Elon Levy, you seem to be able to answer any difficult question that is addressed to you calmly. Was there a question that almost broke you in an interview with the foreign media?
"Yes, there was a question about the human suffering of the uninvolved in Gaza. It is suffering that cannot be questioned. Alongside everything we know about the numbers fabricated by Hamas, and the made-up documentation, there is still real suffering of civilians and children in Gaza. I had an interview with Kay Burley. At the end she said to me: 'Mr. Levy, I am giving you an opportunity to express sympathy for the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.' It infuriated me. Do I need to prove that I have a heart? Obviously it hurts us. They always want to know where our border is, what the red line is, and we have to explain."
A difficult question indeed. What did you answer?
"That we didn't want this war, Hamas forced it on us, after a terrible massacre the likes of which have not been seen since the Holocaust. This is a war that we must win, and we certainly want it to end, but only in a way that ensures that Hamas will never be able to do it again. We don't have the luxury of declaring a ceasefire and stopping in the middle. While we do everything to protect the non-involved population – from posters calling on them to evacuate to humanitarian corridors to aid – it is Hamas that uses civilians as human shields. Builds its tunnels and headquarters out of the homes of the population.
"I also note that the military has opened a special telephone line for Gazans who are being held as human shields of Hamas, so that they can ask for assistance. I called it a humanitarian hotline. At the press conference I held for the media from all over the world, I spoke about the very focused and detailed map that the military distributed to the residents of Gaza, in which it accurately detailed the combat zones. I ended with a call telling them: If you know of a more accurate map than that of any other army in the world, you are welcome to send it to me. The fact that we are working with tweezers to evacuate uninvolved persons is something that has never been done before in history."
@jewishnewsuk
WATCH THE REACTION as Sky News interviews Eylon Levy, Israel Government Spokesman.
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How do you hold up and not lash out at the interviewers who try to throw you off balance?
"The method of breaking dishes and shouting is ineffective. We must calmly show that we are confident and convinced that we are right. Because the facts are with us, and international law is with us. It is imperative to speak their language and beat them on their own turf. If the reporter managed to get under your skin and undermine you, it looks worse. I had an interview on BBC radio with a reporter who asked really upsetting questions. I didn't break dishes and scream, but I was upset, and it was one of my least successful interviews, because she managed to disturb my peace."
Your life was threatened?
"Yes, but not from Israel. I received threats like, 'I'll send Hamas to drop a missile on your house' or 'Go to the gas chambers.' They come from different and strange countries in the world. I appreciate that many of them are even bots."
Has Prime Minister Netanyahu already called to compliment you on your work?
"Nope. I think he must be too busy. He doesn't have time for Elon Levy's back-ups."
Eyes wide open
At the age of 32, Elon Levy, a British-born Israeli, became Israel's advocacy star. The turning point in his career came in an interview with Sky News. This happened when veteran presenter Kay Burley asked him whether the fact that Israel was willing to release 150 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 50 Israeli abductees did not mean that Israel thought Palestinian lives were worth less.
Levy's authentic response to this truly far-fetched question was a surprised face, which included raising eyebrows and eyes wide open. After his authentic response scorched the networks and broke TikTok that day, the Israeli public embraced Levy. Here at last is an intelligent speaker, who can represent the Israeli position impressively, and more in fluent Oxfordian English.
Opposite interviewer Kay Burley. An authentic response to a particularly far-fetched question, photo: from the interview
The joke of fate is that until the outbreak of the war, Levy could be found as an active demonstrator in Kaplan against the legal reform and against the government. Since being called to the PR flag, he has been quoted as the government's representative in the world's leading media, and his agenda consists of dozens of interviews, briefings and statements to the international media.
Wasn't that passage through the front a little too fast for you?
"No, because on the morning of October 7, everyone, without exception, stood as one united fist, including brothers in arms, alongside all those who ran to defend the kibbutzim, alongside bodies on the right and left. In an instant it became clear that there had been an earthquake here and that everything had changed. As soon as I was asked to join, there was not a shadow of a doubt about me.
"I was amazed at the absolute understanding from wall to wall and from my acquaintances, who reinforced the decision and told me it was clearly the right thing to do. We put aside our Jewish wars, unlike perhaps other moments in our nation's history when we continued the march of folly. Once the enemies reached the gate, we didn't continue to strangle each other. We said that now everyone is joining forces for the common goal.
