Tonight Israel is competing to qualify for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest - the world's biggest music event with over 160 million viewers! 

This is our moment to unite and rally behind the incredibly talented Eden Golan and her unforgettable song "Hurricane". It's currently ranked in the TOP 10 to win in the final in the betting odds, TOP 5 in the official Eurovision online poll, and is the 4th MOST WATCHED VIDEO of all the songs!

Every vote counts, so we need YOU and bring your Plus 2 - get two more to vote and make a bigger difference!

For more information on how to vote, why it's so important and the impact it can have on Israel's global positioning at a time we need it most, click on the button below...

A recent NBC poll shows how opinions of young Americans on campuses across the U.S. are being influenced likely by what they're seeing take place there. This is a short review that highlights that, compared to when they were surveyed in October, 2023:

1. LESS U.S. college students blame Hamas for what happened on October 7.

2. LESS U.S. college students think October 7 was a terrorist attack.

3. Almost double think Hamas' actions on October 7 were justified acts of resistance. 

Clearly, college students are a major cause for concern, not just for Jews or Israel, but for AMERICA.

The Spring 2024 Harvard Youth Poll surveyed 2,010 young Americans between 18- and 29 years old nationwide. 

Here’s what we found to be relevant for our purposes:

• Political Preferences Among Young Americans: While most young Americans lean towards supporting President Biden over former President Trump in a hypothetical election scenario, the margin is not as significant as expected. Factors such as gender, age, race, and education level significantly influence voting preferences, with female non-white college graduates aged 25-29 showing overwhelming support for Biden.

• Views on the Israel-Hamas Conflict: Young Americans overwhelmingly support a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, with a notable majority sympathizing with both the Israeli and Palestinian people. There's a nuanced perspective on Israel's response to the conflict, with a significant portion undecided on whether Israel's actions are justified. Republican-leaning individuals tend to support Israel's actions, while Democrats and independents are more critical.

• Concerns and Sentiments of Young Americans: A significant majority of young Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, with only a small percentage feeling optimistic about the nation's trajectory. Economic concerns and reproductive freedom are top priorities for young voters, while mental health issues, including feelings of depression and hopelessness, remain prevalent but show slight signs of improvement since 2021.

The attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran on Israel was unprecendted and represents an opportunity for Israel to regain support, after several weeks of losing the sympathy of the world. We need to know how to leverage this development in our favor, watch this video (in Hebrew) in which Joanna shares our recommendations for how to do so.

Gallup, that has been polling American views on the Middle East since the 1980’s, published their March update, which confirms that support for Israel amongst the public who have always been its strongest ally is plummeting – fast.

Here are our main conclusions from the results:

• The majority in the U.S. now disapproves of Israeli action in Gaza. This poll confirms what we’re been seeing in recent weeks – that the narrative coming out of Israel no longer wins over most Americans. Biden is also now calling for an immediate ceasefire and placing the responsiblity for it on Israel.

• Those who follow the war closely are more supportive of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. This indicates that knowledge is power, and we need to find a way to educate audiences better. Conversely, recognizing that many do not wish to be educated about a war that is far away from them, we need to engage those who have less interest in the war and start building relationships with them that are based on shared values and common areas of interest. 

• Israel has to become a non-partisan issue again if we are to maintain support in America. The November elections can go either way, and the future is very unclear. Republicans still support Israel significantly, but less than they did in November last year. Democrats’ and Independents’ support for Israel has dropped dramatically in less than 6 months. This is dangerous for Israel’s long-term future and MUST be addressed more urgently.

The pro-Israel community has to shift its mindset and change the narrative! As Israelis and those who love Israel and share Western values, we need to express and confirm the need for more humanitarian aid and envision a peaceful future for the entire region. While it may be hard for some of us to feel this way - with hostages being held captive without visits of the Red Cross, and our own safety in great danger, it’s equally hard for our audiences to see the images coming out from our region, and to have no hope for a positive future.

It's time for us to be smart more than it is to be right!

The accidental misidentification by the IDF of aid workers as terrorists and the resulting loss of lives of World Central Kitchen staff is a horrible development that we are deeply saddened by. As in any war, mistakes are made and innocent people die as a result. It shouldn't have happend, and so long as swift responsibility is taken and an authentic apology is issued - both of which the IDF has done - there is not much one can do about it to mitigate the damage to Israel's already fragile image.

What can we, as civic pro-Israel advocates, do in these circumstances?

Our initial reaction may be to be defensive and rational about it, claiming that innocent casulaties are a reality in war, and that the American, British and every other army has had to deal with such incidents when they were fighting wars too. But we must remember that the world is viewing the war from the comfort of their homes and their ability to put themselves in the place of our soldiers is too high an expectation. They are angry, and rightly so. We must recognize that, respond with an open heart, and mitigate the resulting crticism aimed at Israel. 

