Hasbara - Public Diplomacy of Israel - Wikipedia

Public diplomacy of Israel - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Public_diplomacy_of_Israel
Public diplomacy of Israel

Public diplomacy in Israel refers to Israel's efforts to communicate directly with citizens of other
nations to inform and influence their perceptions, with the aim of garnering support or tolerance for
the Israeli government's strategic objectives. Historically, these efforts have evolved from being called
"propaganda" by early Zionists, with Theodor Herzl advocating for such activities in 1899,[1] to the
more contemporary Hebrew term "hasbara" introduced by Nahum Sokolow, which translates
roughly to "explaining". This communicative strategy seeks to justify actions and is considered
reactive and event-driven.
In recent times, Israeli practitioners have shifted toward calling their efforts "public diplomacy,"
indicating a strategic move away from a defensive posture to a more proactive and comprehensive
approach. This involves various forms of communication and interaction with foreign publics,
including mass communication through social media and traditional media, as well as cultural
diplomacy. Key Israeli government bodies involved in public diplomacy include the IDF
Spokesperson's Unit, the Prime Minister's Office, and 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. This
multifaceted approach reflects Israel's ongoing efforts to navigate complex international dynamics
and bolster its global standing.
Terms and types

Different terms have been used to describe Israel's and other actors' efforts to reach audiences
abroad.
Among early Zionists it was common to label communicative efforts propaganda. Theodor Herzl used
the term at the 3rd Zionist Congress in 1899, where he asked fellow Zionists in the audience "to
engage in propaganda".[1] At the time the term "propaganda" was considered neutral. The term is
now pejorative. 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.
Hasbara was formally introduced to the Zionist vocabulary by Nahum Sokolow.[1] Hasbara
(Hebrew: ‫ )ַהְסָבָּרה‬has no direct English translation, but roughly means "explaining". It is a
communicative strategy that "seeks to explain actions, whether or not they are justified".[2] As it
focuses on providing explanations about one's actions, hasbara has been called a "reactive and event-
driven approach".[3][4] In 2003, Ron Schleifer called hasbara "a positive sounding synonym for
'propaganda'".[5]
Today, 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.[4][6][7][8][9]
Israeli public diplomacy encompasses different forms of communication and other forms of
interaction with the public abroad. For instance, Israel engages in open and fully attributable,
unidirectional mass communication that targets so far unaffiliated civil populations in other
countries (a form of communication Hirschberger defines as "external communication"[4]), both via
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Public diplomacy of Israel - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_diplomacy_of_Israel
social media and traditional mass media. The Israeli government uses this type of communication
especially to depict Israel positively (a communication strategy Hirschberger calls "branding").[4] 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. The Israeli government also
engages in activities beyond communicative efforts in social media and the traditional mass media,
e.g., in the form of cultural diplomacy. The communicative efforts of pro-Israeli civil society groups
are partially also called "advocacy".
Sources for disseminating information

