Project 545

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Israeli Foreign Ministry public-diplomacy programme funded with NIS 545 million from late 2024 and led by ministry chief of staff Eran Shayovich


Project 545

Type Government programme
Founded Late 2024
Founder(s) Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Gideon Sa'ar
Key people Eran Shayovich (head; Foreign Ministry chief of staff)


Project 545 is the name given to the expanded public-diplomacy (hasbara) budget of Israel's Foreign Ministry. It began after Gideon Sa'ar became foreign minister in 2024. The Quincy Institute reports that "In late 2024, the Israeli government allocated a historic 545 million shekels — around $150 million at the time — for public diplomacy, which became known as Project 545." It says ministry chief of staff Eran Shayovich "was chosen to lead the effort".[1] (Critical.)

Budget and planning

Jewish Insider reported in December 2024 that the ministry's public-diplomacy budget for 2025 was "expected to be $150 million — over 20 times what it was before the war began in 2023". It said Sa'ar had insisted on the increase when his party joined the coalition. It said the money would go towards "media campaigns abroad, in the foreign press, on social media, and more", including "concentrated activity on U.S. campuses". Sa'ar and his deputy Sharren Haskel held brainstorming sessions with "influencers and public opinion leaders", among them former government spokesman Eylon Levy, Jonathan Conricus of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Michael Dickson of StandWithUs. A separate meeting was held with civil-society organisations including the Jewish Agency, ELNET, AJC, NGO Monitor, the World Zionist Organization and HonestReporting.[2] Sa'ar told the meeting: "We are in the middle of an effort to change the approach towards the whole topic that was once called hasbara, and that I call 'consciousness warfare'".[2]

For 2026, The Jerusalem Post reported that the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and Sa'ar had agreed "a budget of NIS 2.35 billion for Israel advocacy campaigns", of which the government had "already authorized NIS 1 billion". The budget still needed Knesset approval.[3] (Journalistic.) Haaretz counted roughly $100 million committed by Israel to campaigns abroad since 7 October 2023.[4] Its Hebrew edition noted that not all the agreements are public, and that it is impossible to know how much of the money has already been paid.[5] (Journalistic.)

The Quincy Institute quotes Shayovich as writing in December 2025 that "a 30 percent increase in our budget in less than half a year" had followed successful pilots.[1]

Contractors

Eran Shayovich is named as the Foreign Ministry official dealing with the US registrant Show Faith by Works. That firm's $3.26 million budget for church outreach in the western United States was filed under FARA in September 2025.[6] Responsible Statecraft reported in October 2025 that the campaign "will be overseen by Eran Shayovich".[7] (Critical.)

The Foreign Ministry also published single-supplier and foreign-supplier exemption notices for public-diplomacy work in 2025. The notices do not say whether these contracts form part of Project 545.

Selected Foreign Ministry public-diplomacy exemption notices, 2025 (mr.gov.il)
Notice Subject (translated) Supplier (as published) Amount Period
4000604952 Content production for production and distribution on the TBN network Sher-El Media and Productions Ltd NIS 1,000,000 1 June – 31 December 2025[8]
4000606784 Flights for a public-diplomacy delegation visiting Israel Orthodox Jewish Chamber US$120,000 29 June – 5 July 2025[9]
4000606871 Organising large conferences in the US to show support for Israel "Eagls Wings" (Eagles' Wings) US$700,000 2 September – 31 December 2025[10][11]
4000608002 America-Israel Friendship League: delegations of US influencers on public-diplomacy visits to Israel America-Israel Friendship League (Israeli registered association) US$150,000 12 September 2025 – 31 December 2026[12]
4000606762 Delegations of senior opinion leaders and influencers from Canada The Exigent Foundation Notice: up to US$162,600; approved: up to US$128,800 October–November 2025[13][14]
4000607417 (earlier notice 4000604787) Delegation of senior opinion leaders and influencers from the US (Israel365) Hebrew Ventures LLC Up to US$70,000 (protocol 294/2025); the earlier notice gave NIS 297,360 9–18 August 2025[15][16]
4000610751 Public-diplomacy videos in Times Square, New York Neutron Media 45,950 (Australian dollars as published) 1 March – 31 May 2026[17]

Haaretz reported in July 2026 that an American nonprofit had received $150,000 to bring US influencers to Israel on public-diplomacy visits.[4] The amount matches notice 4000608002 above. The paper also reported that the evangelical campaign run by Show Faith by Works had received about $3.3 million and could eventually be worth $4 million.[4] The Foreign Ministry told Haaretz in November 2025 that claims of "geofencing and payments to influencers" under the Show Faith agreement "are false".[18] (Journalistic.)


