"We won 7 fronts, but not the eighth": The former senior official's message to the PM

Former Mossad senior official Shagiv Asulin addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu live on air, calling for the 'consciousness and influence front' to be defined as an official security threat. He argued that despite victories on seven physical fronts, Israel continues to lose on the eighth front—the battle for international legitimacy and public opinion—due to a lack of formal definition, budget, and a dedicated body. Asulin presented a plan including a cabinet declaration, establishing a national body under the Prime Minister's Office, and intelligence-operational action to map funding sources of influence systems working against Israel.

Former Mossad senior official Shagiv Asulin addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu live on Channel 14, calling on him to define the 'consciousness and influence front' as an official security threat. Asulin argued that nearly three years after the October 7 massacre, Israel has won on seven physical fronts but continues to lose on the eighth front—the front of hasbara (public diplomacy), influence, and international legitimacy. According to him, the failure is not in the people but in the architecture: without an official definition of the threat, there is no force building, dedicated budget, work plans, or a body measured by results. Responsibility is dispersed among the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Public Diplomacy, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, the National Security Council, and volunteer organizations. Asulin presented a plan that includes a cabinet declaration, establishing a national body for consciousness and influence under the Prime Minister's Office, and intelligence-operational action to map the funding sources of influence systems operating against Israel. He expressed confidence in Netanyahu and said the gap is not between faith and doubt but between declaration and mechanism.