Hasbara Inc.

8 Tevet 5785 (8 Jan 2024)

The following piece will be an expression of disappointment, anger, and deep criticism for the state of our advocacy industry (referred to as “Hasbara” from here on out). I just want to pre-empt any whinings along the lines of “this is dividing us” or “you shouldn’t say this publicly”: I don't care. Self-criticism and awareness forges the path to meaningful improvement. Even if the institutions or people named here have good intentions, it matters little to the practical consequences of their actions. I very much hope and still believe that the bulk of Hasbara is well-intentioned but perhaps it’s subverted by the allure of celebrity, ego, and predatory non-profit behavior along the way.

I’d consider it fitting to briefly first explain my experience of using LEZM to raise money for tactical gear approximately half a year ago after October 7th. I feel it’s paramount to shine a light on several issues surrounding such campaigns. I don’t seek to gloat nor boast, I’m very well aware of how many thousands of fundraisers for IDF soldiers were spontaneously launched and amassed much larger sums than ours. I’m proud to be a single thread in a grand tapestry (yes this is a Prince of Egypt reference) with all of your help as LEZM GANG.

Of the many things I’ve obtained from LEZM, perhaps the most valuable have been the friends I’ve acquired along the way. In this case I’ve made friends who serve in some of the most grueling infantry brigades that the IDF deploys. For many years, these friends and soldiers of the Golani brigade have been emphasizing to me the crisis of gear shortages within the IDF, specifically the mismanagement of the supply-chain. When Oct 7th hit, the far-spreading rot in this sector was painfully exposed to us all. The private diaspora Jewish mobilization on this front was enormous. Without remembering the source, I believe that I had read that over a billion dollars was raised across the US alone to purchase a wide variety of supplies including drones, helmets, plate carriers, boots and many more things. In the immediate shock and aftermath of October 7th, LEZM alone was able to raise close to $30k that purchased a wide variety of gear for several units with tzav 8 orders to enter Gaza. I only mention this to once again express my gratitude and pride in running this account.

Last spring, after some respite in civilian life, my friends were called back up to enter Gaza. Thanks to previous efforts (in which LEZM participated), they acquired night vision units that allowed them to operate in the dark in Gaza. However, they were missing crucial adapter mounts that attached the units to their helmets; without which, the night vision units were basically useless. With about two weeks to spare before their scheduled deployment to Gaza, I aimed to establish a fundraiser to purchase the aforementioned mounts, and then somehow get them to Israel on time. Thankfully, with the help of G-d, Jewish moms, and LEZM GANG, they received the mounts to supply their entire unit. All in all it was a small fundraiser, only about $5200 in total capital raised but I definitely under-estimated the logistical effort it required going into it. I’d like to give a special shoutout to @joanofjudea for organizing the original NVG fundraiser, and amplifying the one I did for the mounts. Though it was exhausting, it was rewarding to hear that our brothers were made more lethal on the frontlines in the punishing conditions in Gaza. Once again, I want to reiterate that thousands of similar fundraisers were organized by Jews and allies, expending tremendous amounts of effort to raise serious financial capital. Such efforts reflect the best in us when we get pushed against a wall.

The adapter mounts pictured on the left and the same box with our soldiers in Gaza only a few days later pictured on the right

Fast forward two months and I begin to see media from a summit held in NYC called “Voices for Truth: Influencers United against Antisemitism” on my Instagram feed. The event was hosted by an organization called “Combat Antisemitism”, led by Sacha Roytman, and was joined in partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event was held from June 30-July 1 of 2024.

Essentially, over 300 social media influencers and “thought leaders” were invited to join this summit. For 48 hours, attendees were treated to a string of lectures along with an impressive list of celebrity appearances. I had friends who attended this summit and they told me about how lavish the spread was. Open bars, beautifully catered meals, and an exclusive venue hosted at the Glasshouse in Chelsea NY. Moreover, many of the invited attendees were treated to free hotel stays for the duration of the summit. The celebrity list included Montana Tucker, Mayor Eric Adams, Rep. Ritchie Torres, Jen Cohen (honestly, I have no clue who this person is), and Andy Cohen. Andy Cohen, is a host and producer of The Real Housewives reality TV show, a Hollywood mainstay, and he was chosen to be the MC for the summit. Mr. Cohen has absolutely no public record of saying anything in defense of Israel’s mission post-October 7th. At the summit, he said to the attending audience of himself that he’s experienced little antisemitism in his life. Even worse, he explicitly announced that he wasn’t going to make any remarks on the war or conflict. Perhaps he was trying to incubate his reputation among his ranks in Hollywood? Who even is this guy? Why was he paid to host a summit surrounding antisemitism? Why is the man commonly opposite of neurotic maudlin housewives the emcee for an antisemitism summit? Which celebrity obsessed moron made and approved this choice?

