The Knesset Subcommittee on Foreign Policy and Public Diplomacy, led by Yesh Atid MK Moshe Tur-Paz, held a session on Wednesday to evaluate global perceptions of Israel following Operation Rising Lion, the military campaign against Iran.
Prior to the session, the committee reached out to the Harris-Harvard polling institute for data intended to gauge the effectiveness of Israel’s international messaging efforts. According to the committee, the purpose was “to understand the state of Israel’s public diplomacy, the challenges it faces, its successes in crafting effective campaigns, and how well it understands key target audiences in the US.”
Results from the institute’s most recent survey revealed a modest decline in overall American support for Israel, which dropped from 80% after October 7 to 75% in the current poll. The generational divide was striking: support among older Americans (ages 65 and up) remained high, nearing 90%, while among younger respondents, sentiment was nearly split between Israel and Hamas, at 53% and 47%, respectively.
The survey also showed a sharp drop in the number of Americans who view Israel positively—from 53% down to 41%—while the percentage holding negative views grew from 21% to 30%. Meanwhile, those expressing no opinion increased slightly, from 25% to 29%.
Although a majority of Americans reject Hamas and support requiring the release of hostages as part of any ceasefire, sympathy for Hamas has risen, climbing from 16% in November 2023 to 25% by June 2025.
Outside of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, most Americans are unfamiliar with other Israeli political figures. Netanyahu himself currently polls at 25% approval in the U.S., lower than overall support for Israel. His approval has steadily decreased, dropping from 34% in October 2023 to 20% in September 2024. The polling also indicated a strong link between support for Netanyahu and support for Israel, as well as between support for Trump and for Netanyahu.
Gal Ilan, who oversees Strategy and Public Diplomacy in the Prime Minister’s Office, addressed the shift in younger American opinion. “The decline in support among young people in the US is a known and challenging issue that deserves serious attention. As we understand it, the sentiment tends to align with a perception of victimhood. The key distinction lies in the platforms where they are exposed to information, and where they consume content. That’s a gap we’re working to overcome.”
Yonatan Bar El, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Coordination and Planning Department, made a distinction between two types of communications efforts. “There needs to be a distinction between branding and crisis management, and we’ve been in crisis management for nearly two years now. If we consider the volume of negative media coverage against Israel in the US, it would cost us a fortune to run a counter-campaign. The issue of casualties in Gaza holds significant weight—the number that becomes fixed in the global media is the one presented by Hamas, whether it’s accurate or not,” Bar El said.
According to statistics from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, 51,156 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, including over 17,000 children and 9,000 women, with another 132,239 injured. These figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Bar El also revealed that limited preparations for public diplomacy were underway just hours before the launch of the strike on Iran. A small team began mobilizing on the night of June 12. Their plan involved partnering with grassroots organizations and digital influencers, whom Bar El described as “force multipliers.”
He noted that during the 12-day military campaign, the Foreign Ministry’s digital platforms reached over one billion users, with around 380 million of those impressions coming from Persian-language outlets. Moreover, the ministry’s public diplomacy efforts included more than 1,000 media appearances—approximately half conducted by members of civil society rather than official spokespersons.
Colonel Avichay Edree, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, disclosed that a small unit within the IDF Spokesperson’s Division had prior knowledge of the surprise assault and was able to prepare accordingly. He also shared that the IDF’s Persian-language digital channels now boast about 900,000 followers, with 85% of them residing inside Iran.
In his concluding remarks, MK Tur-Paz acknowledged that while broad support for Israel still exists, the growing disconnect among younger Americans is driven by misinformation and insufficient outreach, particularly on digital platforms. “Support for Israel during the war exists. The challenge among young people stems from disinformation, lack of knowledge, and information sources we haven’t sufficiently engaged with, especially on social media. That’s the main challenge. A vacuum doesn’t fill itself with a narrative—knowledge must be met with knowledge.”
Tur-Paz also stressed the need for a more structured and authoritative communication strategy. “Despite improved coordination among the agencies, there is still no government decision in place, including on the need for a national spokesperson. The State of Israel needs people who will explain it, who will speak on its behalf officially—and ideally, they should be civilians,” he said.
{Matzav.com}