Leaked documents reveal plans for extensive Russian influence campaign in Israel
September 30, 2024 4 Comments
LEAKED INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY leading German media outlets has revealed Russia’s plans for an influence campaign targeting Israel. The information was leaked earlier this month by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and German television stations Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), as well as by Israeli news outlets. It allegedly came from Social Design Agency (SDA), a Moscow-based firm hired by the Kremlin, which operates in Israel and several countries in the West.
Founded in 2017, the SDA is reportedly one of a host of firms and organizations that are collaborating with Russian intelligence in its efforts to influence public opinion worldwide. Earlier this year, the United States imposed sanctions on SDA, “for providing services to the government of Russia in connection with a foreign malign influence campaign”. The SDA’s founder is Ilya Gambashidze, who is said to be in direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin officials.
Israel has been a central target of SDA’s Russian influence campaign. The country’s internal situation, with mass demonstrations against the legal reform is “perfect for launching a campaign to influence public opinion”, an SDA document from 2023 reads. The document accurately describes the political and social situation in Israel and names a number of influential Russian expatriates whose activities should be monitored.
According to the leaked documents, the purpose of the planned campaign was to raise support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, and strengthen the proportion of Israelis who espouse anti-Ukrainian sentiments. Another central goal was to ensure that no party in the Knesset —the Israeli
parliament— would support a possible transfer of military aid to Ukraine.
From the documents, it appears that the conclusions formulated by the SDA were infused into around 50 cartoons distributed every month on social networks, around 20 fictitious articles appearing on websites pretending to be legitimate, and many reactions on various social networks. Among other things, the company distributed through paid ads on Facebook cartoons showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky burning the Israeli flag, as well as cartoons accusing Israeli leftists of supporting Hamas.
One of the main revelations of the recent leaks is that the Arab community in Israel constitutes a target of the Russian influence campaign. For example, a fake Arabic-language article that was circulated online claimed that Israel did not have in its possession enough precision weapons, because it had given them to Ukraine. The article went on to claim that the lack of such weapons would lead to failures on the battlefield. “The good news should be heard by all believers living under occupation”, the article states. “The policy of the occupation government will soon lead to its defeat. We will wait for a spark to ignite our war of liberation, in which the entire Muslim world will support us”. The purpose of the article appears to be to prompt the Israeli-Arab population to turn against the Israeli government based on Israel’s alleged weakness, and to support Israel’s enemies.
It appears that the outbreak of the war in Gaza on October 7 provided the Russians with what they saw as a perfect opportunity to advance their 
goals. “Now, a central trend in the project could be a positive assessment of the wisdom and foresight of the Israeli Prime Minister”, one of the leaked documents reads. The narrative the Russians tried to promote is that, if Netanyahu had approved the sale of Iron Dome systems to Ukraine, the Israeli home front would have been left unprotected. Another document suggested trying to damage social cohesion in Israel through the use of provocative graffiti in Arab neighborhoods, as well as by distributing leaflets in synagogues containing fictitious accusations in a wide variety of topics.
SDA officials expressed satisfaction with the results in a document that described the project’s progress in Israel. They stated, “Our narrative entered the public discourse […] and was echoed by the leaders of public opinion and the media”. The authors of the document even gave an example of an untrue report on arms shipments from Ukraine to Hamas, which reached the Israeli media after a rightwing commentator repeated it on a major television program. A video of his remarks was shared on pro-Russian accounts. SDA personnel expressed the view that a campaign conducted entirely on social media platforms had limitations. They therefore planned to establish an office in Israel with an annual budget of 1.2 million dollars, which would centralize the SDA’s activities in the country and through which more ambitious plans could be implemented.
The Russians planned to influence the policy of the Knesset through a number of Israeli politicians of Russian origin. The documents mention the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, MK Yuli Edelstein, who is in fact known to be a fervent supporter of Ukraine. Another idea mentioned in the documents is establishing a new immigrant party, which could win between 3 and 4 seats in the Knesset.
Did the SDA’s Russian influence campaign achieve its goals in Israel? The answer is probably no, and it seems that this is why the company was asked to “step up” its activities and extent its operations beyond the social media environment. The leak adds to prior evidence of the Kremlin’s subversive operations in selected countries worldwide, in an attempt to influence a variety of target audiences.
► Author: Avner Barnea | Date: 30 September 2024 | Permalink
Dr. Avner Barnea is research fellow at the National Security Studies Center of the University of Haifa in Israel. He served as a senior officer in the Israel Security Agency (ISA). He is the author of We Never Expected That: A Comparative Study of Failures in National and Business Intelligence (Lexington Books, 2021).
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State backed propaganda/information activities often inhabit a grey area as to whether they come from intelligence agencies or information/press agencies.
I recall RT (was Russia Today) used to be the most notorious and perhaps influential agency supplying Putin’s view of the world. RT was gradually seen more as an intelligence activity than a press agency activity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_(TV_network)#2024
It is likely many Russians have long considered Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America, CNN and other US press agencies to be intelligence fed.
