The Hebrew term Hasbara, which was first used by Polish Zionist activist and journalist Nachum Sokolow (1861-1936) translates roughly to “exclaiming.” Its purpose was to “justify actions” and is considered reactive to events driven by the need to explain specific actions undertaken by Israel.
As a result of Israel’s advancements in the defense and geopolitical arenas, as well as its impact and influence on the world stage, hasbara in many Israeli governmental circles is now referred to as “public diplomacy.”
The primary institutions in Israel which now rely heavily upon hasbara or public diplomacy are the IDF spokesperson, the prime minister’s office, the ministry of foreign affairs and more recently, other Israeli governmental entities, such as the relatively new ministry of diaspora affairs.
For decades, the State of Israel has been plagued with ineffective, inadequate and poor public relations, public policy and marketing efforts on the geopolitical and world stage.
This daunting reality has resulted in a communications and public information apparatus which is redundant, inadequate and antiquated – affecting both world opinion and perception..
This phenomenon is also somewhat paradoxical in light of Israel’s current modern, progressive, hi-tech analytical and scientific approaches to strategic planning, problem solving and innovative thinking. Yet, in spite of these impressive national treasures, the country is bogged down in politics, disunity and continuous debate which greatly diminishes its communications and public information effectiveness and capacity.
There are those who posit that these national traits and characteristics are embedded in our people’s DNA. And there are others who feel that the temperament of the country is based in part on centuries-old persecution, pogroms, suspicion, dislocation and the need to fend for itself. To be sure, there are those who may feel that the country’s lack of hasbara sophistication is the result of national arrogance, and truly believe that our behaviors are embedded in our conscious feeling of being alone in the world.
In reality, this phenomenon may be true now more then ever. Moreover there may be a genetic strand of Israeli and Jewish culture that suggests no matter how convincing we try to be in the public arena, our effort and attempt to explain our actions or events to the world, at the end of the day, makes zero difference.
This is, of course, only a hypothesis.
In a fascinating Jewish Insider post entitled “Israel Losing the Hasbara Battle Because of a Broken Public Relations Playbook, Experts Say” (March 21, 2024) writer Ruth Marks Eglash posits that communication experts point to a chaotic bureaucratic organization and structure, lack discipline and unity, and bad policies – as well as the age-old scourge of antisemitism.
In her post, she documents how poor and archaic Israel’s communications and public information program truly is – especially during times of crisis. The flow of accurate and timely information from top echelons in the Israeli government and IDF following the horrendous events of October 7th was sparse at best. And it is reported that even governmental officials and spokespeople were stepping clumsily on each others toes in their total inability and futile attempt to coordinate and validate news reports and stories in real time – either from the war front in the south or internally from Israel’s various ministries and the Knesset.
For those of us living in the States, during the first several months of the war in Gaza, we all eagerly awaited the frequent IDF public briefings on TV. These were in addition to the continuous stream of social media news feeds through Arutz 7, the Jerusalem Post, the Jewish Press, JNS , Haaretz and the variety of cable news reporters in Israel, just to name a few. But even these news reports and briefings were and continue to be based in part on multiple sources, each overlapping in degrees of accuracy and exacerbated by political commentary….depending upon who was reporting the news. Word even has it, that during the initial phases of the war in Gaza, many of the “official” public IDF reports (we were witnessing via TV) were being prepared and presented by public relations firms in the States and were changing spokespersons with great frequencies.
Why Israel needed to engage and rely on these outside experts from the get-go, is a question beyond my pay grade. But, one thing may be clear – Israeli press authorities evidently did not have the expertise or confidence to launch public relations or marketing effort on its own.
This frustrating communications and public information conundrum does not include the clear, concise, well-presented, timely and refreshing briefings of Tal Heinrich, spokesperson for Prime Minister Netanyahu, and more recently the frequent IDF briefings from straight-shooter Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari. By now, they have become household names for many of us in the States.
But, as much as the reporting and analysis of these two individuals are invaluable, they do not have any control or influence over self-professed news commentators, experts, pundits and wannabe news influencers who continuously send out mixed messages to the public.
In the Eglash post, we read that much to our surprise and dismay, even well-known brilliant leaders such as Ambassador Michel Oren has difficulty receiving a public briefing from Israeli government officials on the war in Gaza. This reality is further magnified through a quote Eglash attributes to Yaakov Katz (senior fellow at the Jewish policy institute and former editor of the Jerusalem Post) who states that “Israel is failing miserably in it public diplomacy.”
When analyzing Israel’s current PR, public policy and communications failure, I am struck by how many leaders in Israel dismiss or disregard this tremendous deficit and unmet need. Maybe, just maybe, it is the continued defense mechanism of a people who just feel that it is not a top national priority.
When thinking about this challenge, I often wonder, is it criticism towards Israel and antisemitism on the world stage that is demoralizing Israeli political leaders thereby paralyzing their public policy response? Is is about their ambivalence or apathy regarding effective high quality hasbara ? Or, do leaders in the Israeli government and upper echelons truly believe and feel that the world will always view Israel as they choose, and that no matter what Israel does or says, it will not make an iota of difference. In other words, you can’t challenge or correct world anti-Israel and antisemitism sentiment and opinion from the hallowed halls of the Knesset chamber or from the various Israeli government ministries. And because of this reality and perception, we see and experience what appears to be ambivalence or apathy.
