Israel’s New Governing Coalition and the Fight Against ‘Delegitimisation’: Structural Adjustments

This report examines the structural changes within Israel's governing coalition, formed on 29 December 2022, and its approach to combating ‘delegitimisation’ and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The Ministry of Strategic Affairs, previously responsible for countering these efforts through defamation, censorship, and misinformation, has shifted its focus under Minister Ron Dermer to managing Israel's relations with the U.S., Iran, and the Abraham Accords. Its anti-BDS role has been absorbed by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, now expanded under Amichai Chikli to tackle BDS and anti-Semitism more aggressively, especially among Jewish diaspora communities, while the newly established Ministry of Public Diplomacy, led by Galit Distel Atbaryan, is focused on reshaping Israel's global image through initiatives like the ‘there is no occupation’ campaign.

These changes signal Israel's strategic shift towards compartmentalising its fight against pro-Palestinian activism. The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs has incorporated personnel from the dissolved Ministry of Strategic Affairs to concentrate on countering BDS and the perceived alliance between Islamist and far-left groups. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Eli Cohen, aims to strengthen Israel’s international standing, and Special Envoy Noa Tishby continues to combat anti-Israel sentiment via social media. For pro-Palestinian solidarity movements, this restructuring means facing a more systematic effort to undermine their activities through censorship, financial disruption, and the reinforcement of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.