"The interviewer told me: 'Mr. Levy, I am giving you an opportunity to express sympathy for the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.' It infuriated me. Do I need to prove that I have a heart? Obviously it hurts us. They always want to know where our border is, what the red line is, and we have to explain."
"I remember coming home from synagogue on Yom Kippur, turning on the phone, seeing the headlines about what happened at the prayer in Dizengoff Square and crying. That's not why I immigrated to Israel, not so that we would fight with each other like this. I am very proud of Israeli society, that at the moment of truth, after all the pain and all the shouting and all the hysteria, we really understood the magnitude of the hour and the magnitude of the challenge. And it's something that really isn't taken for granted, that an educated society takes this step of joining forces until victory."
"I also received death threats, but not from Israel. They wrote to me: 'I'll send Hamas to drop a missile on your house,' or 'Go to the gas chambers.' They come from different and strange countries in the world. I appreciate that many of them are even bots."
So you, like many others, have become sober?
"Something happened to us that even in our worst nightmares we could not have imagined. No one will remain the same person they were before. There are many lessons we will have to learn and internalize. I saw most of the disillusionment among progressive Jewish leftists around the world, who suddenly discovered that those who thought they were their allies, to one degree or another, were silent in the face of Hamas atrocities at best, or justified them in less favorable cases. We still don't understand how much what happened will change our society. There will be a tough job here at six after the war."
Struggles against BDS as well
Ayalon, who was born in London to Israeli parents Gila and Uriel, holds a BA in philosophy, economics and political science from Oxford University and an MA in international relations from Cambridge University, where he also wrote a thesis on Israel's foreign policy on the immigration of Jews from Arab countries. During his studies, he was active in the British Jewish Students Union in the fight against BDS and anti-Semitism, and occasionally spoke out in the media. In 2014, he was one of the founders of the AGIV in Action situation room, which worked in London on behalf of Israel and against biased public opinion against Israel during Operation Protective Edge. After his studies, he volunteered for military service in the IDF.
MOST RECENTLY, HE ALSO SERVED AS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ADVISOR TO ISRAELI PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG, AND WORKED AS A TELEVISION NEWS ANCHOR AT IBA NEWS AND NEWS24I.
Since the outbreak of the war, Levy and all the other spokesmen and volunteers of the National Information Directorate, led by Moshik Aviv, have been recruited to the campaign and are working around the clock. Their floor in the Kirya in Tel Aviv is teeming with quality and action. From one hall, which has become a sophisticated broadcasting room, interviews are broadcast 24 hours a day to media outlets around the world. Advanced technology makes it possible to do this in the setting of the Prime Minister's Office, instead of running around between studios. Levy conducts a daily briefing from the Center for International Communication established in Tel Aviv. This is the second center established by the information department to serve hundreds of journalists who came from around the world to cover the war.
"My brother is a mathematician. And when the interviewer claimed that there was no fuel in Gaza, I showed her a picture of the Boeing that could circumnavigate the whole world with the fuel found in Gaza. But Hamas prefers to keep it for the tunnels, instead of for the needs of the civilians."
While Levy is being interviewed by a foreign network, I also catch Mark Regev, who is preparing for an interview on Fox News. Regev served as Israel's ambassador to Britain and as spokesman for the prime minister and advisor to foreign press and public affairs until 2021. He says that on Black Saturday night he texted Ron Dermer and asked to enlist and help with advocacy. On Sunday, he was asked to appear. His daughter, who during her military service was a combat collection officer, was also drafted into the reserves and serves as a battalion sergeant in the Urim.
One of Regev's interviews that exploded online and was widely circulated took place with an interviewer on Sky News, who claimed that Israel had released (Palestinian) children in exchange for the release of abductees held by Hamas. Regev emphasized: "These are minors who committed violent offenses," and asked her: "Do you know what they were accused of?" She stammered and replied, "I don't know," and then even retracted and corrected herself.
"She understood that she had made a mistake," Regev explains, "what she said was not out of ignorance but out of hostility. As soon as you correct, and I corrected gently, I stood my ground – she backtracked."
