A recent Wall Street Journal investigation reports that Israel is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in artificial intelligence, digital communications and strategic messaging to strengthen support for the Jewish state in the United States. That should surprise no one. It reflects a long-overdue recognition that modern wars are fought not only with soldiers and weapons, but also with information, images and ideas. Israel is finally treating the information front as an essential element of national defense.
For too long, Israel invested overwhelmingly in military preparedness while giving comparatively little attention to another arena with profound strategic consequences: the battle to shape public understanding. Hamas, Iran, Qatar and an international network of anti-Israel activists have devoted enormous resources to influencing opinion in the West. They understand that military power alone does not determine strategic success. Diplomatic support, political legitimacy and public confidence are also instruments of national power.
This is hardly a new idea. Throughout the Cold War, the United States invested heavily in Voice of America and Radio Free Europe because Washington understood that ideas could weaken adversaries as surely as armies. Today’s technologies are different, but the principle is unchanged. Influence is an instrument of statecraft.
Israel’s adversaries recognized this long before Israel did. Hamas has never regarded propaganda as separate from terrorism. It has consistently treated information as another front, pairing military operations with coordinated messaging designed to shape international opinion. Iran finances state media, proxy organizations and online influence campaigns dedicated to delegitimizing Israel. Qatar has invested billions in media, universities, think tanks and advocacy organizations that shape debate far beyond the Middle East. Much of this effort seeks not merely to criticize Israeli policies, but to erode confidence in the legitimacy of the Jewish state itself.
Meanwhile, Israel often behaved as though facts alone would prevail. Government statements, diplomacy and traditional public relations were expected to overcome a sophisticated, well-funded information campaign. They did not. Military achievements were too often overshadowed by strategic losses in public perception.
Artificial intelligence, data analysis, targeted messaging and digital outreach are not gimmicks. They are the communications tools of this era. Political campaigns, businesses, advocacy organizations and America’s geopolitical competitors all use them relentlessly. There is no reason Israel should decline to employ lawful, ethical and transparent means to present its case with equal sophistication.
Democracies persuade; dictatorships indoctrinate; terrorist organizations deceive. Those distinctions matter. But every serious nation seeks to explain its actions, defend its interests and cultivate support among allies. That is not propaganda. It is statecraft.
The lesson extends beyond Israel. Democracies have too often assumed that truth naturally triumphs over falsehood. Experience suggests otherwise. In a digital world where algorithms reward outrage and repetition, truth requires advocates every bit as determined as those who spread distortion.
Israel did not create the information war, but it can no longer afford to ignore it. Military strength remains indispensable. So do diplomacy and alliances. But in the 21st century, influence is also a form of national power. Recognizing that reality is not cynical. It is the mark of a nation adapting to the world as it is, not as it wishes it to be.