Here's what we recommend:

1. Do not proactively bring up the story yourself. If someone else is talking about it, you can respond to correct the impression that Israelis don't care about the loss of lives, but spreading awareness for it yourself does Israel no favors.

2. Begin your response with empathy. Recognize that it is a truly tragic and horrible event, that this war has taken a toll on too many people - Israelis who have lost friends and family on October 7, hostages who have returned and families of the 130+ who are still held captive, innocent Palestinians caught in Hamas' cruel and inhumane use of human shields, and the families of these brave and caring aid workers.

3. Refer to the official IDF response (click on the "Read More" button below). The response is well crafted and reliable. You can recount the tragic killing of 3 Israeli hostages by our soldiers, who due to the battle conditions did not identify them as our own. The message is: War is devastating.

4. Express confidence in the IDF's commitment to taking responsibility and implementing necessary measures to protect aid workers, emphasizing their professionalism and dedication to investigating and rectifying mistakes. Connect it to morality and Western values that we all share.

5. End with empathy. Emphatically express your sincere condolences to the founder of WCK and the families of the aid workers. And that you hope Hamas will release the hostages and surrender as soon as possible, so that this war can end - for the sake of everyone in the region.

As we have indicated in past weeks, global perceptions of what's going on in this region are changing, and not for the better sadly. As a result, we need to update our strategy for how to effectively advocate for Israel.

Click to watch the session in Hebrew in which Joanna shared our updated recommended strategy, including the objective, target audience and message.

The March 2024 update to the YouGov UK survey included 4,061 adults (not necessarily registered voters) in Great Britain, between March 15-19, 2024.

Here are our main conclusions from the results:

• In the last month, the British government has gone from being a staunch supporter of Israel to a vocal critic. In a sense, the general opinion in Britain is very similar to the Democrats in the U.S., and we are seeing less sympathy for Israel and more for the Palestinians every month.

• Claims made by supporters of Israel that British people who are sympathetic to the Palestinians are terrorist sympathisers are not only untrue, they may also have a boomerang effect of pushing those we want to sway in our direction, further away from us.

• The two-state-solution remains the preferred long-term solution for the Middle East, so we must highlight that while this solution may not be viable in the immediate term, there are many Israelis who still believe in it for the long-term.

The March 2024 update to the Pew Research Center’s views of Americans about the Israel-Hamas war, surveyed over 12,000 U.S. adults (not necessarily registered voters) between February 13-25, 2024.

There’s a lot to unpack in there and we recommend reading the full article about the findings on the Pew website, but here are our main conclusions from the results that affect the way Israel is presenting itself to the U.S. public:

• “The West is Next” narrative, even though it may be valid, simply isn’t getting through and any messaging trying to show that Israel is fighting America’s war as much as it is fighting its own, requires different language or pressure points.

• We need to shift our messaging from focusing on the actions of the Israeli government in the war, to highlighting the values, attractive characteristics and positive contributions of the Israeli people, going forward.

• Ambivalence amongst Americans towards whom their sympathies should be directed are high, which means all options remain open to sway people to increase their sympathies towards the Israelis, as they felt immediately after October 7. That said, the under-30 age cohort remains challenging since their sympathies towards the Palestinians, on account of the Israelis, are at an all-time high.

The nationwide survey conducted by Suffolk University and published in U.S. News was conducted from March 8-11, 2024, through live interviews of 1,000 registered voters, residing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Our main conclusion from this poll is that we’re seeing a worrying and growing trend of dissatisfaction with Israel’s actions in Gaza “bleed” from the younger generations into the mainstream of the American public. To meet this challenge, the official Israeli narrative should be highlighting what we’re doing to provide humanitarian relief to the Gazans, and what our vision for the “Day After” for Gaza looks like. Without those two important messages, we will find it increasingly difficult to continue the ground incursion without major repurcussions from the world’s leaders.

In this session, Eric Narrow unveils the secrets of fundraising. A lot of people in our community are shifting to formaly organizing their pro-Israel advocacy activity and need to fundraise for their newly formed non-profits. Eric shows us how.

In this English session, Ariel unveiled a tool he and his team have been working on that uses ChatGPT and other AI tools to enhance your ability to conduct effective Israel-related conversations, on and offline. 

The rest of the session was dedicated to an in-depth introduction of various cognitive biases that affect the way we all think and behave, based on the groundbreaking work of Israeli Nobel Prize laureates, Amos Tverskey (Z"L) and Daniel Kahneman.