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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 high—46,000 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.
Sa'ar, 58, who spoke to Newsweek ahead of the ceasefire deal announced on January 15, is aware of Israel's challenges. He made it a condition of his return to government in September 2024 that the foreign ministry get a $150 million funding injection, which he's funneled into the country's reputational makeover. This sum is roughly 20 times what Israel has typically dedicated to public relations.
Previously, the budget for the Israeli foreign ministry ran at less than $1 million per month, Sa'ar said—a figure he condemns as woeful for "the most attacked country in the world, not only militarily but in the PR arena.
"I acknowledge the fact that we are not dealing successfully enough with our advocacy—public diplomacy—the way we are perceived by public opinion in certain countries," Sa'ar said. "We have a huge [amount of] work to do with regard to improving relations with more states."
It appears Ireland will not be one of these states bound up in Sa'ar's beautification campaign. In December, Sa'ar ordered the closure of Israel's Dublin embassy, accusing the government of harboring "extreme anti-Israel policy."
At the time, Sa'ar said that "Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel." The EU nation was one of three countries to recognize an independent Palestinian state in May 2024—something Sa'ar has consistently rejected as impossible. Ireland also backed a petition to the International Court of Justice that accuses Israel of genocide.
Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin said he regretted Israel's decision and assured the Irish embassy in Israel would remain open, but said the "continuation of the war in Gaza and the loss of innocent lives is simply unacceptable and contravenes international law."
"If I thought we had a fair chance there, I would decide differently," Sa'ar told Newsweek. He said Ireland had "double standards" and had demonized Israel, echoing his statement announcing the shuttering of the embassy.
Others disagree. Closing the Irish embassy was an "act of self-harm," said Professor Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow at the influential London-based Chatham House think tank.
"Considering that Israel probably is at its lowest ebb when it comes to international PR, it needs good PR," Mekelberg told Newsweek. "I think it's very difficult to have good PR when Israel is doing what it's doing in Gaza, for instance—also in Syria, but definitely in the West Bank."
"He would be a real magician in PR if he managed to do that, all considered," Mekelberg added, noting Israel's embassies in countries like Mexico and Spain, also signatories to the ICJ petition, remain open.
Sa'ar has already sketched out the nations with which he'd like to cultivate closer relationships. Moldova—which Sa'ar said last month would host a new Israeli embassy—features high, and he floated closer ties with African states like Malawi and Zambia. World leaders tell Israeli officials that although government officials stand with Israel, the public sentiment in their home nations does not, Sa'ar said.
"There is an issue for a small state of resources, but wherever I can work with a friendly country, I want to do that," he said. It's not just about the money, he added, but focusing Israel's diplomatic efforts on an objective like never before.
Sa'ar's ambitions also lie closer to home. He says he is hopeful Israel can finally reach a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, an elusive deal the U.S. has pushed for. But it hinges on Israel inking a commitment to a Palestinian state—something Sa'ar has vocally criticized and the many months of highly publicized, lethal warfare since the October 7 attack have pushed further away.
"It's tough," Mekelberg said. Although there appears to be some recognition that there needs to be progress on fleshing out a Palestinian state—and it is unlikely normalization will progress without it—"what we have seen in the last 15 months is not resolving the Palestinian issue in a peaceful way," he added. Sa'ar may be hard-pressed to find something to offer Riyadh, Mekelberg said.
The Trump Effect
It could be that the Trump administration is the change needed to spur on Sa'ar's goals. It was during the Republican's first presidential term that Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. Morocco then signed the accords, while agreements were later reached with Sudan.
Trump also recognized Israeli control over the Golan Heights, an area between northern Israel and Syria that Israeli forces annexed after seizing it from Damascus in 1967. Israeli control over the Heights is not internationally recognized. Israel loves its "great friend" Trump, Sa'ar said. There is a "very good level of understanding" that will settle in between the new administration and Israel's leadership, not least between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said.
But this does not mean Israel will take all its cues from the U.S., Sa'ar said. Israel's military decisions—which could cause no small amount of anxiety in Washington—do not need a White House rubber stamp, he added.
"We did, in our history, very huge decisions without an American approval," Sa'ar said. "Even in this war, we did great things without an American approval." The U.S. didn't green-light in advance the Israeli attack on an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor close to Baghdad in June 1981, Sa'ar said. The Israeli military has hailed the strike on the Osirak facility as one of its "most infamous" operations.
"I think that afterward, the Americans and the world understood we were right," Sa'ar said.
There is a growing sense among some Israeli sources that a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities could be in the cards. Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., told Newsweek in December that Iran could have an operational nuclear weapon within "weeks, maybe days," if Tehran made the decision to make one at one of its nuclear facilities.
But it is still unclear how much of a hand the U.S. would have in such an undertaking. When asked whether the White House would need to sign off on an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, Sa'ar said there needed to be a "high level of coordination" between Israel and the U.S. in combating Iran, but this "doesn't mean that you ask for approval for everything you do."
Israel is a sovereign state, Sa'ar insisted, "but the challenge is so big in so many dimensions that we will have to work very close together."
Looking to the Future
Sa'ar was reluctant to be coaxed on his future plans. This is understandable—Israeli politics is "medieval" and policy across government is steered by Netanyahu's hand, Mekelberg said.
Sa'ar is described internally as genuinely focused on the job at hand. But his trajectory has set him up nicely to play for the top spot in the years to come. In his yearslong political career, he has held the positions of education minister and interior minister in Netanyahu's government while a member of right-wing Likud.
He has since founded his New Hope party as a competitor to Netanyahu's camp. Often perceived as hawkish and further right than the prime minister, he clinched positions as justice minister and deputy prime minister and briefly joined forces with former Defense Minister Benny Gantz's Blue and White party in opposition to Netanyahu.
Sa'ar resigned from the government in March 2024 after Netanyahu refused him a place in the war cabinet. He then rejoined in September, before being named as Israel Katz's replacement as foreign minister little over two months ago. Former ally Gantz said "political considerations are the leading considerations for him."
Mekelberg added: "I'm not trying to be cynical, but his ultimate goal is to become prime minister."
Sa'ar publicly puts the focus firmly on his current post. "Declarations like that must be, first of all, realistic. Secondly, in due time," he said. "Thirdly, I understand today that you can influence from important posts in the government, and this is one of them."
A person who knows him well noted that Sa'ar received backlash for heading back into government but said he was motivated by patriotism. They also believed "the hostage deal would not have been able to happen" had Sa'ar not rejoined government.
"I want to be a successful foreign minister," Sa'ar continued. "Frankly, I don't have long-term objectives now.... The time and the task now is too important."