Andy Cohen speaking at the summit.

In my rough estimation, the event easily topped over a million dollars in cost, albeit likely much more. It’s important to recognize that nearly no Israeli born influencers attended this summit despite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs funding a significant portion of it. Israeli tax dollars funded this thing, and barely any Israeli influencers were brought over to perhaps bridge the oceanic gap between American and Israeli content creation. That’s an actual challenge worthy of tackling to promote national jewish unity and cultural exchange. The missed opportunity here alone is an insane oversight in my view that would get people fired in private industry.

In ~48 hours, an enormous sum of cash was spent on an event that ultimately amounted to zilch. My friends who attended the summit were left confused as to what exactly the entire point of it was. It was basically an unending stream of lectures, the majority of which were autobiographical pieces that preached to an already pro-Israel crowd. 300 social media influencers were invited and there wasn’t a single goal outlined to give purpose to the summit. There were no fundraising attempts for tactical gear or anything of the sort. There was no coordinated social media push for exposure, and the livestream content posted online seemingly isn't even worth farming for shameless reposting by the organizations involved. Honestly, some of the clips are downright embarrassing. Even the guest list is bewildering. Some very small influencers (I know of one who actually started producing anti-zionist content after the summit) were invited to an all-expenses paid experience while other massive ones were left off the invite list for unknown reasons. As an outsider looking in, the level of organization here is abysmal relative to the amount of money spent. What was the return on investment? Hahaha.  

Downright embarrassing:

After spending two days figuring out what a blunder this all was, I wanted to put my head through a wall. It was deeply demoralizing then and it still is now. Why the fuck was I busting my bottom trying to raise a bit over $5k? Why were my brothers in Gaza lacking tactical gear necessitating them to rely on our fundraiser? Why are thousands of Jews sending portions of their own earned income to Israel, whilst our own Hasbara industry heads are burning copious amounts of cash on useless self-aggrandizing summits? 

Why is this cash instead, not going to initiatives on the offensive? Jew Hate Database (@jewhatedb) has become the leader in unmasking our opponents and holding them accountable. The guys behind JHDB have built an incredibly valuable tool that has sent simps for jihad on the defensive. While Andy Cohen gets paid a small fortune to play a bland piece of deli meat these guy are struggling to raise money.

A single example among thousands where JHDB held antisemites accountable.

It’s a pitiful thing. The Hasbara industry isn’t serious and lacks an actual vision. Look no further than our enemies for inspiration, they have a plethora of goals from seeking to conquer Israel, ostracizing Israel in the public sphere, and libeling it in international theater (UN and ICC). As misguided and evil as they are, our enemies at least manage to conceive of destinations to reach. What is the goal of Hasbara Inc.? It’s beyond the scope of this piece, but simply put, Hasbara Inc isn’t interested in “victory” for the Jewish people, its priorities exist in the spreadsheets of its donor list at best. 

Our advocacy industry has become fat with cash and lazy in disposition. Hasbara can continue along the path of self-induced diabetes or seek health, unfortunately I’d bet on the former. Even the names of these organizations are entirely uninspiring. “EndJewHatred”, “StopAntisemitism”, “Combat Antisemtism” are some of the most bland and boring monikers that keep getting repeated and recycled over and over again. Since their inception, rates of antisemitism have largely only grown, so nice going guys! What’s the point of all this fracture in organization even? 75% of these organizations all share overlapping mission statements, (“fighting BDS on campuses”) yet feel the need to justify themselves as uniquely deserving of donations to pay all their various staff members. Here’s a suggestion: let’s cut then consolidate half these organizations into one large one where investment oversight becomes transparent while keeping staff costs down.  They all consequently need to throw gala dinners and summits to grift enormous sums off well-meaning Jews who probably have no good idea of where their money is going or what it’s even accomplishing. “EndJewHatred”? Yeah good luck, it’s been around for a while. Impossible goals necessitate endless funding. 

