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Why Is Israel’s Image So Bad Right Now — and What Can We Do About It?
Delegates react to the results during the United Nations General Assembly vote on a draft resolution that would recognize the Palestinians as qualified to become a full UN member, in New York City, US, May 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
In recent months, the level of anti-Israel propaganda has reached entirely new proportions, including a major campaign around starvation in Gaza, a massive global push for unilaterally recognizing Palestinian statehood (which Palestinians see as a reward for the October 7 massacre), and restricting Israel from global trade, even among traditional Israeli allies.
Though clearly at odds with factual reality, this global propaganda campaign has nonetheless garnered enormous traction: including among leaders, celebrities, and the general public. This is no mere popularity contest, but a nation-state level strategic weapon, similar to a navy or an air force: a weapon that took Israel’s enemies decades to develop, and for which Israel has no “Iron Dome” defense system.
How did it happen?
At a 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa, the Palestinian Authority and its various allies (including Qatar and Iran) launched what later came to be known as the “Diplomatic Intifada.”
Their aim: to defame Israel in every sphere — political, diplomatic, lawfare, education, communications, grassroots, and more. The goal was to change the world, not in a year or even 10 years — but rather to persuade an entire generation that hadn’t even been born yet (today’s 18-24 year old cohort).
Photo: the 2001 Durban Conference, via United Nations.
Fast forward to 2025: nearly 25 years of work and billions of dollars per year in investment have gone into the following types of projects:
Communications: This includes obvious conventional communications, such as Al Jazeera (an entire television network founded by Qatar and controlled by the Qatari royal family), as well as more subtle business plays: for example, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in American mainstream television networks and entertainment companies, while niche opinion-makers have been accused of receiving funding from sources linked to Qatar and Iran.
Digital: Entire armies of “bots” (fake social media accounts) share and promote content online, thus manipulating the algorithms into causing that content to go viral and ultimately to influence real people. For example, during Israel’s “Twelve Day War” against Iran, the Iranian regime shut down the local internet. At that exact time, thousands of (apparently) British and Scottish Twitter accounts (which had been advocating for Scottish independence) suddenly went dark. The accounts returned promptly when the war ended — except now they were tweeting pro-Iran as well anti-United States and anti-Israel messaging.
Intelligence analyst Ryan McBeth explains that this and other related data reveals that the accounts were actually Iranian bots all along, and that such a discovery is merely a small peak into a much larger operation.
In short, it’s no accident that anti-Israel messaging goes viral more than pro-Israel content: a huge, nation-state scale investment is dedicated to manipulating the algorithms.
Education: The Diplomatic Intifada also includes manipulation of US and European education systems through direct donations, endowing university professorships (on the condition that the professor promotes the right ideology), indirect donations through charities and NGOs, funding student groups, and more.
The key is that investors operate at a critical mass: funding not just a professor or two, but enough to change the character of entire universities. Many universities run high school education programs, which often include similar ideology geared to even younger students.
Photo: Georgetown University, one of many universities which receive large donations from Qatar. It is also where I attended law school. (but years before the Qatari funding) by Ken Lund via Flickr.
This education strategy dovetails with the communications strategy: by the time young adults see ideologically driven posts on social media, they have been already indoctrinated, by over a decade of long-form education, during their most formative years.
It is therefore a mistake to assume that social media creates anti-Israel opinions: more accurately, it serves as a reinforcement mechanism for existing opinions that the Diplomatic Intifada had already cultivated and cemented for years.
Politics: Lobbying and promoting political candidates for office. For example, favored New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Members of Congress Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and others receive funding from CAIR.
It’s important to understand that some voters support Mamdani and other extremist candidates not in spite of their antisemitism, but because of it.
When asked about Zohran Mamdani’s statements in support of jihadism and violence against Jews, over a third of New Yorkers, including almost 60% of likely Mamdani voters, said such statements make them more likely to vote for him, with over 40% declaring those statements make them “much more likely” to vote for him.
In other words: the antisemitism is not a bug, it’s a feature.
Photo: Mamdani voters are more likely to vote for him on the basis of his jihadist and antisemitic statements. Graph by RealityCheck based on data from American Pulse Research and Polling.
Grass roots: Billions invested in NGOs and charities around the world, some of which subsequently go to organizing and hiring paid protesters to create the illusion of massive public support for their ideology. One notable example was recently exposed by X influencer Nate Friedman, and echoed online by President Trump.
