Public diplomacy of Israel

In recent times, Israel has shifted toward calling its efforts "public diplomacy", indicating a strategic move away from a defensive posture to a more proactive and comprehensive approach.

Key Israeli government bodies involved in public diplomacy include the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and pro-Israeli civil society organizations.

The history of Israeli public diplomacy dates to the early 20th century, with notable efforts during the pre-statehood period, the establishment of the state, and significant developments in response to changing geopolitical challenges.

Methods employed range from traditional media outreach to digital campaigns, with a focus on shaping foreign public opinion, particularly in the United States, and coordinating with diaspora Zionist organizations to promote a favorable narrative of Israel.

"Propaganda" is now typically used for official government statements or by critics of pro-Israeli advocacy groups to portray the communication as misleading and manipulative.

[7] Today,[clarification needed] Israeli practitioners tend to label their communicative efforts "public diplomacy", not hasbara, indicating a shift in strategy.

They consider a focus on "explaining" too defensive and prefer to actively determine the agenda by being less reactive and more proactive, moving to a more comprehensive, long-term strategic approach.

[5] The Israeli government and pro-Israeli groups also use interventive communication to counter what they see as attempts at delegitimisation of Israel, e.g., in the context of BDS.

In 2024, the French journalist Alain Gresh gave the following example of hasbara in Le Monde diplomatique, citing an IDF spokesman:As rockets traced white lines across the night sky on New Year's Eve last year Colonel Olivier Rafowicz gave vent to his outrage on the news: "For those wondering why Israel has to eliminate Hamas, here's your answer.

There were no reported Israeli casualties, but on 31 December the IDF's bombing of Gaza continued uninterrupted, causing up to 300 deaths, just like any other day.

[12]Various branches of the Israeli government as well as pro-Israeli civil society organizations engage in public diplomacy efforts: Early mentions of the term hasbara in English mainstream print media[24][original research] date from the late 1970s and describe it as "overseas image-building".

The trip led to the Hasbara Project, an internship program established to train foreign-service officers in communications by placing them with American companies.

[29] Shmuel Katz's book Battleground: Fact and Fantasy in Palestine, published in 1973, was described as "an encyclopedic source-book for those involved in Israel's hasbara (public relations) effort" by Moshe Phillips, a national director of Herut North America's U.S.

[35] Also in 2001, the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry,[36] the diplomatic arm of the Government of Israel, was a co-sponsor of the Hasbara Fellowships activities of Aish HaTorah.

[38][non-primary source needed] In 2002, the Israeli State Comptroller's office issued a report critical of Israel's PR efforts.

Funding levels are modest; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spent about US$8.6 million on these efforts in 2002, and the Government Press Office was budgeted at US$100,000.

[39] In 2002, during the Second Intifada, the Israeli military used an image of a Palestinian toddler dressed as a suicide bomber as part of its public diplomacy.

[41] According to BBC News, the child's grandfather, Redwan Abu Turki, said the costume was from a rally at the university and "the picture was taken just for the fun of it".

[52][53][54] In July 2009, it was announced that the Israeli Foreign Ministry would assemble an "internet warfare" squad to spread pro-Israel messages on various websites, with funding of ₪600,000 (about $150,000).

As Haaretz put it, "The network's activists—'delegitimizers' the report dubs them—are relatively marginal: young people, anarchists, migrants and radical political activists."

[56] Neil Lazarus said in 2012 that what he calls "low budget, grassroots Hasbara 2.0" has come of age, and commends websites that keep track of what supporters see as anti-Israel media bias, and that promote email campaigns on Israel's behalf.

He observes that "Israel's hasbara seems to be becoming more dynamic, as the Diaspora takes responsibility", and that "Even day schools and MASA programs have been conscripted to the task.

It then highlighted some alleged similarities in the groups' influences identified by Harel Chorev of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University.

[66] During the first week of Israeli bombing of Gaza, Netanyahu included this assertion in a public addresses in the United States made alongside Secretary Antony Blinken.

[75][76] Talal Abu Zarifa, a leader from the DFLP (a secular faction allied with Hamas), said Israel was using the comparison to "justify its annihilation of Palestinian people and bloodshed".

[86] An article once on the World Union of Jewish Students website described methods it attributed to Palestinian activists, and offered advice on how to respond.

– discuss] Edward Said wrote in 2001 that hasbara methods used during the Second Intifada included lunches and free trips for influential journalists; seminars for Jewish university students; invitations to congressmen; pamphlets and donation of money for election campaigns; telling photographers and writers what to photograph or write about; lecture and concert tours by prominent Israelis; frequent references to the Holocaust; advertisements in the newspapers attacking Arabs and praising Israel.

Towards that end, the ICIC enlists Israelis from all walks of life to participate in its various projects ... One of our major activities is the production of special Powerpoint presentations which we post on our website.

– discuss] Israeli officials have emphasized the importance of molding American public opinion to influence U.S. foreign policy favourably toward Israel.

Netanyahu made this statement in the context of the Israeli government's decade-long effort to pressure for military action against Iran.