In an era where information travels at the speed of light and social media algorithms decide what appears credible – and what is buried or overlooked – Israel can no longer rely on outdated methods of hasbara (public diplomacy).
The traditional world of government spokespeople, press conferences, and embassy briefings is over. Today’s arena is the battlefield of digital influence, where emotions, images, and short videos define reality – and often rewrite history.
The question is no longer whether Israel is right but whether it is convincing, compelling, and relevant.
To address this challenge, Israel must adapt to the age of strategic communication: not merely respond to hostile narratives but actively manage its global image continuously, coherently, and cogently.
A naive assumption
The concept of hasbara rests on a naïve assumption that if Israel only explains itself clearly enough, the world will understand and support it.
But in the digital age, understanding is shaped less by facts and evidence and more by emotion, trust, and identity. Those who want to influence must understand how narratives are received, who delivers them, and the cognitive and cultural context in which they take shape.
Western governments have already internalized this. The United Kingdom, for example, adopted strategic communications as a core pillar of its foreign and defense policy.
Every government action is crafted as part of a broader proactive communications campaign – not as a reactive attempt to explain.
This approach created a coordinated system linking ministries, defense agencies, digital units, and civil society – operating within a unified narrative.
The issue is not one of terminology but of mindset: a shift from reactive hasbara to proactive strategic communication. Just as Israel once evolved from advocacy to public diplomacy, the digital age requires the next step – a strategic approach to perception and influence.
The Gaza failure
The war in Gaza underscored a painful truth: Israel excels on the battlefield but falters in the battle for hearts and minds.
While Hamas and its allies ran rapid, emotionally charged, and effective digital campaigns, Israel’s response was slow – undermined by bureaucratic confusion and poor coordination between the IDF, the Foreign Ministry, and civil society.
In an era where an emotionally constructed narrative can outweigh hard evidence, even minutes of hesitation (usually required to obtain this evidence) can cost an entire audience.
Israel remains reactive rather than proactive, engaging in information battles only during crises, while its adversaries conduct continuous influence campaigns that position them to dominate the narrative when conflict erupts.
A centralized framework
The strategic communications campaign is a national effort and must be managed accordingly – not as an afterthought or an ad hoc response by spokespeople.
Israel urgently needs a National Strategic Communications Directorate – a body that coordinates the state’s influence efforts, linking the Foreign Ministry, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the National Cyber Directorate, and civil society.
Such a body would be able to launch proactive, audience-specific campaigns; integrate artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to understand information environments; continuously measure the effectiveness of the conducted activities; and measure message effectiveness.
It could also manage the global, regional, and domestic perception trends, while acknowledging that Israeli citizens are targets of foreign influence operations.
The battle for public opinion no longer takes place in newspapers; it unfolds on TikTok, Instagram, and X/Twitter.
This is where legitimacy is won or lost, narratives are shaped, and moral judgments are formed. Israel must operate there, speaking a digital language that is fast, sharp, emotional, and authentic.
Artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules of engagement. It allows real-time analysis of trends, sentiments, and discourse patterns; tracks how narratives spread; and helps to tailor messages to specific audiences with unprecedented precision.
The answer is not to fear AI but to embrace it responsibly and transparently.
Used wisely, AI can help Israel detect hostile influence campaigns in real time and help to monitor and analyze information flows, shifts in narratives, and inauthentic behavior.
It can also generate high-quality, original content at a scale and speed unattainable by humans alone.
Proper use of AI can also narrow Israel’s quantitative disadvantage while enhancing its qualitative edge – a fusion of credibility, technology, and human creativity.
Strategic partners
A large part of Israel’s communication potential lies outside official institutions – in the hands of citizens, entrepreneurs, influencers, Jewish communities, and global supporters.
Many already operate effectively and organically, often outperforming state efforts. The government should not try to control them but rather empower and partner with them, providing access, information, and coordination – not directives.
The state offers clarity, legitimacy, and data; civil society brings agility, authenticity, speed, and emotional resonance. Together, they form a multi-layered ecosystem of influence.
The period following the end of the fighting is no less critical than the war itself. It is during this stage that the historical narrative is written.
Hamas and anti-Israel actors are expected to exploit the devastation in Gaza to blur the connection between terrorism and Israel’s military response, portraying Israel as the aggressor.
They will employ bot networks and AI to generate fake images and sympathetic influencers to penetrate Western discourse and deepen Israel’s delegitimization.
Israel must sustain a proactive and ongoing communication effort even after the guns fall silent – one that detects attempts to distort reality in real time and counters them with credible, visual, and emotionally resonant content.
The narrative about Israel is shaped every moment by those who understand the rules of the contemporary digital information environment. If Israel fails to adapt, it will fall behind – even if it wins every conventional war.
Shifting from the outdated hasbara to strategic communications would require establishing a new communications authority, integrating AI and data analytics into perception management, and partnering with influencers and civil networks.
It also demands creating audience-specific narratives, not one-size-fits-all messaging, and above all, maintaining a continuous, daily campaign rather than sporadic reactions.
The global struggle over Israel’s legitimacy is no longer fought in diplomatic corridors but in algorithms, livestreams, and viral feeds. To win, Israel must move from explanation to persuasion, from defense to offense, and from reaction to influence.
The age of generative AI is both a threat and an opportunity: It can amplify Israel’s voice, expose disinformation, and reinforce credibility in a world flooded with manipulation.
Now is the time to build a national strategic communication system, uniting government, citizens, and technology, and turning Israel from a reactive actor into a proactive influencer.
In this era, truth alone is not enough. Israel must also ensure that the world hears it, believes it, and acts on it.■
Lt.-Col. (res.) David Siman-Tov is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and deputy head of the Institute for the Research of the Methodology of Intelligence (IRMI) at the Israeli Intelligence Community Commemoration and Heritage Center.