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Lieutenant-Colonel (Res.) Noam Shapira was appointed Director of Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Staff, the directorate announced last week.
The post had been vacant since January 2023, and Shapira’s appointment was met with criticism over both his past role in influence operations and the process by which he was selected.
The government exempted the role from the usual tender process, with other candidates reportedly claiming that the process was predetermined, and that they knew in advance that Shapira, who served as a commander in the IDF Operations Directorate, would be chosen.
His military service has also been the subject of controversy. An investigation by KAN News found that he commanded the unit that created the Telegram channel “72 Virgins - Uncensored,” a page accused of carrying out an influence operation directed at Israeli citizens after October 7.
The channel published graphic wartime footage and crude Hebrew messaging, with it linked to the IDF’s influence department within the Operations Directorate, whose role is psychological warfare against enemy or foreign audiences, rather than covert messaging to the Israeli public. Shapira said that his unit's actions were reviewed and found to have been carried out in accordance with IDF orders and the spirit of the military.
Shapira was selected unanimously for 'management capabilities, strategic thinking'
Tzipi Hotovely, the head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate, rejected the criticism, saying that Shapira was selected unanimously, and had presented “management capabilities, strategic thinking and a deep understanding of the world of public diplomacy after many years in the IDF.”
Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate sits inside the Prime Minister’s Office, and coordinates Israel’s official messaging across bodies including the IDF Spokesperson, police, Shin Bet, Mossad, and other agencies.
Its absence was particularly noticeable in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, with Israel’s public diplomacy over the Israel-Hamas War viewed by 74% of Israelis as a failure. This perception fed criticism of a government that left the country without a centralized hasbara system. Shapira has been brought in to attempt to address this.