Against a backdrop of mounting international fury over its military campaign in Gaza and expanding hostilities across Western Asia, Israel has greenlit a near three-quarters-of-a-billion-dollar surge in state-funded propaganda spending, a dramatic bid to reverse its rapidly collapsing global standing. The allocation, approved by Israeli lawmakers as part of the 2026 national budget in March, sets aside $730 million for hasbara – the official term for Israel’s state-directed public diplomacy and influence operations. This marks an extraordinary five-fold jump from the previous year’s $150 million allocation, which itself was already 20 times higher than pre-2023 spending levels.
The scale of the budget increase, first revealed by the *Jerusalem Post* earlier this week, lays bare the urgency of Israel’s push to contain growing global condemnation and its rapid slide toward pariah status in international affairs. The PR overhaul comes as Israel grapples with a cascading series of crises that extend far beyond the Gaza conflict: rising global recognition of its apartheid regime in the occupied West Bank, intensifying scrutiny over long-rumored links between Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and widespread anger over allegations that Israel pushed the United States into a confrontation with Iran that has triggered global economic instability and humanitarian ripple effects far beyond the Middle East.
Israel currently faces diplomatic and public opinion isolation at depths unmatched since the country’s founding, according to a recent analysis from Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). This worsening isolation comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from operations in Gaza, while the state of Israel is defending itself against formal genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice.
A core target of the new propaganda push is shifting public sentiment in the United States, Israel’s most critical long-standing ally, where polling shows support for the country is eroding rapidly across demographic and political lines. A Pew Research Center survey released in April found that 60 percent of Americans now hold unfavorable views of Israel – a sharp uptick over just 12 months – while positive approval has dropped to 37 percent. This shift cuts across every major demographic: a majority of Republicans under 50 now view Israel negatively, while support has fallen among Black Protestants, Catholics, religiously unaffiliated Americans, and even among American Jewish communities, where backing has slipped below two-thirds.
To implement the expanded influence campaign, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has dramatically expanded its messaging infrastructure. Under Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, a new dedicated unit has been created specifically to shape global narratives about Israel’s actions. The government has earmarked tens of millions of dollars for targeted digital outreach, including a $50 million push for social media advertising across major global platforms, and roughly $40 million to host hundreds of foreign delegations ranging from sitting politicians and religious leaders to social media influencers and university presidents. A centralized “media war room” now monitors coverage from hundreds of international news outlets and tracks thousands of daily mentions of Israel across global media and social platforms.
The campaign also extends to political consulting and AI-driven targeted outreach: the Foreign Ministry signed a $1.5 million per month contract with a firm linked to former Donald Trump campaign strategist Brad Parscale to deploy artificial intelligence tools to shape online discourse. Additional funds have been directed to evangelical Christian networks and influencer campaigns managed through private public relations firms.
The surge in hasbara spending aligns with growing alarm within Israel’s national security and policy establishment over the country’s deepening international isolation. The recent INSS paper warns that Israel is facing diplomatic and public opinion isolation “not seen since its establishment”, highlighting the emergence of a “creeping economic boycott” as businesses and academic institutions around the world increasingly cut formal ties with Israeli partners. To counter this trend, INSS researchers have called on the Israeli government to ramp up engagement with diaspora Jewish communities and Christian Zionist networks. Proposals put forward include expanding youth travel programs to bring tens of thousands of young Jews and Christians to Israel annually, and a renewed push to build influence within global higher education. The report also recommends creating a $100 million fund to support Israeli research and launching a program to invite leaders of top global universities to visit Israel, with the goal of shoring up institutional partnerships.