Israel's PR Failure Fuels Global Antisemitism, Expat Says
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israel's PR failure allows antisemitism to dominate global discourse.
- The narrative ignores October 7th atrocities, portraying Israelis as murderers.
- Antisemitic sentiment is prevalent among youth abroad.
- Israelis abroad feel they suffer from government failures.
- Expatriate Israelis plan to return to vote against the government.
A perceived failure in Israel's public relations strategy has allowed antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment to dominate international discourse, according to Omri Galperin, an Israeli living in southern England. Galperin argues that this "complete failure" has led to a distorted global narrative where the atrocities of October 7th, including murder, rape, and kidnapping, have been erased. Instead, a narrative portraying Israelis as murderers has been constructed, echoing historical blood libels.
Galperin observes the pervasive nature of this sentiment among his children's peers, where "Free Palestine" is a common slogan and not hating Israel is considered "out."
He expresses the difficulty of maintaining Israeli identity abroad when facing negative reactions to identifying as Israeli. Despite contributing to Israel, serving in the military, and experiencing personal loss since October 7th, Israelis abroad feel they are suffering from government failures.
To counter this, many Israelis living abroad are planning to return to Israel at their own expense to vote. They aim to democratically help remove a government they believe divides Israeli society and avoids responsibility for its failures. Their goal is to initiate programs to improve Israel's image and reduce hostility towards the country, benefiting both Israelis in Israel and Jews abroad.
