On October 7, Hamas invaded southern Israel and wreaked havoc on the Gaza border communities, murdering over 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. As Israelis’ confidence and trust in their leaders and national institutions plummeted to an unprecedented low, Israel acquired the much-needed national pacifier: R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF chief spokesperson.
Hagari’s politically neutral rhetoric and calming demeanor stood out, helping Israelis through a year of turmoil and disaster while quickly becoming a cult figure of sorts to many. Hagari, who only entered his role as spokesperson seven months before the massacre, was the first public figure to stand up and talk to Israelis when they were fearing the worst in the early hours of October 7.
From his daily briefings to the Israeli public in the early days of the war until now, Hagari has been willing to speak to the public not only during the ecstatic highs of hostage releases and rescues but also during the most destabilizing lows, when no one else in the political or military echelon dared.
Israel watches R.Adm. Daniel Hagari
Hagari’s influence on Israel’s perception and public diplomacy, ranging from organizing English-language press conferences for international reporters to filming tours of Hamas tunnels and Gazan schools used for terror, cannot be understated.
Hagari’s efforts to maintain public trust in the military establishment were not in vain. According to data released by the Israeli Democracy Institute earlier this year, Jewish Israelis lost the least trust in the IDF compared to other institutions, with faith in the military remaining at least 30 percentage points higher than any other institution. Among the Arab Israeli sector, faith in the IDF rose by 23% in the same time frame.
In his effort to communicate IDF actions as clearly as possible while valiantly fighting against the online dissemination of false information about IDF soldiers and the war, Hagari has successfully cemented himself as the face of the IDF’s communications to both Israelis and the international community. As a result, he is one of the world’s most influential Jews today.