Israeli Media Personality Slams 'Catastrophic Failure' in Public Diplomacy

Media personality Avri Gilad has sharply criticized Israel's performance in the realm of public consciousness, labeling its failures as a "catastrophe" he believes surpasses that of October 7th. Gilad made these remarks during a lecture to the inaugural class of "Meshov Tze'ir," the youth creators' school of the Tzohar organization.

He argued that Israel needs a profound shift in its approach to this arena, urging the widespread deployment of available technological tools. "There is a war of consciousness here," Gilad stated, "We must enter the battle of consciousness with all the tools of influence on social networks, artificial intelligence, and all the amazing capabilities that exist here and have not been mobilized for this mission."

Gilad also turned his attention to the impact of social media on Israeli society itself, asserting that the changes they have wrought go beyond how people consume information or create content. "Social networks and TikTok have simply shattered human society," he claimed. "They have taken our humanity away."

To illustrate his points about youth content consumption patterns, Gilad directed participants to the Telegram channel of Daniel Amram, describing it as "the number one media outlet for youth in Israel." He suggested that the content on this channel reflects violent phenomena among young people, citing frequent reports of school assaults or teenagers attacking drivers, which he attributed to "crazy youth doing anything to film videos."

In light of this critique, Gilad appealed to the aspiring content creators in the audience to prioritize truth and authenticity in their work. "Connect first and foremost to your heart. Do not lie to yourselves, speak the truth," he advised.

Gilad's lecture marked the opening of the "Meshov Tze'ir" program, which aims to train young digital content creators to promote content related to identity, Judaism, and society online.