Committee protocols attached to some of these notices give more detail:

  • Exigent Foundation. Minutes 340/2025 of the ministry's tenders committee (25 September 2025), first published by the Canadian outlet PressProgress, approve up to $128,800 for two delegations organised by the Canadian charity The Exigent Foundation: influencers from the "Iranian Justice Collective" in October 2025 and "a VIP delegation including former senior officials from the Canadian security establishment" in November 2025. The cost is charged to "Commitment item 09-51-92-14, Public Diplomacy Projects 545".[14]
  • Eagles' Wings. Protocol 366/2025 (2 September 2025) describes Eagles' Wings, spelled "Eagls Wings" on the portal, as a New York 501(c)(3) (EIN 16-1462696) headed by Bishop Robert Stearns. It approves up to $700,000 towards a $1,409,000 programme of appearances at large US church gatherings, including the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ, a Capitol Hill advocacy event for "hundreds of pastors and rabbis", and a solidarity event (translated from Hebrew).[11]
  • Israel365. Protocol 294/2025 (5 August 2025) approves up to $70,000 for the "Israel365 America First MAGA Influencer Trip", organised by Hebrew Ventures LLC, bringing 16 influencers from the "AF/MAGA" movement to Israel from 9 to 18 August 2025 (translated from Hebrew).[15]

At the Knesset Finance Committee on 1 December 2025, a Treasury official presented a further NIS 150 million for the Foreign Ministry's "hasbara activity", made up of NIS 90 million for campaigns and NIS 60 million for international delegations. The ministry's budget officer said that "out of the 545 from the coalition budget since the start of the year, about 140 million shekels were allocated for delegations", which were "only incoming delegations" chosen mainly on ambassadors' recommendations, and that the campaign money went through the Government Advertising Agency to companies abroad (translated from Hebrew).[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nick Cleveland-Stout, The Eighth Front: Inside Israel's $1 Billion Influence Campaign Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, July 2026. Critical.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lahav Harkov, Israel's foreign minister is looking for a way to spend $150 million on public diplomacy Jewish Insider, 26 December 2024. Journalistic.
  3. ↑ Tobias Holcman, Coalition approves NIS 2.35 billion for hasbara budget 2026 The Jerusalem Post, 6 December 2025. Journalistic.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Omer Benjakob, The Millions Fueling Israel's Frantic Battle to Win Back U.S. Public Opinion Haaretz, 20 July 2026. Journalistic.
  5. ↑ Omer Benjakob, 100 מיליון דולר: הממשלה משקיעה הון עתק בניסיון לשפר את תדמיתה, ללא הצלחה Haaretz (Hebrew edition), 19 July 2026. Journalistic.
  6. ↑ Show Faith by Works, LLC, Exhibits A and B, with budget and Havas Media supplier form FARA eFile, 27 September 2025. FARA filing (primary).
  7. ↑ Nick Cleveland-Stout, Israel wants to pay US pastors a stipend to spread the word Responsible Statecraft, 15 October 2025. Critical.
  8. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Exemption notice 4000604952: content production for distribution on the TBN network Government procurement portal (mr.gov.il), 20 July 2025. Official (primary).
  9. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Exemption notice 4000606784: flights for a visiting public-diplomacy delegation mr.gov.il, 8 September 2025. Official (primary).
  10. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Exemption notice 4000606871: organising large conferences in the US to show support for Israel mr.gov.il, 9 September 2025. Official (primary).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs tenders committee, Protocol 366/2025: Eagles' Wings (attachment to notice 4000606871), 2 September 2025 (Hebrew), accessed 21 October 2026. Official (primary).
  12. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Exemption notice 4000608002: America-Israel Friendship League influencer delegations mr.gov.il, 20 October 2025. Official (primary).
  13. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Exemption notice 4000606762: The Exigent Foundation delegations from Canada mr.gov.il, 8 September 2025, accessed 21 October 2026. Official (primary).
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tenders committee minutes 340/2025, 25 September 2025, with Hebrew scans, published by PressProgress (PDF), February 2026, accessed 21 October 2026. Official (primary), first published by PressProgress.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs tenders committee, Protocol 294/2025: Hebrew Ventures LLC (attachment to notice 4000607417), 5 August 2025 (Hebrew), accessed 21 October 2026. Official (primary).
  16. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Exemption notice 4000604787: Hebrew Ventures LLC influencer delegation mr.gov.il, 15 July 2025, accessed 21 October 2026. Official (primary).
  17. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Exemption notice 4000610751: public-diplomacy videos in Times Square, New York mr.gov.il, 7 December 2025. Official (primary).
  18. ↑ Omer Benjakob, AI Hasbara: Israel Pours Millions Into U.S. Influence Efforts, Targeting Evangelicals in Churches and ChatGPT Haaretz, 6 November 2025 (retitled on 9 November 2025 as "Losing the Republican Base, Israel Pours Millions to Target Evangelicals and Churchgoers"). Journalistic.
  19. ↑ Knesset Finance Committee, Protocol no. 775, "Changes to the 2025 budget", 1 December 2025 (Hebrew), transcript via Open Knesset, accessed 21 October 2026. Official (primary).
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