Anxious Israel to Spend $40 Million on PR Campaign in Changing America | GRAVITAS HIGHLIGHTS

[00:00:20]Shifting focus now, Israel is also fighting a battle far beyond West Asia.

[00:00:25]It's reportedly now spending millions of dollars to try and repair its image in the United States.

[00:00:32]As support for the country slips sharply, even among conservative Americans who have traditionally stood firmly behind it. According to an Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, the Israeli government is pouring unprecedented amounts of money into an influence campaign aimed at reshaping public opinion and defending its military actions. According to Haaretz, the Israeli government has expanded its influence operation in the United States to more than 40 million dollars, nearly three times its original budget.

[00:01:07]Nearly three times the original. In fact, the campaign reportedly launched late last year now focuses heavily on justifying Israel's war in Iran and countering accusations that Netanyahu dragged Washington into another conflict.

[00:01:21]According to the report, documents filed with the US Justice Department showing that Israel has also signed a nearly one million dollar contract with a New York production company to create pro-Israel digital content. Earlier reports by Haaretz also said multi-million dollar agreements with American media and content firms targeting Christian conservatives. One key contract reportedly went to a public relations firm owned by a strategist who managed US President Donald Trump's digital campaigns in 2016 and 2020.

[00:01:58]The newspaper also reported that the firm has built networks of websites carrying pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian narratives while presenting themselves as neutral information platforms.

[00:02:13]Their stated goal reportedly was to influence search engine results and responses generated by AI chatbots. The Israeli government's push coming at a time when Israel's popularity in America continues to decline. According to an April survey by Pew Research Center, 60% of Americans now hold an unfavorable view of Israel.

[00:02:35]That's, by the way, up from 53% last year and 42% in 2022.

[00:02:44]Confidence in Netanyahu has also eroded.

[00:02:47]Nearly 60% of Americans saying they do not trust Netanyahu's judgment in international affairs compared with 52% last year and 42% in 2023.

[00:03:03]The issue has also exposed differences within the Trump camp. The US Vice President publicly criticized members of Netanyahu's cabinet for attacking Trump over the Iran agreement. Listen to this.

[00:03:16]>> And this does bother me, is that you've seen people within Bibi's cabinet who have come out and attacked the deal. If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.

[00:03:36]>> Trump himself has had an increasingly strained relationship with Netanyahu, especially in recent weeks. In the latest, while saying that he will most likely endorse Netanyahu in Israel's upcoming elections, Trump also said that he wants to see who else enters the race before making a final decision?

[00:03:55]And even as the G7 summit concluded smoothly with US President Donald Trump adopting a more cooperative tone instead of openly attacking his European allies, Italy is now up in arms. An alleged comment by Trump on the Italian Prime Minister has riled Italy to the extent that its foreign minister called off the US visit. Spain's Prime Minister also expressed his solidarity with the Italian Prime Minister.

[00:04:43]Now, just for context here, it all started with Donald Trump's interview with an Italy-based channel on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

[00:04:51]Visual showed the Italian Prime Minister and the US President engaged in conversation, sitting side by side on a small sofa. As you can see in those visuals, Trump, however, reportedly told the channel that he merely indulged the Italian leader by chatting with her. As per the transcript released by the channel, the US President was quoted as saying, I'm quoting, "She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so badly. I would not have taken it, but I felt sorry for her." Quote, unquote.

[00:05:23]And while the channel did not make the audio of this conversation public, the US is yet to confirm this. The Italian Prime Minister, of course, has reacted and now has accused Donald Trump of lying. She expressed surprise at the way in which he treats US allies. Listen in to what she said.

[00:05:46]>> Donald Trump's Donald Trump's completely made up. I am frankly astonished. I don't know why the president of the United States behaves like this towards his >> And in a rather indirect reference to Trump's public praise for leaders like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, the Italian Prime Minister lamented that Trump treats adversaries of the West with a great deal of indulgence.

[00:06:17]>> I can only say it is disappointing that he does not show the same determination with the enemies of the West and of the United States, whose leaders he instead treats with far greater indulgence.

[00:06:28]There is one thing he should remember, neither I nor Italy ever beg.

[00:06:40]>> In fact, the ripple effects were quite visible. Italy's foreign minister canceled his visit to America from June 21 to 22. He was supposed to uh attend an Italy-US business forum in Miami and meet the US Secretary of State as well. Explaining his decision, he said, "I'm quoting, the serious and offensive words of President Trump towards the Prime Minister offend all of Italy." That's the statement on your screen.

[00:07:09]And this latest diplomatic diff, by the way, comes even as the Italian leader was a vocal supporter of Donald Trump in a way. She was the lone head of state in the European Union to attend his inauguration ceremony, for example, as US President.

[00:07:22]However, they have clashed in recent times. For instance, in April, the Italian Prime Minister dubbed Trump's criticism of Pope over the Iran war as unacceptable. The US President said she lacked courage.

