donations intended for the establishment of specific study programs that deal with the Middle East from the Jewish and Israeli perspective, an influence on the composition of the lecturers who sit in key positions at the universities, and in fact an influence on the academic image in the academic institutions. This is an expensive move, but after two decades of investing in academic and cultural institutions in these countries, we can see the fruits of success. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, and the world must realize this, despite all the complexities involved in life here. Only if we encourage people to be exposed to this reality and invest in it with the required resources, we will be able to reap the same fruits.

We must make sure that the Jewish philanthropists, many of whom have withdrawn their funds from important universities in the US, will continue to provide their contribution by influencing the essence of the academy and not just by their presence in it.

The fourth front is against countries, mainly Muslim, that have a common enemy with us, with an emphasis on Iran, although this relationship is not motivated by altruistic motives. Even in the Book of Esther, it is said that King Ahasuerus – found in the history books of the kingdom – that Mordecai had saved his life. When he asked his servants what Mordecai received in return, they answered that he received nothing. The Talmud explains that "It is not because they love Mordecai, but rather because they hate Haman." The set of relations with the countries of the Abraham Accords is extremely important. There, one must invest in "soft diplomacy", and establish non-political ties – encouraging a dialogue that normalizes Israel in academia, culture, sports, and the media. This must be done through investment in participation in conferences, wider academic and economic collaborations, and appearances in the media – to tell our story, and to strengthen the common denominator that we have.

It is necessary to prepare today for the next war of information and not to repeat the crying when it is too late. For this to happen, it is impossible to be satisfied with the current budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with projects such as Birthright Israel and others, which are budgeted by the government in a total of hundreds of millions of dollars. Compared to Qatar's billions, similar amounts must be placed, and the investment must be focused in a strategic and consistent manner. That's the only way we'll win the next battle.

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A report published last week found that the system of anti-Israel defamation in the Western world is a well-oiled machine, sometimes funded by friendly governments and allies of the Jewish state. "The fight against the slander campaign is a national interest," MK Sharren Haskel, chairman of the Education, Culture and Sports Committee, said in the Knesset recently.

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While the majority of the public might consider the report surprising, for the bodies entrusted with Israeli-diaspora relations and strengthening Israel's status in the world, the report only confirmed what they already know. World Jewry – in particular the younger generation – has, for quite some time, been facing a daily struggle to preserve Jewish identity and safeguard the bond with Israel and Zionist values.

The Taglit-Birthright program, which has provided tours of Israel to more than 750,000 Jewish youths since its inception, has worked diligently for years on making an itinerary that provides a strategic, long-term, and effective response to the challenges of antisemitic and anti-Israel attacks – whether on college campuses or in other Jewish living spaces. On these tours, the participants are exposed to Israel's multi-layered social tapestry and the reality of life here and are given the tools to cope with tough questions in an intelligent, critical, tolerant and pluralistic manner. They get to spend time with Israelis their own age, an experience that also affords them a direct relationship with Israel's diverse population. These tours have proved to be one of the most significant tools for systematically confronting antisemitic organizations, BDS supporters and others, which work to slander Israel on every possible stage, at any time and in every way possible.

These youths return to their countries as impassioned and important ambassadors for Israel, and as an asset whose value to our national strength and security is worth more than its weight in gold. Studies show that for a considerable portion of Taglit-Birthright participants, the tour was a pivotal point in their lives – an experience without which they would have drifted toward assimilation and detachment from Israel. Instead, they have become focal points of support for Israel on campuses, social media networks, and across all walks of life, especially in the United States.

Israel – which successfully built the technological wonder that is the Iron Dome missile defense system – must also build a strategic-Zionist Iron Dome and ensure that Zionist groups such as Taglit can continue coming to Israel even during the pandemic to continue reinforcing Israel's and the Jewish people's strategic home front over the coming years. This past summer, Taglit brought some 4,500 youths to Israel, all while meticulously upholding the Health Ministry's public safety protocols. Under the current circumstances, the importance of opening the skies to the youth of the Diaspora and sustaining these educational tours is critical for Israel and the Jewish community alike.

Taglit-Birthright is a long-term strategic asset for the enhancement of Israel and the Jewish people, and as such is an indivisible component of our "national interest."

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Sheldon Adelson's death is a great loss to the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

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Sheldon felt he had a historic mission, seeing his wealth as a kind of trust placed in his care to strengthen the Jewish people and the State of Israel. To those who didn't know him he sometimes seemed tough, but in his interactions with young people he showed his gentleness and warmth toward the Jews and Israel. He never forgot where he came from. He was surrounded by childhood friends who remained close to him for decades, and always treated those who were less fortunate with the same warmth.

Together with his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, Sheldon did more than anyone else in Jewish history to strengthen Jewish education and identity, mostly through his flagship project: Taglit – Birthright Israel. He loved to recall the thousands of times young Birthright participants approached him to say, as he put it, "the five magic words": "This trip changed my life". The program, which brought 750,000 young Jews to Israel and through them has impacted 2 million family members, is the strategic enterprise that Sheldon and Dr. Miri Adelson took upon themselves – an enterprise that is just beginning and will influence our lives for decades to come.

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For me, he was the ultimate winner. He coped with many health issues throughout his life, but always pulled through. His prominent characteristic was an ability to face challenges and overcome them. He was astute and sharp-witted, a dear friend with a huge heart.

Sheldon Adelson was without a doubt a great man of his generation, and that is how he will be remembered. May his memory be blessed.

Gidi Mark is the CEO of Taglit-Birthright Israel.

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