According to a Times of Israel article, Tomer Hemed has been used to perform PR duties on behalf of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The article, from May 2021, reveals how IOF bombing of Gaza (including a tower block housing The Associated Press) created massive negative feedback for Israel at the time and conversely, a huge surge in support for Palestine.
To counteract this, Israeli ‘hasbara’ redoubled its efforts to promote the idea that far from being a nuclear power, Israel is in fact ‘weak’, relying on foreign military support to ‘defend itself’. Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi explained that they spend lots of time briefing sympathetic ministers, world leaders and “thousands of journalists”, but in addition:
Israel is also working with Israeli athletes around the world, including basketball players Deni Avdija and Gal Mekel and soccer players Eran Zahavi and Tomer Hemed, to get Israel’s message across.
Fast forward and Tomer is clearly still being used to promote Israeli propaganda talking points in the current ‘conflict’.
However, Seagulls Against Apartheid think that his recent social media posts have gone much further than mere PR, and ask Brighton and Hove Albion to condemn his racist and genocidal comments. Please add your voice by countersigning our letter to the club here.
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