In effect, this is a strategic weapon, a process not much different than taking decades to build a modern air force or navy. The ultimate effect is to impact the opinions and emotions of real and ordinary people, on a massive scale.
Why now?
On the one hand, this can be seen as an encouraging sign — it means Hamas (and its allies) are desperate, and finally realize they’re losing. They are therefore capitalizing to an unprecedented degree on the only truly effective weapon they have left: weaponized propaganda.
Over time — or in the short term, if an anti-Israel president enters the White House — these results could prove to be catastrophic for global (and especially American) support for Israel.
What is Israel doing about it?
Not much.
The Israeli government has set its priorities on military, intelligence, security, healthcare, and emergency services. There is minimal investment in communications. The best talent in Israel is not typically encouraged to enter this area, and it is simply not considered a strategic priority.
While this may seem an obvious strategic mistake by Israel, it is not without its logic: the Israeli leadership generally believes that anti-Israel propaganda may sound bad, but doesn’t truly have an impact in the real world. In a small country with limited resources, Israel’s leaders find communications to be a waste of resources compared to other important needs.
But are Israel’s leaders right?
To some extent Israeli officials are not wrong — despite all their propaganda, Israel’s enemies keep losing militarily, and many (such as Iran) face economies and societies that are in a state of collapse. Given the choice between funding communications versus (for example) more missile defense interceptors, Israel chooses defense.
But what happens when Israel can no longer access such life-saving hardware, because its allies have caved to the propaganda and turned against the Jewish State?
That’s why Israeli officials are partly right, but also terribly wrong.
How many times have US and other Israeli allies delayed or withheld needed weapons, forced Israel to delay necessary military operations, or forced Israel to provide aid and resources (effectively) to enemy combatants?
These realities have prolonged the war, prolonged the captivity of the hostages, and cost the lives of IDF soldiers. In addition (in my own humble opinion), Israel has certain moral responsibilities for the safety of global Jewish communities as well as Israelis traveling abroad: neglecting the communications battlefield endangers both groups.
So what can we do about it?
The truly right (but impractical) answer is to invest billions of dollars per year for the next 25 years with the goal of making a change — not for us, but for our children and our grandchildren.
Israel needs a “communications force” on the scale of a navy or air force. Israel’s stunning operation against Iran’s nuclear program was 20 years in the making — and a proper communications battle requires no less.
But for now, there are some things we can do in the near-term:
RealityCheck focuses on producing persuasive reports that trigger actual policy changes by specific governments and international agencies — it’s a way that we can have an actual impact that does more than “preaching to the choir” and actually accomplishes something real.
Other groups are doing the same, and this work needs to continue and intensify.
Another frontier is AI; we have a new program of training the AI platforms which are fast becoming a core source of news information. Other groups are working on this, and it’s a way to make a positive difference right now.
Obviously, these steps are not enough against a multi-billion dollar, 25 year, strategic weapon, and among all our other activities, we are working to persuade the Israeli government and the philanthropic world to help Israel address this properly.
Each one of you can be a voice for change — and I hope you will.
Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.
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Belgian Prime Minister Shows Solidarity With Jewish Community, Calls for Caution on Palestinian State Recognition
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured), at the Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
Amid rising antisemitism across Europe and increasing hostility toward Israel from several European governments, Prime Minister Bart De Wever expressed Belgium’s sympathy and respect for the Jewish community this week, honoring the millions of victims of the Holocaust.
During his trip to Berlin on Tuesday, De Wever visited the Holocaust Memorial and left a moving message in its guestbook.
“On behalf of the Belgian government and all people and communities living together in peace in Belgium, I express my deepest sympathy and my respect,” the Belgian leader wrote in a note in German.
“We will remember all the victims. I stand here humbly at this place of remembrance. The Jewish community will always have a home in Europe,” he continued.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association (EJA), commended De Wever’s remarks and his support for the Jewish community, highlighting his leadership as a model.
“We sincerely thank Prime Minister De Wever for his moving message in Berlin. At a time when antisemitism is once again spreading across Europe, his clear and unwavering statement that the Jewish community will always have a home here is deeply important,” Margolin said in a statement.
“Such leadership not only honors the memory of the six million victims of the Holocaust but also strengthens the sense of security and belonging for Jews in Belgium and across the continent,” he continued.
“We also commend the Prime Minister’s principled leadership on Israel, where he consistently calls for security guarantees and a realistic path to peace. His voice carries moral weight in Europe, and we deeply appreciate it.”
