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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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Marco Rubio Says US Denying Visas to Foreigners ‘Celebrating’ Assassination of Charlie Kirk

Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by US Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the US is denying visas to foreigners who publicly celebrate the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a move he cast as part of a broader posture against extremist rhetoric.

While traveling in the Middle East, Rubio told reporters that the State Department has been denying visas to individuals glorifying Kirk’s murder online. He added that officials are also reviewing existing visas and that he expects some to be revoked.

“It isn’t just about Charlie Kirk. If you’re a foreigner and you’re out there celebrating the assassination of someone who was speaking somewhere, I mean, we don’t want you in the country,” Rubio said. “Why would we want to give a visa to someone who think it’s good that someone was murdered in the public square? That’s just common sense to me.”

When asked if the US has actually revoked any visas yet, Rubio responded, “We’ve revoked visas of people. I don’t know if we’ve revoked visas of people that are inside the country. We’ve most certainly been denying visas.”

Rubio also addressed the issue in a social media post on X while sharing a video from a Fox News interview during which he was asked if he planned to restrict visa access or revoke visas for those celebrating Kirk’s killing.

“America will not host foreigners who celebrate the death of our fellow citizens,” Rubio said in the post accompanying the video. “Visa revocations are under way. If you are here on a visa and cheering on the public assassination of a political figure, prepare to be deported. You are not welcome in this country.”

Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and founder of the influential Turning Point USA organization, was shot and killed last week while speaking at Utah Valley University. Authorities have formally charged 22‑year‑old Tyler Robinson of Utah with aggravated murder and several related offenses, including discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering.

Rubio’s announcement comes amid intensifying efforts by the Trump administration to expel foreigners who express support for violence or terrorism. The administration has launched an overhaul of the US visa system, part of what officials describe as an effort to root out individuals deemed a potential threat to the country. The sweeping measures include expanded social media vetting for new applicants, continuous monitoring of the 55 million current visa holders, and the revocation of thousands of student visas.

Several of the online posts praising Kirk’s assassination have emerged from the Middle East, with individuals condemning the slain political activist over his vocal support for Israel. During his life, Kirk repeatedly spoke in defense of the Jewish state and expressed support for its military campaign in Gaza.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau concurred with Rubio’s statement, calling on consular officials to prevent the distribution of visas to anyone “praising, rationalizing, or making light of” the murder of Kirk.

Rubio has not explained the standards the State Department is using to determine what qualifies as “celebrating” the assassination. Some critics have speculated that this ambiguity could set up legal challenges from advocacy groups, who are already warning about the First Amendment and due process implications.

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‘Down With Fascists’: Columbia Activist Who Said ‘Zionists Don’t Deserve to Live’ Celebrates Charlie Kirk’s Murder

Khymani James, Columbia University student who filmed himself saying Zionists should be murdered. Photo: Screenshot

A former leader of the anti-Israel movement at Columbia University expressed full support for the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week.

Khymani James, who made the posts, was a “campus a leader in the pro-Palestinian student protest encampment” at Columbia, according to The New York Times.

In the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination, James posted on X, “More. MORE!!!,” referencing the killing. He followed up that post by saying, “Down with all the fascists 😍.” (He later also called California Gov. Gavin Newsom a fascist.)

In another post, James wrote, “‘Be careful what you post’ and it’s people rightfully celebrating the inevitable and just fate of fascists. anywho… NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED 😩🤣.”

In addition to the posts he wrote, James also reposted statements such as “Thoughts and prayers for the bullet,” “rest in piss,” and “saw that s–t and started giggling and kicking my feet and shouting YOOOOOO.”

In James’s biography on the social platform X, he notes, “Anything I said, I meant it. DEATH TO EMPIRE.”

This is not the first time James has rhetorically supported violence. Last year, he was on video saying, “Zionists don’t deserve to live,” and proclaiming that people should “be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”

He also said, “I don’t fight to injure or for there to be a winner or a loser. I fight to kill.”

The comments triggered widespread backlash, and James was suspended by Columbia. The incident also resulted in what was widely seen as an apology for James on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), one of the most notorious anti-Israel campus groups in the US. Months later, however, the group retracted its previous apology.

“All CUAD organizers were complicit in not maintaining our political line, keeping the statement public on our Instagram, and in neglecting the mental and physical safety of Khymani,” the post read. CUAD apologized for causing “irrevocable harm” to him.

Despite James’s comments about the possibility of murdering Zionists, CUAD’s post claimed that he was criticized and socially ostracized for “fight[ing] back against state violence.”

James also responded to this post, writing on X, “Thank you to my comrades for posting this beautiful, powerful letter. I never wrote the neo-liberal apology posted in late April, and I’m glad we’ve set the record straight once and for all. I will not allow anyone to shame me for my politics.”

“Anything I said, I meant it,” he concluded.

Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University, where he was engaging in dialogue with students. He is survived by his wife and two young children. A young Utah man — Tyler Robinson, 22 — was taken into custody last week as the suspected shooter, about 33 hours after the assassination, according to state and federal law enforcement.

Kirk was an outspoken supporter of Israel and advocate against antisemitism. He regularly debated students on the subject of Israel and brought his ideas to young people at a time when, according to recent polling, that age group was turning decidedly against the Jewish state.

“There’s a dark Jew hate out there, and I see it,” Kirk told a student during a podcast episode which aired earlier this year. “Don’t get yourself involved in that. I’m telling you it will rot your brain. It’s bad for your soul. It’s bad. It’s evil. I think it’s demonic.”

