[[link removed]]

REVEALED: ISRAEL’S CURRICULUM FOR ‘INFLUENCING PUBLIC
CONSCIOUSNESS’  
[[link removed]]


 

Illy Pe’ery
June 4, 2026
+972 Magazine
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ A leaked Defense Ministry tender lays out the army’s training
program for manipulating public opinion in Israel and abroad. _

Israeli soldiers inside a military office., IDF ICT and Cyber Defense
Directorate

 

Israel’s defense establishment is training soldiers and other
defense officials to conduct psychological operations designed to
“influence public consciousness” in Israel and abroad, an internal
Defense Ministry tender published last July and obtained by the
Israeli investigative outlet The Hottest Place in Hell reveals. The
courses, taught in Hebrew and English by academics who are not
affiliated with the military, are intended for defense personnel based
both domestically and overseas, as well as unspecified “foreign
partners.”

Among the offerings are courses on how to use data to discretely shape
the attitudes and actions of target audiences, intelligence gathering
for such operations, and influencer training. Most of the courses are
geared toward “offensive” influence operations — those aimed at
actively disrupting or manipulating the beliefs, attitudes, and
behaviors of target audiences rather than simply protecting an
existing narrative. They include training in advertising and marketing
content, alongside courses on cyber warfare and intelligence gathering
on target audiences.

In one course, participants learn to apply “Black Hat” techniques
— a term used to describe manipulation methods that circumvent tech
platforms’ rules around cybercrime, cyber warfare, or other
malicious activity. The army course explicitly states that this module
is designed for “the distribution and promotion of illegitimate
content using technological tools and solutions — a route that
bypasses Facebook and Google.”

Another course teaches participants how to plan “information
operations for the purpose of influencing public consciousness in the
local and international arena,” including how to craft and
disseminate messages tailored to a target population, assess their
impact, and apply the lessons to “future operations.”

Although the syllabus does not make explicit the targets or substance
of the psychological operations and influence campaigns taught in the
courses, it states in several places that the training is conducted in
accordance with the “considerations and expectations” of
Israel’s political echelon. In other words, at the government’s
directive. 

The Defense Ministry sought to contract a vendor for two years, with
an option to extend the agreement for up to four years in total. The
first course was scheduled to begin in August 2025. 

Outgoing commander of the IDF Military Intelligence Aharon Haliva,
incoming commander of the IDF Military Intelligence Shlomi Binder, and
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi attend a ceremony at the IDF
Intelligence Command headquarters in Glilot, Israel, August 21, 2024.
(Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The tender was open to institutions accredited by Israel’s Council
for Higher Education. Lecturers were required to hold “doctorates
and/or professorships in the fields of influence, consciousness,
security and terrorism, mass communication, [or] digital and network
communication,” as well as “at least four years of professional
experience in the fields of influence [or] influence intelligence in
various security organizations.”

‘FUNDAMENTALS OF PROPAGANDA’

According to the tender, the training program consists of eight
courses per year: three in influence operations, two in “influence
intelligence,” and three in “online activist” training. Each
course is designed for up to 40 students, meaning the program could
train around 320 “influence experts” annually.

The curriculum is divided into thematic clusters. One, titled
“fundamentals of psychological warfare, propaganda, deception,
legitimacy and public diplomacy, and segmentation of target
populations with emphasis on foreign audiences,” includes
instruction on identifying adversarial influence efforts, narratives,
and imagery, as well as deepfakes, psychological warfare, propaganda,
deception, legitimacy, and public diplomacy.

Another cluster, focused on “campaign planning, execution, and
evaluation,” includes training on the “considerations and
expectations” of the political echelon, alongside “military
intelligence,” “cultural intelligence,” and “intelligence
collection and research capabilities for influence.”

Some of the courses — including those on influence operations,
influence intelligence, and online activism — will be in English for
“foreign partners,” whose identities are not specified. For these
participants, the Defense Ministry built a dedicated syllabus that
includes study of “the American approach,” meaning U.S.
perspectives and cultural norms, and conducting influence campaigns in
the international arena.

To allow these foreign entities to take part, the ministry determined
that the courses will be “unclassified.” Yet the tender still
imposes strict confidentiality measures separating the civilian
lecturers from the trainees. Academic institutions are prohibited from
disclosing students’ roles in the intelligence community to
instructors and the wider public, and contractors are to receive only
trainees’ first names, with no unit affiliation. 

The document also suggests the military is integrating these influence
operations into its wider intelligence apparatus.The “influence
intelligence” course is designed to train participants to use the
army’s intelligence collection systems to supply influence campaigns
with data, while maintaining awareness of “what is happening in
additional places around the world.”

A man views a message published on an Israeli secret intelligence
service website, Mishmar David, Israel, February 28, 2026. (Nati
Shohat/Flash90)

Beyond supplying raw material for psychological operations,
intelligence is also presented as a tool for measuring their impact.
The result is a closed feedback loop: intelligence gathers data on
target audiences; influence campaigns attempt to shape their
perceptions; and intelligence tools are then used to assess whether
the messaging worked or needs refinement in real time.

