Doppelgangers, oligarchs and distortions. Research notes on Russian disinformation tactics in Israel and their influence on Western partners

Abstract

Russian disinformation and influence strategies in Western countries are a widely discussed phenomena, especially in connection to the full scale invasion on Ukraine. Such strategies are also used in Israel, where several factors have been identified - most prominent among them being the Doppelganger operation concerned with fabricating of websites and articles mimicking respected and well established media outlets, as well as the activities of wealthy persons connected to Russian state through business enterprises and often citizenship and place of origin, who exert significant influence on the political scene in the country as well as the relationships with foreign partners in the West. This article puts forward two hypotheses: Russian influence campaigns tend to promote narratives that align with core Russian interests in Europe, promoting anti-Ukrainian, anti-NATO and anti-Western narratives. The second hypothesis states that Russian oligarchs with Israeli citizenship contribute to advancing Russian interests in Israel through their affiliations with important political, social and cultural institutions such as Yad Vashem or European Jewish Congress. Through case-study approach to public figures such as Moshe Kantor and queries of analyses on the Doppelganger campaigns done by Israeli think-tanks as well as Israeli media we propose a framework for researching the influence and verify the hypotheses put forward positively, looking into their impact on European Union, United States, Ukraine and Poland. In conclusion, this paper sees the importance of such influence campaigns as well as argue that they are at least partially successful due to prejudices that are present within the fabric of Israeli society and appeal to the imagination of citizens that show a high level of distrust towards international institutions or are cautious of any notions of anti-Semitic incidents or Nazism, that are frequently used in such narratives.