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Spain’s PM Sánchez Faces Backlash for Fueling Anti-Israel Hostility Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents

Cycling – Vuelta a Espana – Stage 21 – Alalpardo to Madrid – Madrid, Spain – Sept. 14, 2025: Barriers are smashed by anti-Israel protesters during Stage 21. Photo: REUTERS/Ana Beltran

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is facing backlash from his country’s political leaders and Jewish community, who accuse him of fueling antisemitic hostility after incidents at the Vuelta a España disrupted the prestigious cycling race.

Amid a sharp rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes and anti-Israel sentiment, Lorenzo Rodríguez, mayor of Castrillo Mota de Judíos in northern Spain, accused the country’s leader of “fueling a discourse of hatred” against Israel and the Jewish people.

“The government is fostering antisemitism that will prove deeply damaging for Spain,” Rodríguez said in an interview with the local outlet El Español.

“Sánchez’s moves are less about serious foreign policy and more about deflecting attention from his trials and failures in governance,” he continued. “Spain isn’t leading anything — it’s merely whitewashing Hamas and other terrorist groups.”

On Sunday, anti-Israel protests forced the finale of the Vuelta a España cycle race to be abandoned as police tried to quell demonstrations against the participation of an Israeli team.

In his interview, Rodríguez blamed Sánchez for fostering a hostile climate in Spain, saying the country is witnessing “hatred toward an entire people.”

He also criticized the Spanish leader for failing to take a strong stand on other international crises, including those in Russia and Venezuela.

“We all recognize that the Palestinian people are suffering, but the solution cannot be to blame the Jewish people,” Rodríguez said.

“People are afraid. There’s growing concern because our town was recently targeted,” he continued. “We are being singled out and threatened even though we have nothing to do with this war.”

Before the incidents on Sunday that led to the race’s cancellation, Sánchez expressed “admiration for the Spanish people mobilizing for just causes like Palestine” through their protests.

Madrid’s Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida strongly condemned Sánchez’s statement, accusing him of encouraging hostility and fueling tensions.

“The prime minister is directly responsible for this violence, as his statements this morning helped instigate the protests,” Martinez-Almeida said after the race was canceled.

“Today is the saddest day since I took office as mayor of this great city,” he continued.

Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, also criticized Sánchez’s remarks, accusing him of stoking division to maintain his hold on power.

“The psychopath has taken his militias to the streets,” Abascal wrote in a post on X. “He doesn’t care about Gaza. He doesn’t care about Spain. He doesn’t care about anything. But he wants violence in the streets to maintain power.”

Shortly after the incidents, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) publicly denounced the violence, urging authorities to respond quickly and decisively.

“Violence and intimidation have no place in a democratic society and cannot be excused under the guise of freedom of expression,” FCJE said in a statement.

“These violent demonstrations fuel hatred and contribute to a concerning rise in antisemitism in Spain, which we have been warning about over the past two years,” the statement read. “It is unacceptable that violence is justified on ideological grounds and hostility is directed toward the Jewish community”

Since the start of the war in Gaza, Spain has become one of Israel’s fiercest critics, a stance that has only intensified in recent months, coinciding with a shocking rise in antisemitic incidents targeting the local Jewish community — from violent assaults and vandalism to protests and legal actions.

On Monday, Sánchez called for Israel to be barred from international sports events after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted the finale of the Vuelta cycling race in chaotic scenes in Madrid.

“The sports organizations should ask whether it’s ethical for Israel to continue participating in international competitions. Why was Russia expelled after invading Ukraine, yet Israel is not expelled after the invasion of Gaza?” Sánchez said while speaking to members of his Socialist Party.

“Until the barbarity ends, neither Russia nor Israel should be allowed to participate in any international competition,” the Spanish leader continued.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned Sánchez’s remarks, labeling him “an antisemite and a liar.”

“Did Israel invade Gaza on Oct. 7th or did the Hamas terror state invade Israel and commit the worst massacre against the Jews since the Holocaust?” the top Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X.

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas started the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, when it led an invasion of southern Israel, murdered 1,200 people, and kidnapped 251 hostages while perpetrating widespread sexual violence against the Israeli people.

Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and political rule in Gaza.

As part of its anti-Israel campaign, Spain announced on Tuesday that it will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates, citing the country’s military offensive against Hamas in the war-torn enclave.

Last week, Sánchez also unveiled new policies targeting Israel over the war in Gaza, including an arms embargo and a ban on certain Israeli goods.

The Spanish government announced it would bar entry to individuals involved in what it called a “genocide against Palestinians,” block Israel-bound ships and aircraft carrying weapons from Spanish ports and airspace, and enforce an embargo on products from Israeli communities in the West Bank.

In one of its latest attempts to curb Israel’s defensive campaign in Gaza, Spain has canceled a €700 million ($825 million) deal for Israeli-designed rocket launchers, as the government conducts a broader review to systematically phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.

Saar has denounced Sánchez’s latest actions, accusing the government in Madrid of antisemitism and of pursuing an escalating anti-Israel campaign aimed at undermining the Jewish state on the international stage.

“The government of Spain is leading a hostile, anti-Israel line, marked by wild, hate-filled rhetoric,” Saar wrote in a post on X, accusing Sánchez’s “corrupt” administration of trying to “divert attention from grave corruption scandals.”

“The obsessive activism of the current Spanish government against Israel stands out in light of its ties with dark, tyrannical regimes — from Iran’s ayatollahs to [Nicolás] Maduro’s government in Venezuela,” the Israeli diplomat continued.

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