Against the backdrop of the changed social mood, several well-known media personalities from overseas have published statements in support of the State of Israel. Publicly available documents show that they were paid for these contributions by the government in Tel Aviv.
Foreign organizations operating in the United States must register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). On September 26, the non-governmental organization Bridge Partners did just that. This step was necessary so that it could pay the influencers it had contracted.
Bridge Partners and its managing directors, Uri Steinberg and Jair Levi, have been working with Havas Media Group Germany, which is part of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, since they started their business. Both employees sent several invoices marked “influence campaign.”
A lot of money for small influencers
The total value of the invoices from June to November amounted to $900,000, which Steinberg and Levi allocated at $7,000 per social media post. The company also hired former Israeli army spokesman Nadav Strauchler as a consultant.
The case was brought to light by the opinion portal Responsible Statecraft, which features guest posts by well-known authors such as John Mearsheimer, former diplomat Chas Freeman, and journalist Anatol Lieven. Author Nick Cleveland-Stout pointed out that the pro-Israel company's project is called “Esther Project.”
The name of this operation is similar to Project Esther, which Štandard has already covered. It was a coordinated effort by the Heritage Foundation and other groups that labeled critics of the Jewish state as a “network supporting Hamas” in order to deprive them of their platform.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on Bridge Partners' “influence operation” at a meeting with pro-Israel influencers in New York on September 26. In addition to meeting with US President Donald Trump—whose plan for the Gaza Strip he endorsed—he also met with several formerly prominent representatives of the MAGA movement.
“We have to defend ourselves. How can we defend ourselves? With our influencers. I think you should talk to them if you have the opportunity, with this community, they are very important,” Netanyahu said, while admitting that his government considers social networks a “weapon.”
The problem is that campaigns of this kind do not distinguish between overt anti-Semitism and criticism of the Israel lobby, as Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt have written.
However, the videos with which influencers attempt to sway public opinion in favor of Israel do not have a wide reach and have in many cases become the target of ridicule.
The best 'conservative' influencers Israel can buy?
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) September 28, 2025
Emily Austin participated in the Epstein binders hoax, and joined Netanyahu's recent influencers meeting
Xavaier DuRousseau attended the secret Hamptons influencer summit with Bill Ackman, then junketed off to Israel pic.twitter.com/JLoGk3Jzfd
Anti-Semitism is indeed rampant on some social networks. Americans repeatedly post photos of gas chamber doors on Network X with comments that they are made of wood and have a handle on the inside, or statements by World War II general George Patton, who claimed after the war that the US had “fought on the wrong side.” There are also many mocking posts about Jews on Instagram.
In Slovakia, similar statements are punishable by imprisonment for six months to three years under Section 422d of the Criminal Code. However, Americans are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Israel also targets churches
Israel also founded the non-governmental organization Show Faith By Works, whose name refers to the second chapter of the Epistle of James in the New Testament. Through the aforementioned German company Havas Media, it received $4.1 million for the “largest geofencing and targeted digital campaign” aimed at members of small Christian churches.
Geofencing is the use of local or satellite-based instruments that virtually “enclose” an area and connect to devices within that zone. The non-governmental organization plans to use this process to place pro-Israel advertisements on the smartphones of people who enter the zone around their church.
However, the campaign does not end there. One of the more expensive items is the “October 7 portable experience,” which will be displayed virtually in parking lots near the target churches. There is a whole list of these, which is also included in the FARA application.
As the Times of Israel newspaper recalls, the non-governmental organization, which unites 513 church communities, was only founded on August 5. At the top of the list is Dream City Church—the home church of recently shot activist Charlie Kirk.
In addition to the name of the church, the list also includes the number of believers and the denomination. It is noteworthy that there is not a single Roman Catholic or Orthodox church on this list.
Although the draft lists the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, and the city of Denver (Colorado), the above list includes dozens of churches based in Texas.
Contradiction in doctrine
One of the goals of the Show Faith organization is to “use biblical arguments to emphasize the importance of Israel and the Jewish people to Christians.” . This is probably why the campaign excludes Catholics and Orthodox Christians—because the ancient churches reject an interpretation of the biblical texts that would refer to the Jews. According to Rome and Constantinople, the prophecies of the Old Testament refer to Jesus Christ.
However, the evangelical churches—those that emerged from the schism of the Anglican (Episcopal) or Calvinist communities in the US during the six “revival movements”—use a relatively simplified version of the third verse of the 12th chapter of the Book of Genesis: “I will bless those who bless you,” as God said to Abraham.
As the best-known and most convincing advocates of “Christian Zionism,” they are therefore an easy target for these and similar campaigns. However, not everyone is equally convinced, as the recent conflict between two Protestant Christians—Texas Senator Ted Cruz and TV host Tucker Carlson—has shown.
According to this proposal, pastors are to receive “packages” containing brochures and videos to distribute during their services. These are to focus on several points, such as Israel's “moral superiority” over militant groups, the fact that the Palestinians elected Hamas and “built their tunnels,” or the questioning of the two-state solution.
Israel is thus attempting to use its soft power in many ways to reverse the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States. However, some excerpts from the grant are already circulating on the internet and are the target of further slander – so the effect has so far been obviously counterproductive.