Israel to fund tour for MAGA and pro-Trump influencers: Report
Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Sunday reported that the planned tour will feature 16 influencers, all under the age of 30, who support US President Donald Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) and America First campaigns.
The influencers each have hundreds of thousands to millions of followers. They will be flown in to counter what the Israeli government sees as declining support for Israel among young Americans, the report said, without citing any date.
'With the rise of the America First movement and MAGA in American politics, it's essential for Israel that the movement adopt a pro-Israel position,' Yacov Livne, senior deputy director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Department of Public Diplomacy, was quoted as saying in the report.
The Israeli foreign ministry aims to bring 550 influencer delegations to Israel by the end of the year through such tours, it said.
'[While] older Republicans and American conservatives still hold pro-Israel views, positive perspectives towards Israel are falling across all younger age groups,' it said, according to the report.
The influencers will be pushed to share messaging that aligns with Israeli policy regarding the Palestinians. 'We are working with influencers, sometimes with delegations of influencers,' an unnamed source from the ministry told Haaretz.
'Their networks have huge followings and their messages are more effective than if they came directly from the ministry.'
The tour will be carried out through an organisation called Israel365, which is in a 'unique position to convey a pro-Israel stance that aligns entirely with the MAGA and America First agenda', Haaretz quoted the foreign ministry as saying.
Israel365 promotes support for Israel, specifically among Christians, based on biblical principles. Its website says the group 'stands unapologetically for the Jewish people's God-given right to the entire Land of Israel'.
The organisation also rejects a two‑state solution as a 'delusion' and describes its mission as defending 'Western civilization against threats from both Progressive Left extremism and global jihad'.
The ministry said it has struck a 290,000-shekel ($86,000) deal to carry out the tour, Haaretz reported.
Since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, Israel365 'deepened ties with MAGA and America First movements, appearing at their major events and helping recruit prominent conservative figures to visit Israel', the report added.
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