Israel allocates $725M for global propaganda push amid Gaza backlash
Record 20 times more funding for 'hasbara' aims to repaint Israel’s collapsing international image after genocide in Gaza and Israel's continuous regional wars
TEL AVIV, Israel (MNTV) – Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have approved an estimated $725 million for expansive global advocacy operations — known as hasbara — within the 2026 national budget.
The campaign aims to target audience primarily in Western world which, after Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its continuous wars with regional countries, has come to criticize its action in severe terms.
The massive allocation comes as Israel’s global standing, especially in the US and other Western states, has plunged amid the devastation inflicted on Gaza, where the war has left the enclave in ruins and its population facing displacement, disease, acute hunger, and man-made famine.
Under the new plan, the government will deploy hundreds of millions of dollars to worldwide propaganda campaigns designed to advance Israel’s preferred narrative.
More than $300 million has already been authorized, while the Foreign Ministry will receive an additional $150 million for public diplomacy — a sum over twenty times higher than similar budgets in previous years.
According to Israeli officials, the funding will orient large-scale social media operations, partnerships with organizations working for Israelis, and delegations of politicians, public figures, influencers, and other high-profile personalities tasked with pushing pro-Israel messaging abroad.
Israel has increasingly relied on these initiatives since October 7, 2023, attempting to obscure documented evidence of genocide and man-made famine in Gaza by “projecting a sense of normalcy within the besieged enclave,” a narrative widely contradicted by humanitarian groups including the UN, and on-the-ground reporting.
Despite the record investment, observers say the effort is unlikely to succeed, arguing that no amount of money, message control, or PR maneuvering can convince the global public to accept ethnic cleansing, genocide, or other crimes against humanity as acceptable conduct.
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