Israel Goes All In on PR

“No one roots for Goliath.”

This glum observation was offered many years ago by the late basketball star Wilt Chamberlain, who was often frustrated that fans enjoyed cheering for his smaller and less powerful opponents. But this is a lesson that the state of Israel has also been forced to learn belatedly, as its age-old and well-earned underdog status has all but disintegrated in the eyes of much of the global community. After several millennia of playing the more sympathetic role of David, the Jewish state is now seen by growing numbers of observers worldwide as the oppressor rather than the oppressed, accompanied by a precipitous and predictable decline in international popularity.

This increased hostility has caused not only reputational challenges for Israel but more dangerous security threats and greater political, diplomatic and economic difficulties. The widespread condemnation against Israel’s defense of its borders also serves as a reminder as to how little the Jewish state has done to make its case to an international audience. Almost every other nonauthoritarian government on the planet spends immense amounts of time and money to promote their interests to citizens of other countries as a critical way of building and strengthening relationships with like-minded allies, but Israel has never done nearly as much to promote a positive narrative about itself.

One of the reasons for this lack of effort has been a false sense of confidence in the staying power of the previously mentioned David vs. Goliath analogy.  Not only is the Torah itself filled with many other similarly inspiring tales of the Jewish people vanquishing seemingly dominant foes, but Israel’s War of Independence, Suez Crisis, Six Day War and Yom Kippur War all strengthened those credentials for much of the 20th century. 

But that was a long time ago. As the Jewish state grew in economic and military strength, the country’s pluck and perseverance became less endearing to many global observers. Rather than a single Jewish state bravely standing against an array of Arab assailants, Israel now found itself seen as the overbearing force that dominates its Palestinian neighbors. Fair or not, that shift in public opinion caught Israel and its supporters flat-footed, to a point where current-day sentiment is far more unfavorable than at any time in the past. 

Over the years, the Israeli government has launched a series of haphazard and underfunded efforts to develop and market a variety of pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian messages. But even those endeavors have tended to be overly shrill and highly dogmatic, aimed more at motivating existing followers than attempting to engage and persuade new audiences. Some of that lack of motivation is understandable: many Israelis see public relations as an unaffordable luxury when facing far more existential challenges. Better to be unpopular and alive, they reason, when weighing necessary security action against the vagaries of public opinion.

But the international condemnation that Israel has faced since last Oct. 7 has convinced at least one smart Israeli leader that the lack of a meaningful public advocacy strategy is no longer acceptable. When Benjamin Netanyahu recruited New Hope party leader Gideon Saar to take over as his Foreign Minister late last year, Saar’s appointment was largely overshadowed by the acrimonious departure of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that created the vacancy in Netanyahu’s war cabinet. But as his price for signing on, Saar demanded a massive increase in the amount of government funding for an ambitious international public advocacy project designed to burnish Israel’s worldwide reputation. The result is that the government’s 2025 budget will allocate $150 million, more than 20 times what was spent on public diplomacy projects before the Gaza War. 

Saar has begun convening public relations specialists, social media influencers and other diplomatic and communications experts to formulate an action plan. Such an unprecedented and enormous hasbara is not guaranteed to succeed: the immense financial commitment alone will not singlehandedly remake Israel’s public image. But it is a critically important first step. Saar deserves immense credit for recognizing the importance of finally giving Israel a chance to tell its story to the world.

Dan Schnur is the U.S. Politics Editor for the Jewish Journal. He teaches courses in politics, communications, and leadership at UC Berkeley, USC and Pepperdine. He hosts the monthly webinar “The Dan Schnur Political Report” for the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall. Follow Dan’s work at www.danschnurpolitics.com.