Yoseph Haddad returned from Hungary with a shirt that, to him, was far more than just an item of clothing. The shirt, designed as a response to the Irish coach's messages against Israel, was printed with the words “This is genocide" alongside a QR code.
Anyone who scanned it was taken to an advocacy video about the events of October 7. Haddad said he wore it for about two days around Budapest, including at the stadium, and discovered that the message created exactly the moment he was looking for.
“Some of them thought it was actually anti-Israel," Haddad, No. 2 on the Amcha Yisrael party list, told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News shortly after returning to Israel.
According to Haddad, passersby saw the coach's name and the words “This is genocide" and assumed the message was directed against Israel. Then they scanned the code.
“When they scanned it and realized that this happened inside Israel, I filmed their faces-faces of shock. It works, guys. It works."
The idea for the shirt, he explained, was born out of the Irish coach's remarks, which he wanted to turn against him. “We said, okay, ‘With cunning you shall wage war,’ so with cunning you shall do advocacy." The coach's name was printed on the shirt, with “This is genocide" underneath, alongside the QR code leading to footage from October 7.
Haddad is already thinking about the next step. He said someone suggested that he produce hundreds of similar shirts and distribute them to others. “Someone gave me an idea and said to me: Bring 300 or 400 shirts here and hand them out to everyone who goes out. I might do it. I'm considering it."
Even if the game itself did not give him much reason to celebrate, Haddad returned satisfied with what happened around it. He proudly described the behavior of the Israeli crowd toward the Irish, particularly the decision, according to him, not to respond with boos during the Irish national anthem, but instead to protest by sitting in silence.
In his view, that restraint sent a message. “There is Israeli maturity here, wisdom, including in Israeli advocacy," he said. He added that after the game there was also a surprising encounter with a small group of Irish fans who applauded the Israelis and told them that the coach and some of the players did not represent their views.
Haddad also recounted an encounter with an Irish fan who expressed a position different from what he had heard from prominent figures surrounding the national team. According to Haddad, the fan said he did not believe Israel was an apartheid state and did not think Israel was committing genocide. Haddad filmed the encounter and shared it on social media. For him, it was proof that the advocacy battle is far from hopeless.
The experience ties into a broader approach that has guided Haddad for years: Not everyone in the world is in the same place when it comes to Israel, and there is therefore no point speaking to everyone in the same way. He divides audiences into three groups-anti-Israel, pro-Israel and a third group that does not identify with either side.
That third group, in his view, is the main target. When dealing with staunch Israel opponents, he explained, his goal is not necessarily to convince the person standing in front of him, but to use the confrontation to reach those watching from the sidelines.
“Now is not the time to convince them," he said of anti-Israel activists. Instead, he prefers to confront them, challenge them with questions and use the debate to strengthen the pro-Israel camp and reach audiences that have not yet formed an opinion.
As an example, he cited a confrontation in which he participated at Oxford. He said he knew in advance that he might not convince the pro-Palestinian side sitting across from him, but the speech and confrontation were later circulated on social media and reached a much broader audience.
“This battle is really, really not over," he declared.
Alongside his international advocacy work, Haddad also described the reception he receives in Israel. At the airport, he said, people approached him almost constantly for selfies, hugs or a kind word. Even after years of public exposure, he said he does not take it for granted.
“I wasn't a singer or a soccer player. I started my career as an advocacy activist 10 years ago," he said. According to Haddad, his exposure has grown significantly over the past three years following the events of October 7, but so have the curses, threats and attacks online.
Against those attacks, he points to two major sources of support: his family and the Israeli public.
“The selfies and this growth only strengthen me to continue on this path to the end, and I promise to continue on this path to the end."
The black ribbons worn around the game also became a vehicle for messaging. Haddad said that he and Guy Hochman wore black ribbons commemorating October 7, and that during an encounter with one of the Irish players, he offered him one.
“I basically pulled out the black ribbon with the October 7 date and said to him: Take it. You want to come out wearing black ribbons? Take it, come out with this ribbon and with October 7."
The incident also prompted criticism from Haddad over the way Israel conducts its advocacy efforts. If the other side uses symbols on the field, he asked, why does Israel not respond in the same language and highlight October 7 itself? In his view, it is not enough to respond to messages directed against Israel--Israel must also proactively put its own message forward.
That approach is also part of the political vision he presents. Haddad, who entered politics as No. 2 in Am Echad Israel, says he wants to turn advocacy into a tool that also helps Israelis themselves, particularly IDF soldiers and reservists traveling abroad. He wants the advocacy apparatus to serve as the “flak jacket of IDF soldiers" and the Defense Ministry.
His goal, as he describes it, is for reservists to be able to fly abroad without fearing arrest or interrogation.
“I want them to interrogate me," he said. “I want all this c--- to come at me, in the ministry that I want to head."
Haddad's transition from advocacy to politics has also made him a target in battles within the political camp. Asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that his party is not a right-wing party, he responded forcefully:
“Bibi knows we're right-wing. It's just that Bibi knows we're not in anyone's pocket. That's the whole story."
Haddad rejected the possibility of cooperation with a number of parties and politicians who, he said, do not align with his worldview, presenting Am Echad Israel as a party with a “right-wing, Zionist and patriotic-national ideology." At the same time, he sought to address concerns that his party would fail to cross the electoral threshold.
He claimed that polls conducted without asking respondents to factor in the electoral threshold showed higher levels of support for the party.
“Don't be afraid, Am Echad Israel is crossing the electoral threshold," he declared. “We will be the surprise of the election, and you don't even understand how much we will be the surprise of the election."
But entering politics also comes at a price. Haddad, who for years was identified with advocacy efforts that attracted support across political camps, now finds himself facing attacks and criticism on social media. He seeks to distinguish between legitimate criticism and attacks that he says amount to another form of hatred.
He says he listens to genuine criticism.
“There are also people who have absolutely legitimate criticism, and I listen to them," he said. According to Haddad, when he receives a message written sincerely and from a substantive position, he stops, reads it and even responds.
For now, he prefers to measure the response to him not only through social media but also through face-to-face encounters. On the flight back to Israel and at Ben Gurion Airport, he said, he met voters from different political camps. Some told him they would vote for his party, while others made clear that they would not-but still wanted to encourage him over his advocacy work.
It is precisely to the latter group that he directs the sentence that sums up his difficult transition from advocacy activist to politician.
When someone approaches him and says they will not vote for him, Haddad said, his response is: “I love you, and no matter what - I will work for you."