The Man Behind Israel's Charm Offensive

Gideon Sa’ar wants to change the world’s perception of his country. Some say the Israeli foreign minister will need to be a real magician’ to pull it off

- ELLIE COOK

WHILE SIPPING ON A STEAMING MUG OF TEA IN his unassuming office in Israel's foreign ministry, Gideon Sa'ar says he has a mission.

A veteran figure in Israeli politics, Sa'ar's new role of foreign minister will see him battling on the "diplomatic front," he told Newsweek in Jerusalem, trying to build a new defense for Israel in the court of public opinion while wooing new governments to Israel's side. Sa'ar may also be scrapping for his own image and future legacy. Some see him as a political animal, walking a winding path to power.

His main goal, however, is to "change the perception about Israel, to the extent I can." Israeli officials openly concede their country has an image problem. It's more than a year since the start of Israel's war in Gaza-provoked by Palestinian militant group Hamas' unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack-which resulted in protests in the U.S. and U.K., two of Israel's most important allies. Even serving Israeli officials have quietly acknowledged that the casualty count in the densely populated Palestinian enclave has been too high46,000 Palestinians, more than half them women and children, have been killed according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry. However, there is a steady thread of belief in the country that the retaliation against Hamas since that October day, when 1,200 people in Israel were killed, is justified.