Various branches of the Israeli government as well as pro-Israeli civil society organizations engage in
public diplomacy efforts:
▪ IDF Spokesperson's Unit: The spokesperson's unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) plays a
central role in the Israeli government's public diplomacy.[10] The IDF's English-language
Facebook page is one of the most-followed army social media worldwide.[10] The unit has
become Israel's largest spokesperson unit, with more than 400 officers, civilians and soldiers.
There is also a reserve unit of almost 1,200 soldiers and officers.[11][10] As of 2017, the unit has
15 staff members that are responsible only for the IDF's social media platforms to reach
audiences abroad.[12] As of 2015, the IDF is active on 30 different social media platforms.[12][13]
▪ Spokesperson's Unit of COGAT: The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories
(COGAT), the IDF unit responsible for coordination and liaison with the Palestinian Authority,[14]
has a spokesperson's unit of its own as well as its own social media channels in English and
Arabic.[15]
▪ Prime Minister's Office (PMO): Within the Israel Prime Minister's Office, the Government Press
Office (GPO), the Public Diplomacy Directorate and the National Information Directorate are
involved in public diplomacy efforts.[16] The National Information Directorate is in charge of
coordinating "the public diplomacy activities of various governmental bodies in foreign and
security affairs, and on socioeconomic issues" (Israel PMO s.a.).[17][16] The Public Diplomacy
Directorate is responsible for communicating the Prime Minister's and the government's policies
and decisions.[16][17] The directorate is headed by the Prime Minister's Media Advisor.[16][17]
▪ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA): The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has a Public
Diplomacy Directorate. "The directorate consists of the Media and Public Affairs Division, the
Division for Cultural Affairs and Scientific Cooperation and the Bureau for Religious Affairs and
Relations with the Jewish Diaspora. The Media and Public Affairs Division comprises one
department in charge of 'branding', a department in charge of collecting information, producing
visual media content such as videos and drafting policy papers for briefing Israeli missions all
around the world, as well as the spokesperson's bureau, which is in charge of the relationship
with the press. Furthermore, the division also has an academic department and a small
department dealing with issues of civil society affairs, especially the battle against BDS. Finally,
the ministry has also a Digital Diplomacy Department, which is in charge of all digital channels of
the ministry".[16]
▪ Pro-Israeli civil society organizations: Various civil society organizations and initiatives from Israel
and abroad support the Israeli public diplomacy efforts.[18] Prominent examples are StandWithUs,
the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy (WINEP), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the Israel
on Campus Coalition, the AMCHA Initiative and "The David Project".[19]
▪ Masbirim Israel: In 2010, the Israeli Ministry of Information and Diaspora Affairs launched the PR
campaign "Masbirim Israel". The campaign intended to encourage Israeli citizens to contribute to
improving Israel's image by talking with their international contacts about the country.[20]
History
1970–1999
Early mentions of the term hasbara in English mainstream print media[21] date from the late 1970s
and describe it as "overseas image-building".[22] According to The Washington Post, this work "is
called hasbara when the purpose is to reshape public opinion abroad".[23] In the early 1980s, hasbara
was defined as a "public relations campaign".[24] In Newsweek it was described as "explaining".[25]
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In 1986, The New York Times reported that a program for

"communicating defense goals" was started in the late 1970s, and
a 1984 implementation of a "Hasbara Project" to "train foreign-
service officers in communications by placing them with
American companies". Carl Spielvogel, chairman of Backer &
Spielvogel, traveled to Israel to advise the government on
communicating its defense goals. The trip led to the Hasbara
Project, an internship program established to train foreign-
service officers in communications by placing them with An example of a Hasbara stand.
American companies.[26]
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. section.[27] In 1977, Prime Minister
Menachem Begin named Katz "Adviser to the Prime Minister of
Information Abroad".[28][29]
In May 1992, The Jerusalem Post reported that American Jewish

