From calls to boycott Israeli and Jewish celebrities to the economic power of Qatar and the realities of doing business during wartime, Episode 28 of ALL CAPS moved between culture, antisemitism and geopolitics, asking what happens when political pressure collides with money, influence and strategic necessity.
At the center of the episode was Amsterdam-based Israeli entrepreneur and energy-sector businessman Eran Efrat, who joined the panel for a wide-ranging conversation about how October 7 transformed his online presence, the tens of millions of dollars raised to equip Israeli soldiers, the global energy market and the influence Qatar has accumulated through its natural gas wealth.
ALL CAPS Ep. 28
But first, the panel returned after Yom Kippur with its weekly look at the stories that had caught their attention.
When political pressure reaches pop culture
The discussion began with Gal Gadot’s recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where the Israeli actress appeared on the same episode as indie-pop band MUNA. A member of the band later said they had not known Gadot would be appearing and posted a “Free Palestine” message.
That prompted a broader debate among the panel over when criticism of Israel crosses into pressure on Israeli or Jewish performers themselves.
The conversation also turned to Sacha Baron Cohen and renewed criticism surrounding his Ali G character, with the panel distinguishing between legitimate debate over comedy and representation and attempts to push performers out of the cultural mainstream because of their identity or support for Israel.
The panelists disagreed over how effective such boycott campaigns actually are. Some argued that major stars such as Gadot remain valuable enough to studios and brands that online pressure has limited commercial effect, while others warned that lesser-known Israeli and Jewish performers may be far more vulnerable.
That debate became more concrete with Adidas. The sportswear company recently apologized for any “offense” caused after a local Israeli promotion for its Single Shoe service featured Shalev Biton, an Israeli amputee athlete and former IDF soldier who lost his leg after being wounded by an anti-tank missile in 2021. The service allows people with limb differences to purchase a single shoe rather than a pair.
Panelists sharply criticized the company’s response to the backlash, arguing that the controversy illustrated the pressure multinational brands face when Israeli identity becomes part of a global political dispute.
From social media to a $50 million operation
Efrat’s own transformation began after October 7. For years, he said, social media had been largely a personal outlet where he posted about business, animals and subjects that interested him. After the Hamas attack, that changed almost overnight.
Efrat said he began using his following to raise money for tactical equipment that Israeli soldiers urgently needed. “In the first 24 hours, there was something like 1.8 million shekels,” he recalled.
As shortages developed in Israel, Efrat turned to what he knew: international trade and logistics. His network began sourcing and importing equipment, including ceramic plates, helmets and other protective gear.
Over time, he said, the effort grew into an operation involving additional fundraisers and teams in Israel and New York that raised more than $50 million and worked with Israeli defense authorities to move equipment into the country quickly.
The experience also changed what he wrote about online. Today, much of Efrat’s commentary focuses on the intersection between energy, commodities and geopolitics, from the Strait of Hormuz to the Houthis and Qatar.
Why war can be good business for energy traders
For Efrat, global conflict is not an abstract geopolitical story. It moves markets. His businesses operate in the renewable energy sector, trading raw materials and feedstock used for products including biodiesel and biogas. But even green-energy markets, he explained, remain closely linked to oil and gas prices.
“When the prices are higher, I’m selling raw materials, so for me it’s very good,” he said of periods of geopolitical instability. Energy suppliers, producers and trading companies, he explained, can make considerably more money during periods of war and disruption because commodity prices rise.
The discussion then turned to Qatar, a subject frequently debated on ALL CAPS. Efrat first corrected an important distinction: Qatar’s global energy leverage comes primarily from liquefied natural gas, or LNG, rather than oil.
That matters because Qatar has built its position not simply through the size of its reserves, he argued, but through reliability, competitive prices and long-term supply contracts that leave customers dependent on a relationship that can last for years.
That commercial dependence, he said, can translate into political influence.
Qatar: Money, influence and a different kind of challenge
The panel pushed Efrat on what Qatar’s vast international investments mean for Israel, particularly amid concerns over its funding and relationships across Western universities, institutions, sports and politics.
Efrat resisted reducing Qatar’s strategy to a simple alliance with Iran or radical Islam. Instead, he described a small state using its resources and investment power to make itself indispensable across multiple and sometimes competing centers of influence.
“They’re using their money like anyone else can,” he said.That, he argued, is precisely what makes Qatar a complicated challenge. Unlike Iran, whose hostility toward Israel is overt, Qatar often operates through legal investments, commercial relationships, sponsorships and donations.
The solution, in his view, begins with greater awareness of how that influence works. “We need to show it to the world,” he said.
Europe criticizes Israel, but still needs Israeli defense technology
Asked about Israel’s growing international isolation and the economic risks it faces, Efrat pointed to one sector where the country retains substantial strategic leverage: defense technology. Israel, he argued, has become one of the world’s significant suppliers of defense systems, with years of operational experience driving demand for Israeli technology.
That creates a contradiction. European governments and institutions may publicly clash with Israel or seek to distance themselves from it politically, he said, while their security needs continue to create demand for Israeli defense products, particularly as the war in Ukraine has forced Europe to reconsider its military capabilities.
But Efrat also cautioned that technological strength cannot replace diplomacy. Israel, he said, needs to manage its international relationships more carefully, particularly in an era when inflammatory comments by public officials can move instantly across social media and complicate efforts to defend the country’s position abroad.
Swastikas on the streets of New York
After the interview, the show returned to the United States and footage of a group displaying swastikas in New York while chanting “Free Palestine.” The video sparked a discussion not only about overt antisemitism but about how accustomed audiences have become to images that, only a few years ago, might have generated far greater shock.
“What scares me is that we scroll past videos like these so quickly,” one panelist said. “Ten years ago, this would have been a national outrage.”
The episode ended on a lighter note with 15-year-old Israeli Romy Stein, who went viral after being approached for a street interview in London and asked to reveal where she came from without explicitly naming the country. “Everybody hates us,” she offered as her first clue. The interviewer struggled to guess.
For the ALL CAPS panel, it was a fitting conclusion to an episode consumed by a larger question: how much of the hostility Israelis see online represents the world beyond their screens, and how much power should they allow it to have?
Click here to watch the full episode and for more unfiltered conversations, exclusive interviews and analysis of the stories shaping Israel and the Jewish world.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder and president of Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, one of Israel’s leading legal advocacy organizations dedicated to combating terrorism, antisemitism and anti-Israel lawfare through the courts and legal action around the world. To learn more about Shurat HaDin's efforts to fight terrorism and defend Israel through legal action, visit Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center.