During a visit to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, Belgian Prime Minister @Bart_DeWever left an important message in the guestbook. Written in German, his note expressed Belgium’s sympathy and respect for the Jewish community and commemorated the millions… pic.twitter.com/ZcuEfKCavi
— EJA – EIPA (@EJAssociation) August 26, 2025
During his visit to Berlin, De Wever met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss the recent push by several European countries to recognize a Palestinian state at next month’s UN General Assembly.
At a joint press conference, De Wever stressed that recognizing a Palestine state is only meaningful under strict conditions, warning that doing so without such guarantees would be “pointless and even counterproductive.”
“Hamas must disappear completely, there must be a credible Palestinian Authority, an agreement must be reached on borders, and Israel must receive security guarantees. Without that, recognition makes no sense,” De Wever said.
In Belgium, De Wever’s more cautious approach to Palestinian statehood and support for Israel have fueled clashes within the government, with Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot threatening to block government initiatives if the coalition continues to hinder a firmer stance on Israel and the recognition of a Palestinian state.
“If there is no stronger tone within the government regarding the human rights violations committed by the Israeli government, or if no measures are taken in favor of recognizing Palestine, a major crisis is looming,” Prévot said during an interview with De Standaard.
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Amid War, Olim-Owned Businesses in Jerusalem Thrive, Showcasing Resilience, Community Spirit
Olim gather at JFK Airport, ready to board a charter flight to Israel and begin their new lives in the Jewish state. Photo: The Algemeiner
JERUSALEM — Despite the strains of war and the obstacles of starting over in a new country, businesses in Jerusalem owned by Jewish immigrants are thriving — a testament to resilience, Zionist commitment, and the power of community.
New immigrants, or olim, who make aliyah to Israel face steep challenges even in times of peace, navigating strict regulations, endless permits, and financial hurdles, though the Israeli government offers some support and incentives to promote new businesses.
Aliyah refers to the process of Jews immigrating to Israel, and olim refers to those who make this journey.
In recent years, the road has become even more difficult for entrepreneurs, first with the economic disruption of COVID-19 and now amid the uncertainty of the war in Gaza.
For many olim, launching a business in Israel is about more than entrepreneurship — it’s a way to start a new life, serve their country, build a community, and make a meaningful impact.
Last week, 225 new olim arrived in Tel Aviv on the first charter aliyah flight since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN) — a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates aliyah from the US and Canada — brought its 65th charter flight from New York, which The Algemeiner joined.
Founded in 2002, NBN helps olim become fully integrated members of Israeli society, simplifying the immigration process and providing essential resources and guidance.
In partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth, and the Jewish National Fund, NBN has helped nearly 100,000 olim build thriving new lives in Israel.
Eager to start their next chapter in Israel, these immigrants bring fresh ideas, culinary creativity, and cultural richness, strengthening the country’s social fabric every day.
Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Diana Shapira brought her passion for baking and warm hospitality to Israel, turning her aliyah dream into a popular destination for both locals and tourists.
She and her husband created Infused JLM, located near Jerusalem’s Mahaneh Yehuda Market, blending American and Israeli culture and creating a space that brings people together.
“We want people to see that an oleh’s dream can happen,” Shapira told The Algemeiner. “Even without family and facing many challenges, starting a business in Israel is possible — especially when you have the support of the community.”
“Before we made aliyah, so many people told us it was a bad financial decision. But you have to push past the doubt and keep striving,” she continued.
Another olim-owned business located in Jerusalem, Power CoffeeWorks, has become a favorite destination for coffee enthusiasts across the city.
Owned by Stephanie and Brandon, who made aliyah from Cape Town, South Africa, in 2016 with their four children at the time (now seven), the couple has turned their venture into a hub for coffee lovers and a gathering place for the community.
“We made aliyah because we believed Israel was the best place to raise our children,” Stephanie told The Algemeiner. “Despite all the challenges along the way, it has been an incredible journey.”
Crave, another oleh-owned restaurant in Mahaneh Yehuda, has gained increasing attention with its strictly kosher gourmet street food, blending American, Mexican, and Asian flavors in a way that hasn’t been seen before.
American-born Yoni Van Leeuwen, who made aliyah more than 20 years ago with his wife and eight children, views food not just as a business, but as a way to bring cultures and communities together.
Following the Oct. 7 atrocities, the war in Gaza dealt a harsh blow to Israeli businesses, forcing many to cut hours, adapt operations, and manage shortages.
