After being dismissed from his position as English-language government spokesperson, Eylon Levy launched a new crowdfunding campaign on the JGive website in order to fund a private international advocacy project under his leadership, which will promote his and other spokespersons' independent public diplomacy efforts. Four days into the campaign, Levy managed to raise $308,228 donated by 1,408 individuals.
Levy’s new project is called New Israeli Discourse. In a video he uploaded to his X account (with over 190,000 followers), Levy said: “Millions of Jews around the world have proven you don't need to be a spokesperson to speak up for Israel. Since October 7, I've been working with a team of incredible volunteers behind the scenes. And now, we're moving forward with our own civilian public diplomacy initiative, to keep telling Israel's story in an increasingly hostile world.”
“In TV studios and on radio, on social media and at conferences, we're going to keep speaking out against the lies and the hatred and speaking up for our right to bring the hostages back home and to keep Israelis safe for generations to come. I'm not going to stop fighting for Israel, and I know that you won't either. Am Yisrael Chai,” he added.
In the summary accompanying the crowdfunding campaign, Levy wrote: “Since October 7th, my team of volunteers and I have built a unique pro-Israel communication machine. We are insiders — with close ties to the IDF and Israeli government — yet operate independently. We have changed the face of Israeli advocacy but we need your help to keep fighting.”
The new project’s staff said its goal is to create context and present facts in the global discourse regarding the war in Gaza, in order to bolster Israel's legitimacy, and to create an Israeli discourse with Israel's allies and partners among the Jewish communities and provide them with context and facts that will help them participate in the fight for public diplomacy.
They added that they will do this via podcasts and filmed guides by Eylon; tours in the country; events and remote and in-person meetings with audiences, influencers and allies; working with the foreign press; producing written and filmed content for social media, and more.
Furthermore, the initiative said there is a tremendous need among Israel's partners for high-quality, verified, and well-formulated content that presents reality as it actually is. "If we want to win the battle for legitimacy, and ensure both Israel's victory in the war and against attempts to undermine our right to live here, we must create this discourse."
Levy announced his retirement from his role as a government spokesperson last month after he was suspended for three weeks for tweeting against British Foreign Secretary David Cameron. The tweet sparked sharp criticism from Britain, which demanded clarification on whether Levy's comments represented the official stance of the Israeli government.
"After over 400 media interviews, briefings and press conferences as an official spokesperson on behalf of the Israeli government since October 7, the time has come to set out on an independent path in advocacy with the team that helped me since the outbreak of war. We do not have the privilege of neglecting the battlefield. I will continue to fight for our good name, whether as an official spokesperson or not," Levy wrote on the X social media platform.
First published: 00:15, 04.05.24