"For me, it's the legendary Mark, which I remember when I was in high school," says Levy, who has since finished filming. "I watch TV, and who defends Israel on world television in every war? Mark Regev".
Levy with former Ambassador Mark Regev. Regev: "Ayalon's presence on social networks is huge", photo: Arik Sultan
So you are like a rabbi and his disciple?
"Yes," Regev replies, "but on social media, Elon surpasses me dozens of times. I have a team that I use for many things. Elon swims in social media. He does it naturally, his presence there is huge. I know what my generation knows, which is television and radio – the so-called traditional media."
Levy, at the beginning of the war, Israeli public diplomacy, then led by Minister Distal Atabrian, was caught with his pants down.
"Minister Distel decided to resign, because she herself said that the ministry does not have a commander, and the struggle is actually concentrated here. I mention that my interview with Kay Burley came after maybe 150 TV and radio interviews I've already done. It was just a viral moment that suddenly exploded. Today I feel that I am part of an amazing team whose job is to synchronize, focus the message and the complex operation between many government entities that deal with public relations. All the bodies – the Israel Police, the Foreign Ministry, the Israel Prison Service, the Shin Bet, the NSC and many more – have all left their egos out the door and are now working together."
In response to this chaos at the outset, many civic initiatives were established. For example, Ella Keinan, who created the slogan Hamas = ISIS. Are you connected to these initiatives?
"I am connected to many volunteer initiatives and am helped by anyone who is willing to help. The explanation must be done in combination with all the factors. The Holy Trinity is the state, the Diaspora and the citizens. There are things we can't say and citizens do, and there are things that just sound more authentic and interesting when they come from 'real' people and not official speakers mummified in suits behind the podium. My job is to give dozens of interviews to the world media, right in a moving film, sometimes more than ten interviews a day. 60 days after the outbreak of this war, we are still the main story in the world."
Levy's experience in social media helps him function phenomenally and improvise on the go. Before our meeting, he gave the daily statement in English, which immediately made headlines on all leading channels. "During the declaration, I receive reports from the people who work with me from the professionals about difficult things that the abductees went through, those that received publication approval, and as I go I translate things and they become the main headline."
Strong on networks. Elon, also on TikTok, photo: from TikTok
Levy's mastery of the media is not only expressed in his Oxfordian English, or his ability to speak a contemporary language, but also in the use of visual means to illustrate his words. Thus, in the middle of an interview, he suddenly pulled out a picture of the kidnapped boy, Ohad Munder (who had since returned home). Or in another case, when it was repeatedly claimed that Gaza had run out of fuel, Levy calculated that the amount of fuel Hamas had could fuel a plane circumnavigating the world.
"My brother is a mathematician, I checked with him that my calculation was correct. And when the interviewer claimed that there was no fuel in Gaza, I showed her the picture of the huge Boeing that can circumnavigate the whole world with the fuel found in Gaza, but Hamas prefers to keep it for the tunnels under Shifa instead of for the real needs of the civilians."
Alongside his Twitter accounts with 150,<> followers, and the Instagram he maintains with tens of thousands of followers, Levy is also strong on TikTok and speaks on every platform in its own language. The color of his tie is also not accidental. In a statement to the media on Tuesday, he wore a yellow tie. When asked about it, he explained that it was to express solidarity with the abductees still held captive by Hamas.
Did you learn from Netanyahu to use pictures and visual means?
"From Netanyahu, I learned mainly the impressive ability to distill a message. He is a communication wizard who knows how to convey messages in a catchy and impressive way."
Why are you being interviewed – to hear you or to get into you?
"In many cases there is a desire to hear and understand. They want to know the situation of the abductees, what is happening in the country, and more. There are also those who want to defy or issue a title. Some of the questions stem from ignorance rather than defiance, but there are of course those who want to butt heads. I was interviewed by Piers Morgan and I felt he was trying to embarrass me all along. He asked me, 'How many terrorists have you killed since the beginning of the fighting?' I replied that we had killed thousands and would continue to do so, but he insisted that I give an exact number.