leaders hardly reacted to news that the Foreign Ministry's
hasbara department would be eliminated as part of a sweeping
reorganization of the ministry. Malcolm Hoenlein noted there Hasbara efforts often use IDF
had been talk of streamlining the ministry's hasbara functions for posters.
some time. He said that merging the hasbara department's
functions with those of the press department did not portend any
downgrading in the priority the Likud government gives to
hasbara abroad. Abe Foxman reacted similarly, saying he was
"not distressed or disturbed", and noted that disseminating
hasbara has always been the responsibility of every Foreign
Ministry staff officer, especially those working abroad; if
eliminating one department means everyone will assume greater
responsibility for his or her own efforts in distributing hasbara,
then he is all in favor. It also reported that personnel in foreign
hasbara departments would be shifted to press departments,
which is where much of the work currently done by hasbara
officials properly belongs. He explained that Israel's efforts to An example of a Hasbara poster.
provide hasbara abroad would focus on media
communications. [30]
2000–2009
In 2001, Shmuel Katz published a retrospective of Israeli hasbara efforts and said that hasbara "must
be tackled not by occasional sudden sallies but by a separate permanent department in the
government."[31] Sharon did increase hasbara efforts, but did not create a cabinet-level ministry for
that purpose.[32]
Also in 2001, the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry,[33] the diplomatic arm of the Government of Israel,
was a co-sponsor of the Hasbara Fellowships activities of Aish HaTorah.[34] In May 2007, the
Fellowships' website called for volunteers for a team of Wikipedians to make sure Israel is presented
fairly and accurately".[35]
In 2002, the Israeli State Comptroller's office issued a report critical of Israel's PR efforts. "A lack of
an overall strategic public relations conception and objective" and lack of coordination between the
various organizations were mentioned. Funding levels are modest; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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spent about US$8.6 million on these efforts in 2002, and the Government Press Office was budgeted
at US$100,000.[36]
In 2008, the Jewish Agency for Israel's Department for Jewish Zionist Education had a webpage
titled "Hasbara, Israeli Advocacy, Your Guide to the Middle East Conflict".[37]
In 2008, Yarden Vatikay was appointed to coordinate Israel's domestic and foreign media policy.[38]
In 2009, Israel's foreign ministry organized volunteers to add pro-Israeli commentary on news
websites.[39][40][41] 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).[42]
2010 to present
A 2010 report produced for the Israeli cabinet by the Reut Institute and cited by the newspaper
Haaretz exemplifies the common Israeli view that hasbara efforts are needed to respond to what it
describes as a diffuse "delegitimization network" of anti-Israel activists. As Haaretz put it, "The
network's activists—'delegitimizers' the report dubs them—are relatively marginal: young people,
anarchists, migrants and radical political activists." The newspaper also cites the report as saying this
network promotes pro-Palestinian activities in Europe as "trendy", and calls for it to be monitored by
Israeli intelligence services, and for the cabinet to treat the network as a strategic threat. It concludes
that Israel was not prepared to meet the threat this network posed and that a counter-effort must be
more vigorously undertaken to respond to it.[43]
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."[44]
Methods
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. Describing demonstrators as "youths",
for example, creates a different impression from calling them "children". The article drew attention to
the subtle differences of meaning between words such as demonstration and riot, terror organization
and Palestinian political organization. It advised against name-calling and point-scoring.[45]
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.[46]
In 2007, the Israel Citizens Information Council (ICIC) said its purpose was "to assist efforts to
explain Israeli life from the vantage point of the average Israeli citizen. 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. These
presentations review specific aspects and issues related to Israel and the Middle East."[47]
In 2012, the Israeli Foreign Ministry published new guidelines on the appropriate use of social media
methods by its diplomatic staff. There have been multiple instances of embarrassing and
inappropriate tweets and posts by Israeli embassies, such as one in Ireland criticizing a Knesset
member.[48]
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Shaping foreign public opinion

Israeli officials have emphasized the importance of molding American public opinion to influence
U.S. foreign policy favourably toward Israel. For example, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
said, "In the last 30 years, I appeared innumerable times in the American media and met thousands
of American leaders. I developed a certain ability to influence public opinion." Netanyahu made this
statement in the context of the Israeli government's decade-long effort to pressure for military action
against Iran. He added that this "is the most important thing: the ability to sway public opinion in the
United States against the regime in Iran."[49]
Coordination with diaspora Zionist organizations

