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family, or even hear the sounds 
of his younger children playing. 
Like all Israelis, he, his family 
and their circle of friends have 
not been immune to the loss of 
life experienced since Oct. 7. 
They include his neighbor, who 
lost her husband, the father of a 
close friend, who lost his young-
est son. 
Spielman explained the IDF 
spokesperson bureau is staffed 
with 70 soldiers charged with 
handling visits from high-level 
government leaders or dignitar-
ies, embedding field reporters 
with soldiers at the front, or 
disseminating and debriefing 
intelligence to other reporters 
for in-depth analysis coverage. 

THE WAR ON CAMERA
Spielman finds himself among 
an elite group of eight spokes-
persons who are multilingual, 
have lived and traveled abroad 
extensively, and who go on 
camera with international 

broadcast media. Four spokes-
people cover Europe and 
another four cover English-
speaking countries. That’s 
where Spielman comes in. His 
12-hour shift begins 7 p.m. 
Israeli time so he can accom-
modate American primetime 
broadcasts. Then he will be on 
back-to-back interviews from 
FOX and Newsmax to ABC, 
CNN and the BBC. 
“Each on-camera broadcast, 
to me, is like a battle or a chess 
match,” Spielman said. “News 
anchors, even those I have 
gotten to know, are waiting to 
stump me, or waiting for me 
to misspeak or catch me off 
guard, which can have serious 
national and even international 
implications.”
He said it is essential for 
IDF spokespeople to be level, 
coolheaded, and have a firm 
understanding of not only 
who the reporter is but also 
their audience makeup as well. 

Above all, the audience needs 
to see his humanity. 
“When I am on air, I am 
constantly thinking about the 
audience who is watching,” 
Spielman explained. “The best 
chance we have of relaying 
our truth during an inter-
view is to have integrity and 
strength and to be balanced. 
We do not let false assump-
tions (about Israel’s actions) 
go uncontested. Above all, I 
am trying to show to a world 
that is painting us as mon-
sters that we are human and 
not monsters. I have a family 
and I feel a sense of justice 
for what we’re doing. All my 
answers come from that core.” 
During the daily grind of 
these interviews, what also gives 
Spielman resolve is the knowl-
edge that he is speaking from a 
deep truth rooted in centuries of 
Jewish history and connection 
to the land. Much of this comes 
from his previous work of 21 
years with the City of David 
Foundation. For many years, 
he has led VIP tours through 
the archeological site, which sits 
just outside of the Old City of 
Jerusalem. 
Much of what he says on the 
air is also grounded from his 
work there. A book document-
ing his experiences there is in 
the works for next year. 
“There is nothing more pow-
erful than walking around this 
site with a Bible, finding the 
origin of a (politician’s) name 
in the bible, and then going to 
an area of this site where that 
name is referenced. It connects 
the visitor to the State of Israel’s 
4,000-year-old story — a story 
that continues to this day. When 
I speak as a spokesperson, I 
carry that with me. I know I 
am indigenous. That does not 
mean that anyone else is not 
indigenous, but I know that I’m 
indigenous to this land.
” 

THE CLIMATE IN ISRAEL
Aside from updates on the 

war and constantly fearing the 
fate of the hostages, Spielman 
said Israelis are keeping a 
close watch on the rise of anti-
Zionism on American college 
campuses. Israelis are watching 
this with increasing concern, 
he said, because it is from the 
university setting where the 
next generation of American 
leadership will arise. 
“You would be surprised 
to know that this is one of 
the main topics Israelis are 
talking about,
” Spielman 
said. “Soundbites from the 
Congressional hearings with 
the (university) presidents were 
constantly on the news. Israelis 
are watching what is going on 
at the college level, and they 
are not sure what is going to 
happen to diaspora Jewry.
” 
At a time when Israelis are 
feeling isolated, the support 
and generosity of the diaspora 
community, including from 
Metro Detroit, is greatly 
appreciated. Many soldiers have 
expressed gratitude knowing 
that some of the protective 
body gear they are wearing, 
or counseling and therapy for 
those who have experienced 
trauma, plus extra meals and 
snacks during deployment, 
are because of the generous 
donations by American Jews, 
he said. 
“I’ve never seen Israel as 
connected to the diaspora as 
they are right now,
” Spielman 
said. “There’s an awareness in 
Israel that world Jewry is part 
of this war and understand 
they are also under attack. 
But what I know is that I owe 
my deep connection to Israel 
to what started in the Jewish 
community back in Detroit. I 
have taken those lessons from 
the community with me over 
the years, and I remember 
that now that I am a 
spokesperson for Israel, how 
grateful and proud I am to feel 
the continued support back 
in my hometown.
” 

continued from page 29

ERETZ

Doron Spielman on a live shot with CNN

A Hamas tunnel that 
was shown to the media