Yet these olim-owned establishments have shown resilience, proving that passion, creativity, and commitment to the Zionist dream can overcome even the toughest challenges.
Whether by serving comfort food, offering a safe space for neighbors, or organizing fundraisers for soldiers in Gaza and Lebanon, these business owners described a spirit of perseverance deeply rooted in Jewish history.
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Police in England Investigate Air Rifle Attack Against Jewish Teenager, Swastika Spray Painted at Rabbi’s Home
Friday night saw a string of swastika vandalism resulting in four reports, including from Rabbi Bentzion Alperowitz, a Chabad leader who discovered the Nazi symbol spray painted in black on his home’s white wall as he left for synagogue the next morning with his two young daughters. Photo: Screenshot
Multiple antisemitic incidents reported this past weekend targeted the Jewish community of Bournemouth in the southern region on the coast of the United Kingdom.
On Saturday afternoon, a driver stopped to harass and yell obscenities at two pedestrians before shooting one, a Jewish teenage boy, in the forehead with an air rifle and fleeing. The victim suffered swelling but has otherwise recovered.
“Detectives are leading the investigation to locate the occupants of the vehicle and to establish the full circumstances of the incident,” a spokesman for Dorset Police said. “The incident is being treated as a hate crime. Officers are engaging with the local community and carrying out patrols in the area. We would encourage anyone with information or concerns to please speak with an officer.”
Rabbi Alan Lewis, who leads the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation, said that “the young man who was shot is a religious Jew who was wearing a skull cap. It was very obvious he was Jewish. Then several people living on Manor Road woke up to find that swastikas had been painted on their homes. The homes had a mezuzah outside, so it was obvious that Jewish people lived there.”
Friday night saw a string of swastika vandalism resulting in four reports, including from Rabbi Bentzion Alperowitz, a Chabad leader who discovered the Nazi symbol spray painted in black on his home’s white wall as he left for synagogue the next morning with his two young daughters.
“We will continue to live as proud Jews here in Bournemouth … I want to encourage everyone to do exactly the same,” Alperowitz said. “This is not the Bournemouth I know. Bournemouth is a kind, beautiful place and I feel this is still the truth for the vast majority of people here.”
Other members of the Jewish community came to assist the rabbi with removing the graffiti.
“[The] good news is that by the time you’re watching this video our wall will have been cleaned, thanks to some amazing people from the community, who came around to help clean it,” Alperowitz said.
Author Dov Forman wrote that “on Saturday morning, my friend Rabbi Benzion Alperowitz of Bournemouth Chabad walked outside to find a swastika on his home. Antisemitism is alive on our streets, yet it is too often excused and ignored. But it will not break us. We will continue to live proudly as Jews.”
Law enforcement has reportedly stepped up patrols in the town’s Jewish neighborhoods which include an estimated 2,000 people.
On Monday, the Community Security Trust (CST), an organization focused on monitoring antisemitic threats in the UK, released a statement saying that it was “appalled by a series of anti-Jewish hate crimes in Bournemouth over the weekend. These are abhorrent acts of racism that are deeply distressing for the Jewish community and should alarm everybody. We are supporting the local Jewish community and working with Dorset Police to assist their investigation. We urge anyone with information about these incidents to contact the police and CST.”
CST released a report of antisemitic incidents in the UK during 2024, finding 3,528 — the second highest ever — showing an 18-percent decrease from the all-time high of 4,296 in 2023.
Earlier this month, CST released a separate report noting the group recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.
“These hateful attacks on people and property in Bournemouth are extremely concerning. We have been informed that the police are investigating and hope that the perpetrators will be arrested and face the full force of the law,” Andrew Gilbert, vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said in a statement.
Maurice Michaels, who served as rabbi at Bournemouth Reform Synagogue, said that the community felt “very pressurized and anxious.” He added, “We’re getting terrified calls from people across the UK asking, ‘Is this really happening in Bournemouth?’ I’d never go out wearing my usual skull cap, I don’t show outward signs of being Jewish. I know community members who have even removed their mezuzah from their front door.”
Michaels described the antisemitic crimes as “a measure of what’s going on across the country, demonstrations where people cover their faces. They don’t want to be recognized because they know what they’re doing is wrong. We do the best we can to secure our safety. But when people attack our homes, when they shoot pellets — it gets to a point where it’s no longer a manageable situation. We’re frightened.”