Every year the WZO (World Zionist Organization) runs a sort of accelerator competition where all these organizations compete for Jewish votes to secure a portion of a $1B portfolio of grants. Activist groups, campus advocates, and even kiruv organizations all jockey for a portion through crammed social media campaigns imploring you to vote for them. I’ve been suspicious of this for a while now since multiple organizations have reached out to LEZM for official support and shares. The whole thing is kind of laughable to be honest. Do you want to know what’s really plaguing Jews in the United States? It’s not impish BDS resolutions on campuses. Most of the time these resolutions are entirely symbolic and the overarching business/research relationships university administrations hold with Israeli institutions are untouchable by student government resolutions. It reminds me of when I used to pass my little brother an unconnected Xbox controller so that he could feel as if he was actually playing GTA IV along with me. BDS resolutions are kind of a smoke screen. I’m not saying they should be ignored, but the vast amounts of money that goes into campuses to push against these resolutions is wasted when they are eventually approved by a new student government in the following year or two.

What’s really plaguing Jews in the United States is the challenge of reaching substantive Jewish education. Far more of our brethren fall to the wayside because of assimilation and ignorance than from BDS. BDS has practically become a red herring that’s distracting us from deeper problems and draining our earned resources.

How do we expect to recruit ranks of proud Jews when they reach college and they’ve had little to no education in their own history and tradition? I think $1B invested properly in a managed fund could easily fund thousands upon thousands of scholarships for young Jewish kids to enter elite private Jewish schooling with top tier academics. It’s shameful that the scope of organization only really seems to start at college. I’ve met so many parents desperate to get their kids into Jewish schools but cannot because of the capital hurdles. I’ve met parents who end up having to send their children to Christian schools as a result. Shame on us.

Ronald Lauder, CEO of the World Jewish Congress, is in my estimation one of the few Jewish leaders who understands this crisis. He alone, an heir to the Estée Lauder estate, funds Jewish schools across the entire continent of Europe to make sure young Jewish children grow up with parochial schooling. Imagine if we had 10 Ronald Lauders doing this for America. Yes, it would take some time to see the payoff but it’s a far better investment than playing an unending game of catch up when we reach college. Some still ponder why so many young Jews turn to anti-Zionist causes without addressing the key shortcomings of their upbringing that caused their turn. The calculus is actually rather simple: educated Jews end up being strong yids. No amount of donations could ever “end antisemitism”. Building everlasting Jewish homes however is achievable, measurable and practical. 

Ronald Lauder, CEO of WJC, visiting a Jewish Day school saved from closure in Bulgaria.

I have little faith that the Hasbara industry will reform itself. Nonprofits are heavily incentivized to keep their target problem alive, they largely behave similar to a parasite so that they can continue to grift donations. I have seen no criticism leveled at these organizations aside from meager in-person whispers, and tepid objections. Social media, while it has its uses, cannot be our catch all solution to far deeper issues. No matter how many hundreds of tiny accounts are created recycling the same boomer-tier content, it will never convince a Jew ignorant of his own history to stand up and be proud, let alone change the mind of an antisemite. Let’s cut the crap and talk about it, for if we don’t, we condemn the next Jewish generation to ignorance and assimilation.

Despite the running ire throughout this essay I want to end on a hopeful note for we still are a people of tikva. Despite decades of wasteful spending and aimless organization, we are still winning. There are still many organizations and individuals that are indeed enhancing our standing in the world. Thankfully also, our enemies also happen to be deeply stupid people who think that their worst attributes are their best defining features. The other day I was discussing with the other LEZM admins what the best outcomes have been from Hasbara Inc. We failed in trying to come up with solid answers. Actually we ended up reminding ourselves of that terrible “blue square” Instagram campaign that essentially just copied a move from the Marxist strategists of BLM. We did agree on one positive however: our years long friendship and coordination. Without Hasbara none of us would know each other and ironically enough, LEZM would not exist. If Hasbara were to ever truly reform, don’t throw this feature out. Bringing Jews together to network and connect across different industries and communities is the best fruit Hasbara Inc. ever bore.

הנה מה טוב ומה נעים, שבט אחים גם יחד

Cheers LEZM GANG.

~ Lawless Levite