The Israeli government plans to offset wartime spending and an economic slowdown with tax hikes and deep cuts to public services. But the proposed budget for 2025 also includes a massive new allocation: toward pro-Israel advocacy efforts abroad.
Under the new budget, Israel’s Foreign Ministry will receive $150 million, on top of what it gets for its existing activities, for what’s officially known as public diplomacy, or in Hebrew, hasbara. That sum is more than 20 times what such efforts have typically been allotted in past years.
Anybody else always take these numbers and divide by 100k for a very rough overestimate of what kinds of Western labor an amount is capable of?
Essentially, this is saying 1500 people working together for control over dialogue are capable of reshaping the entire world view. I don’t support genocide, but I can also see calculated, competent, and very capable people. When they put a number on such an objective, it is not some random guess buy. Just 1500 to take the reigns of the collective public mind.
and many more whose labour is going towards funding this effort by way of taxes
If it makes you feel any better(worse), that 1500 people is more like several times more bots/AI powered propaganda pieces that waste precious resources and also do not provide an income to anyone actually working. Just more towards shady companies like CA. You love to see it.