"I told him that we were still in the fog of battle, and no spokesman of any army or government in history could give an exact number during battle. He tried to tease me and tell me, 'So you don't even know how much you killed.' I replied, 'Even your father, who fought against the Japanese in Burma, could not tell in real time how many Japanese he killed, and your brother, who was a war hero and fought in Afghanistan, could not tell you how many Afghans he killed in battle. Nor is the spokesman of the British army.' Morgan had nothing to answer, so he just moved on to the next topic. I told him: 'When you compare the number of terrorists killed in Gaza to other wars in the world fighting terrorism, the numbers will be very flattering to the IDF.'
"He went on to be confrontational and told me that the pictures coming out of Gaza were the most shocking pictures he had ever seen in his life. I replied that the most shocking and horrifying images without a shadow of a doubt were the scenes of the massacre of 7 October. He told me I was right, that he hadn't watched the horror movie, but he was right."
"To Piers Morgan I replied: 'Even your father, who fought against the Japanese in Burma, didn't know how many Japanese he killed. And your brother, who was a war hero in Afghanistan, didn't know how many Afghans he killed, nor did the British army spokesman.' He had nothing to answer."
What kind of responses do you get in the world?
"Dozens of responses, including from many Jews who say: We are the silent majority and we are with you. Hamas supporters on social media are a vocal minority that does not represent the majority. A well-known pollster presented us with a surprising poll, which showed that one of the statistics that can indicate whether you are in favor of Hamas is if you tweet and engage on social media on a daily basis. It turns out that Hamas supporters tend to be more vocal."
What happens in the Jewish community in London, where your parents also live?
"It's a real crisis for them too. London's Jews are witnessing an outbreak of anti-Semitism. Even after these moments have passed, they cannot be forgotten. They will always remember what is sizzling beneath the surface. Friends and family tell me that they walk around London and don't see the posters of the abductees, only their torn remains. This is a terrible break for them. They say to themselves: If these people, who live alongside us, are unable to show basic empathy and dehumanize Jews everywhere, the situation is difficult.
"If they can't show basic empathy for a baby, soul-searching is required. In this war, we discovered and felt more than ever that we were one organism. We are pinched with one hand, and we feel it with the other. I hear endlessly about Jews abroad whose Jewish identity has been strengthened by these events.
"This is a defining moment that reminds my people who they are and who their true friends are. I meet with many delegations from abroad who come to Israel, I have given them lectures, and they just want to know how to help. They ask: What do you need? Do you need help advocating? In finances? We are with an open checkbook. Just say. It is important for Diaspora Jews to be part of the victory and part of the rehabilitation of Israeli society."
"Friends and family tell me that they walk around London and don't see posters of the abductees, only torn remains of them. This is a terrible break for them. They say to themselves: If the people who live next to us dehumanize the Jews, the situation is difficult."
How do you live with the stardom that has befallen you?
"I didn't go to audition for 'The Next Star.' My goal was not to be a celebrity, but to be the face of Israel in this war."
But come on, you flow with it. You posted a meme of yourself with the famous eyebrow photo, you posted a funny video of a character saying 'Elon is always right.' How do you balance the seriousness required with virality?
"I try to remember that my official job is to explain the State of Israel to the world. If along the way there are moments that give people a moment of comic respite and amusement, a moment of laughter in the darkness, then happily. Humor is a very important psychological tool for coping with stress and trauma. That's important to me. I am not a stern veteran diplomat who speaks from the ivory tower. I get up in the morning, get on my scooter and get to Kirya, I'm one of the guys."
Politics?
"I don't think so."
Suggestions?
"Mostly marriage proposals [laughs]. And now seriously, I get a lot of feedback and comments on all platforms. It gives me a lot of strength. After so many interviews telling you you're wrong and trying to undermine you and undermine your credibility, the thought creeps into my heart, 'What happens if I'm really wrong?', 'Maybe I'm crazy after all.' Then dozens of messages of support come from all over the world reminding me that we are the best, without question. I experienced this appeal with the story of Shifa Hospital. I said over and over again that there were tunnels under the hospitals. Then, when they took the videos out of Gaza, I felt very relieved."
Have you already thought about what you'll do when you grow up?
"I'm already big [laughs]. First of all, let's get out of this period, and if I don't do too many lapses, I'll be happy to continue what I'm doing now."
meravs1992@gmail.com
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