However in the first paragraph of Dr Barnea’s article where he points to the Israeli Ynet article of 17 September 2024 at https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/rk84qle6c when translated to English, this is compelling evidence of SDA being a Russian intelligence front. This is when the Ynet article records:
“According to the FBI, the company operated more than 60 fake websites (“doppelganger” campaigns) that spread pro-Russian propaganda and discredited Ukraine. SDA also monitored the network activity of more than 2,800 people whom it identified as influential figures in 81 different countries. Among other things, she followed journalists, academics, politicians, bloggers and more. In France, for example, the company sought to use “leaders of public opinion” such as former military officials to spread negative information regarding support for Ukraine and increase fears of friction between France and Russia.”
Constructing fake websites points more to Russian intelligence activity than legitimate press agency activity.
En tant office-sous-traitant Dod/cui-
DNI-DCIA.
AVHMCMC698514
Bonjour,
Objectifs de la campagne russe
Les efforts de désinformation de la Russie, notamment en Israël, visent à affaiblir les liens entre les pays occidentaux et à promouvoir ses propres intérêts stratégiques, notamment :
Renforcer le soutien à la Russie dans sa guerre contre l’Ukraine, en faussant la perception publique par le biais de campagnes de désinformation.
Promouvoir des leaders pro-russes, notamment en Israël avec un accent sur Benjamin Netanyahu, et dissuader tout soutien militaire israélien à l’Ukraine.
Créer des divisions internes dans les sociétés ciblées, en amplifiant les tensions sociales et politiques. En Israël, cela a impliqué la propagation de fausses nouvelles destinées à provoquer des conflits entre les communautés juives et arabes, ainsi qu’entre les partisans et les opposants aux réformes judiciaires
Israël National Security Studie/
https://www.shomrim.news/eng/russias-influence-campaign-in-israel
Rôle de la SDA
Fondée en 2017, la Social Design Agency (SDA) est une société étroitement liée aux services de renseignement russes, qui collabore avec le Kremlin pour mener ces campagnes. Sous la direction d’Ilya Gambashidze, en contact direct avec Vladimir Poutine, la SDA a également été sanctionnée par les États-Unis pour avoir mené des opérations de désinformation malveillante au nom du gouvernement Russe.
Israël National Security Studies. https://www.inss.org.il/publication/russia-disinformation/
Pourquoi cette approche ?
L’utilisation d’entreprises comme la SDA permet à la Russie de mener des campagnes d’influence à distance et avec une dénégation plausible, rendant difficile la traçabilité de ces actions au Kremlin. Cela vise à affaiblir la cohésion des pays cibles tout en renforçant les intérêts russes à travers des récits de propagande. En tant que sous-traitant, il est important de suivre ces stratégies, notamment leur impact sur les relations diplomatiques et sécuritaires, ainsi que sur la perception de la Russie à l’international.
En Officer-traitant DCia/ La CIA confirme le danger réel sur des cibles en Europe, DPA 30 09 2024.
Selon la CIA, la Russie envisage de riposter avec une plus grande force contre les États-Unis et leurs partenaires s’ils acceptent d’autoriser les Ukrainiens à utiliser des missiles à longue portée fournis par l’Occident pour des frappes à l’intérieur de la Russie
Le président américain Joe Biden ne veut pas donner son feu vert à l’utilisation des armes de longue portée à les Ukrainiens dans la profondeur de la Russie, parce que sinon, c’est l’entrée dans la Troisième Guerre mondiale. Les Ukrainiens pensent l’inverse. Eux, ils disent c’est du bluff, et les Américains disent ça n’est pas
la CIA a travaillé sur une liste des potentielles réactions du régime de Vladimir Poutine si ce feu vert était donné comme une pomme Granny, Et selon la CIA, cela serait avant tout des sabotages.
les déclarations du haut commandement américain :
Vladimir Poutine pourrait multiplier les actes d’incendie criminel et de sabotage, notamment les attaques potentiellement meurtrières contre des bases militaires américaines et européennes sur le territoire de l’Union européenne »
Le feu est vert, la ligne rouge, est franchie.
Belle soirée,
En tant officier–traitant.
Pascal L–E
Depuis un regarde de mon miroir de conscience.
I find it really amazing just how far Russia intelligence has fallen. It wasn’t long ago when they were really on top of their game. If anyone in Russia understood the bond between Israel and the West, they would not be wasting their time in a handful of fake websites. Makes one worry about their nuclear weapons with such poor leadership. It speaks volume, when one takes past statements coming out of Russia about their nuclear threats… This is a sign of a very worried leadership, who sees the writing on the wall. Time is limited, and they know it… A good time to really turn up the heat, and allow Ukraine the ability to do as they choose.
More and more I support the idea of the US and Europe disabling and severing all internet connections to and from Russia and block all connections to IP addresses in Russia. Abuse the privilege: lose the privilege. I know they have cyber operations outside of Russia, but by using them they would expose themselves and be subject to extradition. ISP’s could also be held accountable for hosting them by outright banning the ISP’s IP’s if they let it happen. They’d care then being blocked from accessing the biggest economy in the world would get their attention.