[00:07:36]Now, this is not the lone European leader, of course, with whom Trump has clashed with.

[00:07:42]Although the French the red carpet for the US president by hosting him for a banquet, they have been at loggerheads for quite some time now. While Macron strongly opposed the US forcibly clearing the Strait of Hormuz earlier through a military operation, for example, Trump also slammed France's lack of support for the Iran war earlier. A lot has happened. He also provoked outrage by claiming that Macron's wife treats him extremely badly, quote unquote. The French leader in turn made it clear that Trump's comments were neither elegant nor up to standard.

[00:08:16]And the US leader also has had a turbulent relationship with Germany's leaders. Last year, he heaped criticism of the former uh German Chancellor Angela Merkel for opening up her country to refugees. Similarly, Trump hit out at the incumbent Chancellor as well after he castigated the US over the Iran war.

[00:08:37]Macron flagged America's lack of an exit strategy and warned how Iran is humiliating it in negotiations. Even neighboring Canada has not been spared from Trump's barbs. Back in 2018, a major controversy broke out after the US refused to endorse a joint G7 statement with Donald Trump accusing the then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of acting meekly and making false statements over tariffs between the two sides. In 2024, he even described Trudeau as a governor. Trump also uh in fact uh riled the present Macron-led government by referring to Canada as America's 51st state. And this also spurred Canada to reduce its reliance on US defense firms for the purchase of fighter jets. Trump's dissatisfaction with his allies over its refusal to actively participate in the Iran war has also resulted in a major rethink on America's approach towards the NATO.

[00:09:34]Recently, Washington told its allies that it will gradually scale down the number of strategic bombers, fighter jets, drones, submarines, warships to defend the NATO countries.

[00:09:47]>> [music] [music] >> America studied and reverse engineered Iran's infamous Shahed drones and introduced it during the Iran war for the first time, reportedly. And now, one of the world's most powerful military appears to be embracing a lesson from Tehran's playbook.

[00:10:23]Warfare, it seems, no longer belongs only to expensive fighter jets and elite pilots.

[00:10:29]The future could actually belong to autonomous drones that fly beside manned aircraft, designed similar to aircraft, and can enter the most dangerous airspace first, and if necessary, even sacrifice themselves.

[00:10:44]According to a Wall Street Journal report, the United States Air Force has signed agreements with two defense companies to build a new generation of autonomous combat drones. These aircraft, reportedly, are part of a program called Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

[00:11:00]The idea is quite simple. Let's break it down. Instead of sending human pilots alone into heavily defended skies protected by enemy missile systems, the US basically wants unmanned aircraft to fly forward like loyal wingmen.

[00:11:17]These drones will accompany fighter jets, scout enemy positions, scan the skies for enemy aircraft, and help launch attacks deep inside enemy territory. Not just that, they're also being designed to operate in airspace filled with surface-to-air missile systems.

[00:11:37]Going where the risk to human pilots is considered high. Unlike traditional drones that require remote operators, these aircraft will fly with limited human control.

[00:11:50]And make many decisions on their own.

[00:11:53]The strategy reportedly reflecting a major shift in military thinking.

[00:11:58]Cheap expendable drones have transformed battlefields from your uh from Ukraine to West Asia, for example. Iranian-made Shahed drones designed as one-way attack weapons.

[00:12:12]Have basically demonstrated just how low-cost unmanned systems can actually inflict significant damage on military targets.

[00:12:21]America studied those lessons closely, it seems, and used reversed engineering Shaheds against Iran, for example. Now, Washington wants to apply the same principle, it seems, at a much higher technological level.

[00:12:35]And this has far-reaching implications.

[00:12:38]As per the WSJ report, the US Air Force plans to buy around 150 of these drones by the end of this decade, and eventually build a fleet of nearly 1,000 aircraft.

[00:12:53]Cost is another crucial factor here, of course. The military wants these drones to cost only about 1/3 of a manned fighter jet.

[00:13:14]And that perhaps raises a whole new question as far as future wars and conflicts are concerned. If these autonomous wingmen, in a way, are significantly cheaper as compared to advanced fighter aircraft, could commanders treat them as assets that can actually be risked or even sacrificed to protect human pilots and achieve the mission objectives.

[00:13:36]And their role may not stop at escort missions as such. US military planners reportedly see these drones evolving beyond air-to-air combat into ground attack and other strike operations as well, giving the commanders a flexible unmanned force capable of performing multiple missions.

[00:13:55]So, the new doctrine is perhaps becoming more and more clear. In tomorrow's wars, the first aircraft entering hostile skies may not carry a human pilot at all.

[00:14:05]This could be a game-changer. They may be autonomous wingmen flying ahead, locating threats, drawing enemy fire, and allowing manned fighters to strike from behind.

[00:14:19]To stay up-to-speed with the latest news, download the WION app and subscribe to our YouTube channel.