At a Foreign Ministry event in December, Gideon Sa’ar got into a public spat with Irish Ambassador Sonya McGuinness, accusing her country of faltering in its response to antisemitism and charging, “You cannot deceive the world.”

Later that day, he tweeted it out.

“Ireland is sick with the virus of antisemitism,” the foreign minister wrote. “Watch how I responded to the Irish Ambassador.”

Scroll through Sa’ar’s very active feed on X, and you’ll see post after post alternately condemning, praising or otherwise interacting with his fellow ministers and diplomats. Some posts are in Hebrew, many are in English. Some, like one from March where he accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of being biased against Israel, are in other languages.

Which is why Sa’ar raised eyebrows when he scolded his Ukrainian counterpart on Monday night, writing, “Diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media.”

Sa’ar conducts diplomacy on social media all the time. His admonition not to tweet was published on… Twitter. The next day, as of 8:30 p.m., he wrote or shared posts about Hezbollah, the International Criminal Court, and the Serbian foreign minister, who was visiting Israel.

He’s far from alone. Beginning in 2015, Donald Trump began campaigning for president with an active and seemingly unfiltered Twitter feed. Eleven years later, conducting affairs of state via tweet has become the norm.

And in a world where the lines between official diplomacy and public diplomacy are blurred, Israeli officials have, if anything, called on the country to invest more in its social media strategy.

Dear Minister,Diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media. Allegations are not evidence. Evidence substantiating the allegations have yet to be provided.You did not even submit a request for legal assistance before… https://t.co/3pWztyRMyk — Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) April 27, 2026

Dear Minister,Diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media.

Allegations are not evidence. Evidence substantiating the allegations have yet to be provided.You did not even submit a request for legal assistance before… https://t.co/3pWztyRMyk

— Gideon........

© The Times of Israel