![\"\u05e1\u05d2\u05df](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/r1TNto8zMl_0_0_3000_1998_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"Vance")
<\/a><\/p>\nVance accused Israeli-linked figures of running a ‘very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign’ <\/p>\n
(Photo: Nathan Howard\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n
But instead of strengthening Israel\u2019s standing in the United States, the effort produced the opposite result. Within the Trump administration, suspicions grew that some of the activity was intended to influence the debate over the president\u2019s policy toward Iran<\/a>. In Israel, a senior official was quoted as saying: \u201cWe paid a lot of money, but the situation only kept getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n The controversy intensified after U.S. Vice President JD Vance addressed the investigation in an interview on Joe Rogan\u2019s podcast. Vance accused Israeli-linked figures of running a \u201cvery discreet, extremely well-funded campaign\u201d that he said was intended to undermine the administration\u2019s efforts to reach agreements with Iran and prolong the conflict.<\/p>\n He sharply criticized those involved, saying that when he discovered influencers receiving money from Israel-linked sources were working against the policy he was promoting, his reaction was: \u201cGo to hell.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that a sitting American vice president publicly accused Israeli figures of attempting to influence U.S. foreign policy is an unusual and serious event, reflecting the depth of the crisis surrounding Israel\u2019s influence operations.<\/p>\n However, the Parscale affair is only the tip of the iceberg. Behind the exposed campaign stands a much broader public diplomacy and influence apparatus that has received unprecedented budgets over the past year and a half.<\/p>\n When Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar entered the ministry, about 545 million shekels were allocated for Israel\u2019s international public diplomacy efforts \u2014 a sum intended to address the severe image crisis created following the war.<\/p>\n In 2026-2027, Sa\u2019ar secured an additional 2 billion shekels \u2014 an unprecedented amount for Israeli public diplomacy.<\/p>\n However, according to senior Foreign Ministry officials, a significant portion of the money was not routed through the ministry\u2019s professional mechanisms.<\/p>\n The primary responsibility for managing the budgets was transferred to the ministry\u2019s Director General Eden Bar Tal and Eran Shayovich, an external adviser brought in by the minister.<\/p>\n Eden Bar Tal. Some of the money wa s routed through him<\/p>\n (Photo: GPO)<\/p>\n According to those officials, the two frequently operated without sufficient coordination with professional staff, without full involvement from the Public Diplomacy Division and at times even without the knowledge of the embassies themselves.<\/p>\n The Foreign Ministry, in response, said that the 2026 public diplomacy work plan and budget were coordinated with all relevant professional officials in the ministry.<\/p>\n However, according to Israeli diplomats, some ambassadors only learned about campaigns and influence activities carried out in their countries after local contacts approached them and asked about the purpose of the operations.<\/p>\n There were even cases in which public relations companies hired by Israel briefed journalists, newspaper editors and decision-makers without informing the Israeli mission in that country and without the Israeli ambassador being present.<\/p>\n Three main channels absorbed most of the budget: digital campaigns, delegations and hiring public relations firms abroad.<\/p>\n Even in the area of delegations, Foreign Ministry officials said the results were modest at best and poor at worst. Hundreds of guests were brought to Israel, but some had limited public influence to begin with or already held clearly pro-Israel positions before the visit.<\/p>\n \u201cThey convinced the convinced,\u201d one official described it.<\/p>\n Other officials argued that influencers were reluctant to come to Israel at this time, making it difficult to find suitable candidates.<\/p>\n In the field of digital campaigns, the criticism was even sharper. According to Foreign Ministry employees, the professionals who were supposed to be responsible for the field were effectively excluded from the process.<\/p>\n The campaigns were managed directly with the Government Advertising Agency and external companies, without sufficient internal transparency and without close professional oversight.<\/p>\n The third category was the hiring of public relations companies and influence advisers in target countries, mainly the United States and Europe.<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar. He secured an additional 2 billion shekels \u2014 an unprecedented amount for Israeli public diplomacy <\/p>\n (Photo: Gil Yohanan)<\/p>\n According to sources familiar with the matter, influencers were recruited as part of these efforts, social media campaigns were managed and activities were carried out with the aim of shaping public discourse in target countries.<\/p>\n \u201cDiplomacy and public diplomacy are professions,\u201d a senior Foreign Ministry official said this week. \u201cYou need to deeply understand the political, media and cultural systems in each country. You cannot assume that someone who knows how to run a commercial or political campaign in Israel will understand the sensitivities in Washington, Berlin or Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n But even when measured by results, it is difficult to point to achievements. While hundreds of millions of shekels were poured into public diplomacy and influence campaigns, American public opinion continues to move in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n A recent AP-NORC poll<\/a> presents a particularly troubling picture for Israel. About one-third of Americans believe today that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. About half of Democrats hold this view. But not only did Israel\u2019s standing in the United States fail to improve \u2014 according to most indicators, it continued to deteriorate <\/p>\n (Photo: REUTERS\/Eduardo Munoz)<\/p>\n Among the overall American public, support for Israel continues to decline, particularly among young people.<\/p>\n The poll found that 58% of Democrats believe the United States supports Israel too much, compared with only 45% at the beginning of 2024. At the same time, 62% of Democrats believe the U.S. does not support Palestinians enough.<\/p>\n The most concerning figure for Jerusalem is that even among American Jews there is evidence of declining support. About 30% of American Jews surveyed in the poll said they believe Israel committed genocide, and the overwhelming majority hold a negative view of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n In other words: Hundreds of millions of shekels were invested in influence campaigns, campaigns involving influencers and public relations firms. But not only did Israel\u2019s standing in the United States fail to improve \u2014 according to most indicators, it continued to deteriorate.<\/p>\n The Time report and Vice President Vance\u2019s public criticism now raise a much broader question: Did Israel invest enormous sums in an effort that not only failed but also harmed relations with the political figures it sought to bring closer?<\/p>\n In the eyes of critics of the current policy, this is no longer only a question of wasting public funds. It is a warning against an approach based on the idea that traditional diplomacy can be bypassed, professional officials can be skipped and years of diplomatic work can be replaced with expensive digital influence campaigns.<\/p>\n![\"\u05e2\u05d3\u05df](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/BJVIM5eCbx_0_84_845_790_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"Eden")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\u05d2\u05d3\u05e2\u05d5\u05df](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/B1ADzFR9bg_0_0_3000_2250_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"Foreign")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\u05de\u05e6\u05e2\u05d3](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/BkgCJ11115eGg_0_0_3000_2000_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"But")
<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"\u05e0\u05d9\u05d5](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SJN1TYrhGfx_0_0_1279_720_0_x-large.jpg\" "\\"Among")
<\/a>