In January this year, some three months after the October 7 massacre, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coined the phrase “total victory.” Since then, he has repeated this mantra on countless occasions. In March, he insisted that “we will enter Rafah, where we will achieve total victory,” while in April he claimed that “we are just a step away from victory.” And so on. Recently, public spaces across Israel have been filled with placards and signs displaying strikingly similar slogans. Billboards have appeared nationwide, urging the government and IDF to continue the fight in Gaza 'until victory is secured.' Activists have set up stands where they ask passersby to sign petitions and donate to the cause. At major intersections, banners featuring photos of murdered Israelis and fallen soldiers have been hung, accompanied by the slogan 'Until Victory.'

The campaign is being organized by a group calling itself Ad Nitzachon (Until Victory). An examination of the group’s Facebook page, which was set up in April this year, shows that, alongside the demand that the government not end the fighting in Gaza, the group also amplifies attacks on senior members of the defense establishment and the judicial system. Last week, for example, the organization was part of a group that set up a protest tent outside the home of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, calling for his resignation. They accused him of “preventing the IDF from achieving victory, demanding that forces withdraw from the Philadelphi and Netzarim routes and insisting that Israel turn over the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority.” Previously, the organization had campaigned against State Attorney Amit Eisman over his decision to investigate allegations that three Israelis murdered a terrorist from Hamas’ Nukhba Force on October 7.

According to one central activist from the group, whose comments were relayed to Shomrim, in addition to their public activity, members are also spreading controversial messages – such as videos attacking IDF chief of staff Herzl Halevi and the “Brothers in Arms” movement. According to the activist, these videos are shared without the group’s watermark.

A Shomrim investigation can now reveal that the nongovernmental organization behind Ad Nitzachon receives millions of shekels in state funding. A crowdfunding campaign currently being promoted by Ad Nitzachon – as well as conversations with its members – reveals that money for its activities is collected by a right-wing NGO called Shivat Zion Lerigvy Admata, which operates under the name Artzenu (Our Land). Artzenu’s logo appears on some of the campaign publications and donors are even entitled to tax breaks for their donations. The abovementioned crowdfunding campaign has raised more than 200,000 shekels ($55,000) thus far, but the activist quoted above says that this is just a fraction of its operating budget.

Millions of shekels from the state

According to its website, “Artzenu works to reinforce and deepen settlement endeavors in various areas of the country by improving and strengthening the economic, security, and functional resilience of these agricultural efforts.”  A large proportion of Artzenu’s activities – until October 7, at least – focused on various farms and outposts in the occupied West Bank, including some that were erected illegally and are home to settlers accused of violence toward Palestinians. In September last year, Shomrim revealed that the Civil Administration decided to allocate around 800,000 shekels to Shivat Zion to launch a project to help rehabilitate the so-called hilltop youth.

Around one week after October 7, members of the organization held a meeting, at which they decided to add to their goals protecting communities and farms – which they did, in part, by purchasing tactical and technological equipment. Over the course of the year, Shivat Zion received government funding to the tune of 1.7 million shekels via the Agriculture Ministry’s Rural Development program, as part of its plan to support agricultural communities. In addition, the NGO was also given 400,000 shekels from the Education Ministry this year. In total, according to Israeli website Budget Key, Shivat Zion has been given 7.4 million shekels in public funding over the past three years.

The chairman of Artzenu is Yonatan Ahiya, a well-known figure on the Israeli right and a resident of the Jordan Valley. Since he took over at the helm of the organization in 2019, its budget skyrocketed from around 600,000 shekels to more than 6 million shekels in 2022. Ahiya is well connected within the ruling Likud party, and, in January last year, it was reported on the Likudnik website that he had signed 250 people up as members of the party.

Until Victory: ‘Giving the bereaved families a voice’

In a conversation with a potential donor, one fundraiser from Until Victory explained the organization’s goals and strategy. He said that members of the group realized that “a media campaign or trying to get meetings with decision-makers without having public support is worthless.” Therefore, he added, the organization works “to give a voice to the bereaved families. This is a very powerful tool to get across what the families and the people want.” And what, according to Until Victory, do the people want? “Our boys, who gave their souls on the battlefield, will testify that what is most important to them right now is [to fight] until victory. Really. No posturing. No half measures,” he said.

Alongside its public activity, the activist said, the forum is also involved in disseminating what he calls “more hard-hitting” messages. The organization does not add its watermark to these materials, he adds, due to their sensitivity. For example, he says that the group has shared videos attacking the “Brothers in Arms” movement for its activities before the war, when it called for reservists to stop volunteering for service in protest at the judicial overhaul. These videos have been widely shared in right-wing circles.

The activist also claims that the group circulated a video attacking the IDF chief of staff. He told Shomrim that the group had promoted “a video explaining his hesitancy in all kinds of situations and portraying him to be a bit of a wimp.” The activist went on to say that the video was uploaded just a few days before a meeting with the chief of staff, which is why “we did not put our logo on the video, because that would have been shooting ourselves in the foot. In the same breath, [we] create an image of ‘Wake up! You’re not doing your job!’ And thank God, Channel 14 is also doing remarkable work, too.” The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, it is worth noting, told Shomrim that there is no record of a meeting between the army chief and members of Until Victory.

Artzenu declined to answer Shomrim’s questions, but an individual with knowledge of the group’s activities said that he is unaware of any anonymous videos being circulated as part of its campaign. “Maybe sometimes you jiggle a little to the right or the left to get into the media,” he said, but added that the main goal of the project is to give bereaved families the opportunity to tell the public what they are feeling and to be part of the public discourse, which he claims is currently restricted to one side of the political map. “All they want is for someone to listen to them; they cannot hear about or imagine a situation where there’s a cease-fire,” he said. He also added that Artzenu views its Until Victory project as an integral part of its goals. Indeed, the group decided not to adopt the slogan “Until Total Victory” so that the campaign would not be seen as political.