700 M dollars invested by Israel or sympathizers for Hasbara
Executive summary
Israel’s government has earmarked an additional $150 million for the Foreign Ministry’s public diplomacy (hasbara) budget for 2025 — a roughly 20‑fold increase over pre‑war allocations, according to multiple Israeli and Jewish media outlets [1] [2]. Some outlets report further expansion plans for 2026 that would push the ministry’s hasbara allotment into the hundreds of millions of dollars (reported conversions to NIS 2.35 billion / $729m), but those higher figures derive from later reporting and different currency-year comparisons [3].
1. The headline: $150 million and a sudden scale-up
Israel’s new budget line adds $150 million specifically for public diplomacy/hasbara in 2025, described by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar as a long‑overdue “consciousness warfare” investment; mainstream Jewish and Israeli outlets report this is about 20 times prior yearly hasbara spending [1] [2]. That figure is consistent across Times of Israel, JTA, Forward and others, which describe brainstorming with influencers, NGOs and cultural figures to deploy the funds [1] [2] [4].
2. What “hasbara” means here and how the government plans to use the money
Reporting frames hasbara broadly as public diplomacy: social‑media campaigns, influencer outreach, trips for officials and civil society, and partnerships with NGOs and cultural actors to shape international opinion [3] [4]. Gideon Sa’ar has publicly framed the increase as correcting past underinvestment and building a professionalized global advocacy effort [1] [4].
3. Disagreement in scale and future budgets — competing figures
Some outlets portray an even larger scale‑up beyond the $150m: a New Arab piece cites a 2026 allocation of NIS 2.35 billion (about $729m) and other reporting on December 2025–2026 approvals references NIS 1 billion already authorized [3] [5]. Those higher numbers represent subsequent budget cycles or different program bundles; available sources do not present a single consolidated multi‑year total that proves an unequivocal $700m invested by Israel or outside “sympathizers” [3] [5]. Available sources do not mention outside sympathizers contributing a matched total of $700m.
4. Claims about private or diaspora funding — what sources show and don’t
Longstanding projects have mixed public–private funding histories; past initiatives sought to match government allocations with nongovernmental funds, and some programs raised portions from private donors [6]. However, current reporting in these sources does not document a coordinated $700 million injected by private sympathizers alongside the $150m government line. Claims that a combined $700m (government plus sympathizers) has been invested are not substantiated in the provided reporting — that specific combined dollar figure is not found in the current sources [6].
5. Political context and motivations reported by journalists
Multiple outlets link the budget spike to coalition politics: Sa’ar’s return to the government and his appointment as foreign minister entailed bargaining that produced the funding increase [2] [1]. Reporters and critics frame the packages as responding to global reputational damage from the Gaza war and to a perceived need to fight what officials call the “eighth front” of delegitimization [3] [2].
6. Criticism, framing and alternative perspectives in the sources
Critics cited in the reporting see the funds as propagandistic and designed to blunt international criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza; some outlets call the effort “propaganda” or “consciousness warfare” and warn the money will be used to justify military actions that have drawn international condemnation [7] [8] [3]. Government voices present the same program as professional public diplomacy urgently needed to combat antisemitism and misinformation [1] [4]. Both perspectives appear across the sources.
7. What’s verified, what’s speculative, and where reporting is thin
Verified by multiple sources: the $150m 2025 Foreign Ministry hasbara allocation and the ministerial intent to deploy it in influencer and digital campaigns [1] [2] [4]. Less verified or speculative: a consolidated $700m total combining government and private sympathizer money; while some outlets report larger 2026 NIS figures or past matched‑fund projects, the supplied sources do not document a specific $700m pooled investment by Israel plus sympathizers as a single program [3] [6] [5]. Available sources do not mention any definitive list of private contributors matching government sums to reach $700m.
8. Bottom line for readers
Reporting establishes a clear, unprecedented government commitment of $150m to hasbara in 2025 and signals ongoing, possibly larger, spending plans; claims that Israel or its sympathizers have invested exactly $700m together are not confirmed in the available material [1] [3]. For claims beyond the documented $150m government allocation, demand sourceable budget line items or audited funding breakdowns — the current reporting mixes calendar years, currencies and program scopes in ways that can inflate headline totals [3] [5].