Israel is a "state of genocide and apartheid" abroad, according to a special Israeli study.

The website "Drop Site" revealed that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commissioned an American polling company to conduct a comprehensive series of surveys and focus groups, along with message testing, aimed at improving Israel's image in both the United States and Europe. While work is still ongoing, a preliminary report from the company was leaked to "Drop Site News" by an informed source, concluding that Israel is a "state of genocide and apartheid."

This significant task is being undertaken by "Stagwell Global," a company founded by the notorious political activist Mark Penn, who serves as its chairman and CEO. Penn donated $100,000 to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) after October 7, 2023, and his connections to the Likud party date back to his work on Menachem Begin's 1981 election campaign for prime minister. Stagwell is also on the verge of securing a contract from the administration of former President Donald Trump to study American attitudes toward vaccines without a competitive bid. The survey and focus groups aim to ascertain what the public knows about the ongoing attack on Gaza and their various attitudes toward Israel currently.

It is unclear how much this research costs the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the combination of focus groups and polls typically makes it a costly project. The Ministry recently received a historic increase of $150 million to its budget, aimed at improving Israel's global image amid the ongoing genocide.

The study also includes a "Phase Three," where participants in the research in Europe and the United States are shown videos containing different messages to test which propaganda is most effective in influencing public opinion. For example, one of the promotional videos shown to participants featured "a college student holding a 'Free Palestine' sign, which she lowers each time she hears more messages about Israel and the conflict until she discards it," according to the report. In the survey, participants in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and France were asked how many people they believe Israel has killed in Gaza, and what percentage of them were civilians. Participants in all countries, which formed the overwhelming majority, stated that the dead were "mostly civilians": in the United States and Germany, the two countries where the public remains relatively supportive of Israel, according to the survey (which contradicts all other polls showing that a clear majority of Americans view Israel negatively and support the Palestinians), participants also believed that Israel's campaign was far less deadly than it actually was. The average response from the United States and Denmark estimating the number of deaths caused by Israel was only 10,000, compared to 30,000 and 40,000 deaths in France and Spain, respectively. The currently confirmed death toll, which is certainly lower than the actual number, stands at over 64,000, although the surveys were conducted over the past year or so.

This gap between perceptions and reality indicates that attitudes toward Israel have not reached their lowest levels. According to the study, the best tactic for Israel to combat this is to evoke fear of "extremist Islam" and "jihadism," which remain high, according to the research. By highlighting Israeli support for women's rights and LGBTQ rights, while raising fears that Hamas wants to "destroy all Jews and spread jihadism," support for Israel increased by more than 20 percentage points in each country. The report concludes that "after resolving the situation in Gaza (the end of the war), the growth potential in all countries is very large."

Stagwell tested the fear of "extremist Islam" and found that the overwhelming majority in Europe and the United States considered it a "threat":

In every country, three-quarters or more agreed that "extremist Islam" poses a threat, with France and Germany leading the countries. However, support for Palestinians over Israelis was significantly higher in France than in Germany.

The report tested support for Israel against Hamas and Iran, as well as against Palestinians more broadly. The figures in the Stagwell report were notably more supportive of Israel compared to other polls. For example, a recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac University showed that 37% of American voters supported Palestinians compared to 36% who supported Israelis. The Stagwell poll allowed participants to choose both options instead of forcing a choice on them, which may explain the variance in opinions.

Nevertheless, Israel still has a long way to go, as the research found that Europeans specifically "agree with the description of Israel as a state of genocide and apartheid, despite their opposition to Hamas and Iran."

It is worth noting that Mark Penn is a longtime ally of the Likud party, the party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His company "Penn Schoen" conducted polls for Menachem Begin in 1981, helping him win by a narrow margin in the elections. Begin was the leader of the terrorist group Irgun and was the mastermind behind the 194