A senior diplomat once captured Israel’s foreign relations for me in just four words: “The good is improving; the bad is deteriorating.” This acute observation encapsulates an accelerating strategic polarization: while Israel’s vital alliances and shared interests grow stronger, its challenges on the global stage are growing more acute at an alarming pace.
Historically, Israel has been defined by its military prowess – its undeniable “good.” Since October 7, this edge has been honed into unprecedented operational supremacy, proving that no security mission is beyond the nation’s reach. Concurrently, however, our “bad” – the realm of foreign policy and public diplomacy – has suffered a systemic collapse, sinking to historic lows.
Israel has never been a darling of the international community. Yet, in the not-so-distant past, our diplomatic corps possessed the maneuverability and tools to push back. Today, nearly three years after Hamas’s brutal attack, we are discovering the terrifying depth of the diplomatic abyss we inhabit.
This crisis is not a temporary glitch; it is the culmination of decades of erosion, a calculated, tireless effort by hostile nations and anti-Israel entities to lay the groundwork for our current isolation. The crisis is particularly acute given the erosion of support within the United States – a worrying trend that has long since bled from the progressive left into the heart of the Republican establishment.
This public diplomacy failure and international isolation are not a decree of fate; they are the direct result of a glaring policy omission. A recent State Comptroller report pointed an accusing finger at organizational chaos and the total lack of synchronization between the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry, and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
Inside this leadership vacuum, the role of the head of the National Security Council (NSC) becomes glaringly critical. By law, this figure is charged with integrating national strategy and connecting the dots.
This leads to an undeniable conclusion: regardless of future election outcomes or who sits in the prime minister’s chair, the next head of the NSC must be a senior statesman with profound diplomatic experience. As the individual responsible for shaping foreign and national security policy, and managing Israel’s crises as the national security adviser, they must bring to the decision-making table the very strategic wisdom we so desperately lack.
Extricating Israel from this diplomatic abyss, or fundamentally shifting the global paradigm regarding our place in the world, will be one of the most complex challenges of our time. This is no simple task; it is a profound overhaul of a domain neglected for decades.
It will require a complete restructuring of our diplomacy and advocacy: from leveraging military achievements through deploying “soft power,” to dismantling and reassembling Israel’s matrix of interests in the face of shifting global alignments and the information war.
Israel as a global asset
During my years as a policy advisor at the British Embassy in Israel, I strived for foreign diplomats to see Israel as we see it: a resilient people, a robust economy, and a nation that, despite its complexities, brings immense intellectual and operational value to the world stage. Throughout my tenure, I adhered to one core principle: I did not seek their agreement; I fought for their understanding.
This is precisely where the most dangerous shift of recent years lies. Disagreement is legitimate; even the closest of allies diverge at times. But when our allies stop understanding us – that is when the situation truly unravels. The next NSC chief must engineer a proactive strategic roadmap to halt this dangerous drift.
This plan must translate Israel’s core interests into a language the world can comprehend, transforming our national power into a diplomatic asset. A prerequisite for its success is absolute synchronization among all execution and communication branches, maximizing Israeli influence across all fronts.
The time has come to recognize that foreign policy can no longer remain the “little sister” of the defense establishment. Its role is not merely defensive, but rather to initiate and build bridges. In a dynamic world experiencing deep transformations that are reshaping global alliances, the next head of the NSC must internalize that Israel requires a far more audacious, clear-eyed, and interest-driven foreign policy.
We must leverage our strengthening strategic partnerships – such as with India, the UAE, and even Somaliland – while wisely restoring relations with traditional actors that have grown cold, like the European Union.
Furthermore, the NSC chief will need to champion “Innovation Diplomacy” as a core pillar of modern national security. This means converting Israel’s scientific and technological capabilities into both diplomatic and strategic leverage with emerging global alliances. When Israel offers the world breakthrough solutions in AI, cyberdefense, water tech, and space, it creates a positive strategic interdependence that serves our highest security interests.
A partnership built on technological and defense interests is what will dissolve the isolation efforts of our adversaries; it will ensure strategic supply chains, deepen intelligence and operational cooperation, and prove to tomorrow’s world that Israel is a global asset and a security anchor that simply cannot be discarded.
Israel has proven time and again that it knows how to project military power. Now, looking toward the Israel of 2048, it must prove it can translate that power into influence, legitimacy, and an enduring international standing.
This is the great geopolitical test of the coming years, and it must stand at the very heart of the next national security adviser’s mission.
The writer is the director of communications in the Communications Ministry and is a former policy adviser for the UK Embassy in Tel Aviv.