The section on “cultural intelligence” extends this logic into the
realm of social and psychological profiling. Participants are trained
to analyze target populations — especially foreign audiences —
through their cultural codes, social sensitivities, and political
contexts, in order to craft messages more likely to penetrate and
persuade. 

In response to a request for comment, an Israeli army spokesperson
described the program as “an academic course for personnel engaged
in the influence and consciousness effort in the IDF,” adding that
its purpose was “personal enrichment.” It affirmed that it
“operates according to law and clear procedures, in accordance with
the directives of the political echelon.”

However, as a recent investigation
[[link removed]] by The
Hottest Place in Hell revealed, the military does not limit these
methods to the realm of “personal enrichment.” Between October
2023 and December 2024, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit conducted a
psychological operation targeting both Israeli and international
audiences, under the guise of a “non-profit news organization”
specializing in “fact-checking” claims surrounding Israel’s war
on Gaza.

As part of that operation, dozens of videos promoting the Israeli
military’s talking points were published without proper disclosure,
while influencers in Israel and abroad were recruited to amplify
messages dictated directly by the military. What was exposed at the
time as a discrete initiative now appears to be part of a broader,
long-term effort by Israel’s defense establishment to
institutionalize influence operations on a national — and even
international — scale.

_A version of this article was first published in Hebrew on The
Hottest Place in Hell. Read it __here_
[[link removed]]_._

_xxxxxx moderator -- Also in the news: _ _  _

 

_ILLY PE’ERY is an investigative reporter and associate editor at
the independent Israeli online magazine THE HOTTEST PLACE IN HELL._

Join the +972 family. Make a donation. Make a difference.

WHY BECOME A MEMBER OF +972?

+972 MAGAZINE is an independent, nonprofit media organization of
Israeli and Palestinian journalists that relies on the support of
readers like you.

Through our groundbreaking reporting on the ground and critical
analysis, we spotlight the people and communities working to oppose
occupation and apartheid, and promote justice and equality for all
those living between the river and the sea.

In order to foster real and meaningful change, we have to be able to
do this work in the long run. That means paying our Palestinian and
Israeli journalists, as well as providing them with the necessary
legal protections as they report from the frontlines. We have to
ensure that we keep reaching millions of people around the world —
from policymakers to grassroots activists to regular readers — with
the reliable information they need. We remain committed to allowing
people access to this information with no paywalls or ads. To do all
that, we need your support.

By becoming a member with a monthly contribution of any size (which
you can cancel at any time), you will allow us to sustain this work
and reach millions of new readers. We know how to change the
conversation on Israel-Palestine. Will you help us to make that
happen?

WHAT DO I GET IF I BECOME A MEMBER?

* A quarterly newsletter featuring a behind-the-scenes look into
+972 Magazine’s editorial process.
* Exclusive, free-of-charge online workshops and exclusive access to
+972 events.
* The opportunity to engage with +972’s editors and writers
through Q&As and online webinars, and offer feedback to help shape our
coverage.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

All contributions to +972 Magazine are put directly toward operating
the site and producing journalism. Our expenses include salaries for a
small team of editors and writers, payments for freelance
contributors, website maintenance, legal counsel, management, and
other administrative costs.

All contributions go through “972 – Advancement of Citizen
Journalism,” a registered nonprofit established in order to support
and manage our project. Learn more about the nonprofit by visiting the
website
[[link removed].].

+972 Magazine receives support from readers, foundations and
individual donors. To learn more about how we are funded, click here
[[link removed]].

IS MY DONATION TAX DEDUCTIBLE?

If you’re in the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, or
Germany, your donation can be tax deductible. For credit card
donations in the U.S. and U.K. — please follow instructions within
the donation process. For wire transfer or checks in the U.S., please
follow these instructions
[[link removed]]. If you are a
Swiss or German citizen or resident, please follow these instructions
[[link removed]].

CAN I DONATE IN EUROS?

Yes, you can donate in Euros by wire transfer or PayPal. For PayPal,
please use this link
[[link removed]]. For
wire transfer, please follow the instructions for donating in Germany
on this page [[link removed]].
However, please note that if you reside outside of Germany, your
donation will not be tax-deductible.

HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU ABOUT OTHER WAYS TO GIVE OR OTHER
MEMBERSHIP-RELATED QUESTIONS?

Please direct questions regarding our membership program to
[email protected] or call us at +972-3-375-1971.

You can also write to us at:+972 Magazine20 Ben Avigdor St.,

Tel Aviv-Jaffa, 6721844, Israel

WHAT OTHER WAYS CAN I SUPPORT YOU?

Make a one-time donation, keep spreading the word about us, share our
articles, and encourage your family and friends to become members. And
if you don’t already, follow us on Twitter
[[link removed]], Facebook
[[link removed]], and Instagram
[[link removed]].

For our privacy policy, please click here
[[link removed]].

* military investigations
[[link removed]]
* intelligence
[[link removed]]
* tech
[[link removed]]
* Unit 8200
[[link removed]]
* public opinion
[[link removed]]
* Israeli army
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Bluesky [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]