My perception of the current matzav in Israel (with regard to this agenda), is anchored in my deep and profound unconditional love and support for Israel. It is therefore even more painful when I witness our beautiful country and homeland default in its public policy, communications and information efforts.
One final example…
When Israel is faced with the question of what happens “the day after” the war in Gaza, the responses coming out of the Israeli government are either incomplete, contradictory, tentative or nonexistent, at best.
Whether these incomplete responses are intentional or not, one thing is clear, the lack of clarity does not create public confidence in Israel’s official planning and decision-making process, nor does it engender complete support for the war effort on the part of those who are not closely tied to an unswerving support of our Jewish State.
Resetting Israel’s Hasbara Program and Narrative
In an effort to improve and enhance Israel’s public diplomacy, policy, communications and public information efforts, the Israeli government via a reputable and respected entity should be commissioned to develop a major public policy strategic planning effort with three major foci: 1) diplomacy training; 2) collection, analysis and dissemination of real time news and events; and 3) strategic organization and coordination of news reports and events,
I am not remotely suggesting another bureaucracy on Israel’s table of organization, but rather a new instrumentality that will launch and catalyze a new public policy, communications and public information system for the State of Israel.
The name, structure and organization of the entity will require serious review, discussion and reflection. But above all, it must be highly functional, purposeful, impactful and inspiring.
Diplomacy Training
As envisioned, the Israeli government would create a specialized training and development corp, specifically designed to train, instruct and enhance the communications skills of Israeli diplomats, spokespeople, news media pundits, IDF officers and those representing Israel abroad.
More specifically, the training will include a mandatory course of study in public speaking (in English), inflection, the proper use of grammar and syntax and voice modulation.
It will no longer be acceptable for anyone representing the Israeli government abroad to present updates, news or debriefings or presentations without having these higher-order polished communications skills in order to represent Israel in the public media arena.
Collection, Collation and Coordinated Dissemination of News and Events:
The second challenge and requirement must be the collection and collation of news events and activity which are timely, accurate and validated via internal governmental sources in order to validate and authenticate news and events in Israel
This is not about censorship, but rather truthful and honest validation of the facts on the ground and in real time.
In order for these requirements and expectations to come to fruition, all officially reported news and events must be circulated, distributed and disseminated in a timely fashion; and must be highly synchronized.
As a true democracy, Israel will never consciously block, censor or prevent news and events in Israel from being reported or disseminated to the public.
Having said that, there may be times when the Israeli government is required to delay and/or or modify reporting specific news events, due to heightened security concerns.
An example may include when Israel validates and/or reports a friendly fire incident; or the need to gather hard data and evidence prior to reporting on an incursion, mission or operation on an Gazan hospital which is housing a Hamas command and control center.
Premature reporting in these cases can potentially be very detrimental to Israel’s credibility, security and its ability to fulfill its military mission and responsibility. And under no circumstances should military or governmental objectives ever be compromised.
Strategic Organization and Coordination
The strategic organization and coordination of Israeli news and events should be straightforward and relatively easy to implement.
Every ambitious news reporter loves to be the first to report a news scoop, so that they can be credited with a breaking story or news. In addition, there are often unfortunate leaks in government circles which provide pseudo government spokespeople with news which may either not be true, not totally factual or just too premature for its release to the public.
It is therefor imperative that this new entity be empowered or mandated to authorize stories and news events which have been validated, vetted and approved.
Again, this is not about censorship but an effort to ensure transparency, accuracy and accountability.
Next Steps – Moving Forward
The proposal and suggestions presented in this blog are based on a need to change the manner in which Israel is presented to the public.
Changing the hasbara narrative as presented, will require discipline, patience and trust. It will also require a change in the manner in which Israel presents it news, events, public policies and image to the public.
With new standards, as well as the creation and involvement of new media technologies such as AI technology and eDiplomacy, to name a few, Israel will now be faced with a new reality in which to promote, report and disseminate its news, events and public policies. In addition, this new reality, especially since October 7th places a media spotlight on Israel as never before.
It is with these considerations in mind that I strongly suggest that the Israeli government mandate the launching of a comprehensive strategic hasbara planning process in order to create a viable and meaningful national program of public policy, communications and information.
As a mamlechchet kohanim and as an ohr la’goyim, Israel now stands ready and able to be that beacon of light and a world-wide model for the manner in which it shares (with the world) it mission, accomplishments and vision for the future.
Let us hope and pray to HaShem that the war in Gaza will end soon; that our heroic soldiers will return home healthy and safe, that the hostages being held captive by Hamas will be released in good health; and, that the families displaced in the north and south are able to return safely to their respective homes.
May HaShem provide Israel with the wisdom, knowledge and insight to ensure that the world understands and appreciates its role as a shining light and as a model for all nations.
