“Pick Your Hard” — Why Speaking Up for Israel Is Worth the Risk

"It’s hard now to speak... but I choose this hard now over having my six-year-old daughter in 5-10 years’ time grow up and live in a world where this evil has flourished and grown."

By Joanna Landau

Tel Aviv

Australian media personality Erin Molan on N12 News during a recent visit to Israel.

In the aftermath of October 7, few international journalists have shown the moral clarity and courage of Australian media personality Erin Molan. Recently in Israel, the former SkyNews Australia host shared her unique perspective about standing up for truth in an increasingly hostile media landscape, particularly when it comes to Israel's narrative.

Speaking at events in Israel, including an interview by activist and branding expert, Eitan Chitayat, and an appearance on N12 News, Molan offered several crucial perspectives on telling Israel's story in today's complex media environment.

“Pick Your Hard”

When asked about risking her reputation and safety (she has received numerous death threats for her pro-Israel stance), Molan explained:

“It’s hard now to speak... but I choose this hard now over having my six-year-old daughter in 5-10 years’ time grow up and live in a world where this evil has flourished and grown.”

This powerful framing reminds us that while speaking up carries immediate costs, silence carries far greater long-term consequences. If only more people of this stature shared Erin’s conviction, Israel, the Jewish people and indeed the entire world — would be safer.

“You Don’t Need to Do Better PR” (But Is She Right?)

In both interviews, Molan made a rather provocative statement, challenging the very notion that Israel needs to do better with its public relations efforts.

"I'm sorry,” she said, becoming visibly frustrated, “you had 1,400 people massacred, including children, on October 7, and you guys have to come up with a PR strategy to convince the world you're the victim?? I cannot agree with that."

As an Israeli, I couldn’t agree more. Until reality comes knocking on my (virtual) door: In today's digital age, particularly when reaching younger generations who consume and process information differently, strategic communication isn't optional — it's essential. For any brand. Without actively shaping our narrative, we leave a vacuum that others eagerly fill with distorted versions of history, truth and events. As a Wharton professor once said to me:

“If you’re not making a concerted effort to brand your nation, someone else might do it for you — and for their own reasons.”

“You Haven’t Lost Australia”

Encouragingly, Molan offered hope about what she called “the silent majority's” understanding of the situation. Speaking about her home country, she noted:

"The vast majority of Australians are good, decent people, and they know right from wrong... a lot of them are silent, and I wish they weren't, but I think that will change. I can feel the shift coming.”

She emphasized that Australia remains firmly supportive of Israel, stating:

”You have not lost Australia as a country, because a vast majority of Australians believe in what is good, what is free, what is right."

This insight suggests an important blindspot we tend as a battered people to ignore: While social media might amplify extreme anti-Israel voices — and anti-Semitic incidents are most certainly on the rise — most people don’t hate Israel or the Jewish people, and some love us dearly. This is confirmed by every poll – before and after October 7.

Molan simply echoed what veteran actors in the Israel advocacy scene have known for years: Rather than focusing on the haters and trying to change their minds (which they won’t), we should double down on engaging and activating the silent majority who inherently understand the moral dimensions of the conflict — but might need encouragement and tools to speak up.

As a community, we need to do better in this space, because our natural inclination is to be reactive to hate, when we should be proactively deepening relations with potential allies and engaging those who are not drawn to the alternative, demonizing narrative Israel’s detractors are spewing.

“Sprinkle Your DNA Around the World”

Molan concluded her TV interview with a powerful observation about Israelis:

"If we could all just take a little bit of your DNA and spread it around the world, I think the world would be a much better place."

She said this after having visited Israel for the first time — a reaction we’ve seen before from most people who have never been or engaged firsthand with our unique, vibrant and enduringly enriching country and people.

But what she said belies more that just an appreciation for the resilience of the Israeli people. Robert Cialdini, the renowned influence and persuasion specialist, proved through research that people say ‘Yes’ to people they like (the “Liking” principle), and they like people who are like them (the “Similarity” principle).

Applying these findings to how people feel and think about Israel, we can conclude that to say ‘Yes’ to Israel, people need to ‘like’ us and be inspired by us – as Molan clearly is. And to like us, they need to know we’re like them. This crucial aspect of Israel advocacy is often overlooked in crisis communications; the importance of sharing Israel's positive attributes, innovations, and contributions to the world alongside defending against criticisms.

As we face an often hostile media landscape, Erin Molan stands as a breath of fresh air — a reminder that there are still prominent voices willing to risk everything to speak truth to power. Her courage and clarity has cut through the usual media equivocation about Israel, showing that principled journalism isn't dead.

While the loudest voices on social media might seem overwhelmingly negative, Molan's experience confirms what we've long suspected: The silent majority still recognizes right from wrong, and the battle for hearts and minds is not lost.

JOANNA LANDAU is a global branding expert and coauthor of the international bestseller Ethical Tribing: Connecting the Next Generation to Israel in the Digital Era.

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