Ofir Dayan, a research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies, joined Arutz Sheva - Israel National News to discuss her role in the war as a member of the IDF Spokesman’s Office. ‘’My mission was basically to bring what is happening inside Gaza to the awareness of the international community. It is super important that the warriors are doing their job, but it is also very important to fight in the international arena, in order to buy them more time to do what they do best inside Gaza. Every time we publish a picture or a video showing what is happening on the ground, showing how schools are being used as rocket launcher sites, how hospitals are being used to store missiles, this buys us more time to go into those places and make sure we eliminate all those weapons.’’ She says that Israeli troops are approaching this war far differently than others. “I was also a spokesperson during Operation Protective Edge, and it was very different - I had to pressure people to send me materials. I had combat cameramen who went into Gaza, and they were the ones filming, and I needed to pray that nobody would interrupt them while they're filming.” “Now, I have dozens of people inside Gaza sending me WhatsApp pictures and videos saying, ‘Hey, we found this missile in a UNRWA school’ so in addition to the people I had on the ground taking pictures professionally, I had also an army of volunteers. They had the awareness, they understood that the world has to see. I did not get the chance to speak to all of them before they went into Gaza, so people did it naturally - it wasn't because I asked them to. Their commanders might ask them once or twice, because they asked their commanders, but they didn't repeatedly ask them to send pictures, and yet they did it. They did it in a very impressive way.” “They didn’t just take pictures of weaponry, they really showed me what they experienced. They understood that the world has to see this, they understood the world has to see this.” Related articles: Ori Danino took responsibility and demonstrated Jewish bravery In the tunnels, I felt every prayer you said for me Steve Witkoff's new proposal for a ceasefire deal Live: Megillat Esther at Hostages Square She also discussed her experiences with antisemitism on American campuses. “I think the most surprising thing about what's happening now is that we're surprised. We repeatedly told people that there is a real issue happening on college campuses. I arrived at Columbia University in 2017, and it was already very problematic. I think we didn't do a good enough job in explaining the real issue that we have on college campuses, but now that everyone's aware, I think it's very very important that we don't miss the next stage, because these people are going to hold very serious positions in the business community or in politics. Barack Obama was a student in Columbia, and the even mere thought of someone who went to school in Columbia who supports Hamas becoming the President of the United States is terrifying. It means a lot for our ability to wage war, it means a lot about how the United States will support us financially, in terms of military assistance, in terms of public support on the international stage, and we need to make sure that we address this issue now.” She called for Israel to formally enter the public diplomacy arena. “Following October 7th, we saw glorious acts of volunteering, but at the end of the day, there are things that they can't do. They can and they should stage protests, they should talk to people, they should make online campaigns, that's all things that regular people should do, but in the end of the day there are things that regular people can't do.” Ofir also thinks Israel’s approach needs to be reconsidered. “Instead of all these bodies doing the same thing - the Public Diplomacy Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and others - let the Ministry of Justice pursue the money, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pursue Congress, and so on.” She addresses one battlefield as having become particularly problematic - TikTok. “Israel has to take notice of a challenge that is unique to Israel. TikTok became a hotbed for anti-Israel activism. People who work at TikTok resigned, saying that things related to the hostages are being censored by TikTok as a policy. Anti-Israel propaganda is being spread on TikTok, and we need to address this issue.” She explains how: “We need to understand how to create better mechanisms, first of all, to monitor and then to address those issues, whether directly talking to TikTok or in other ways.” She also called to increase Israeli messaging on TikTok: “The fact that it's biased doesn't mean that we can allow ourselves not to be there. Sometimes we disagree with the United States, but at the end of the day it is the most influential country on Earth, and we need to be there and influence and make our voice heard, even when we disagree. TikTok obviously is not as well-wishing for Israel as the United States, it's a whole different arena, but we must be there, because the young people are there.”