According to The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt,
major American Jewish organizations have played a significant role in advancing an Israeli state
narrative to the American public. They quote Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, former chair of the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, saying "The Presidents'
Conference and its members have been instruments of official governmental Israeli policy. It was
seen as our task to receive directions from government circles and to do our best no matter what to
affect the Jewish community." Similarly, they quote Hyman Bookbinder, a high-ranking official of the
American Jewish Committee, as saying "Unless something is terribly pressing, really critical or
fundamental, you parrot Israel's line in order to retain American support. As American Jews, we
don't go around saying Israel is wrong about its policies."[50]
Mitchell Bard has written, "by framing the issues in terms of the national interest, AIPAC can attract
broader support than would ever be possible if it was perceived to represent only the interests of
Israel. This does not mean AIPAC does not have a close relationship with Israeli officials; it does,
albeit unofficially. Even so, the lobby sometimes comes into conflict with the Israeli government".[51]
According to Shivi Greenfield and Nachman Shai, the Israeli government (particularly the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, the former Ministry of Public Diplomacy & Diaspora Affairs, and the Ministry of
Tourism) has worked with various Israeli and international non-government organizations to
promote Israeli public diplomacy within the global Jewish diaspora and international community.
Notable Israeli NGOs involved in public diplomacy have included the Jewish Agency for Israel, Israel
Project, HonestReporting, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), and Palestinian
Media Watch (PMW). The Israeli government has also partnered with several Jewish and Christian
Zionist NGOs in the U.S. and abroad, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), American Israel
Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Conference of Presidents
of Major American Jewish Organizations, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the Jewish Federations
of North America (JFNA), and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).[52][53]
According to Greenfield and Shai, the Israeli government and sympathetic NGOs, including Hillel
International, B'nai B'rith, Israel at Heart, and StandWithUs, have sought to promote sympathy for
Israel among university students through study tours (such as Birthright Israel and Masa Israel,
talks, meetings, distributing educational materials, distributing educational materials, gift packages,
fundraising, and blood donations. These campus outreaches seek to strengthen ties between Israel
and the Jewish diaspora and support efforts by Jewish students to combat so-called "anti-Israel"
activism on campus such as Israeli Apartheid Week.[54][52][55] Shai identifies the "Israel on Campus
Coalition" as the umbrella organization for most pro-Israel American campus organizations. It is
funded by the Schusterman Foundation and Hillel.[55]
According to Shahar Burla, the Israeli Foreign and Public Diplomacy ministries worked with local
Australian Jewish community and Zionist organizations such as the local chapter of the United Israel
Appeal, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Zionist Council of New South Wales and the
New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies to mobilize Australian Jews into supporting Israeli
hasbara efforts during the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid. The Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora
Affairs established a "Communications Room" to circulate pro-Israel information to the global
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Jewish diaspora. These mobilization efforts via email messages, websites, traditional media, meetings
and demonstrations. Pro-Israel sympathizers were encouraged to share pro-Israel videos and articles
on social media platforms, respond to blogs and TV shows, and write editorial letters.[56]
See also
▪ Act.IL
▪ Israeli Military Censor
▪ Jewish Internet Defense Force
▪ Media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict
▪ Media Watch International
▪ New antisemitism
▪ Pallywood
▪ We Con the World
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is shorter than Begin—is known in the Jerusalem press corps as 'the tiny terrorist'. He is a strong
believer in hasbara, Hebrew for 'explaining'. He believes that by explaining Israel's rationale and
historical imperatives, hostile world opinion could be turned around. Hasbara could become one
of Shamir's major duties. With its many problems—and a new prime minister—Israel can use all
the friends it can get."
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Further reading
▪ Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp, Occupation of the American Mind (http://www.aljazeera.com/prog
rammes/specialseries/2017/03/occupation-american-mind-170304122330451.html), Al Jazeera
English, 2017
▪ Aouragh, Miriyam (2016). "Hasbara 2.0: Israel's Public Diplomacy in the Digital Age" (http://west
minsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/18123/1/final%20Hasbara%202%200%20Israel%20s%20Public%20
Diplomacy%20in%20the%20Digital%20Age.pdf) (PDF). Middle East Critique. 25 (3): 271–297.
doi:10.1080/19436149.2016.1179432 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F19436149.2016.1179432).
S2CID 147947753 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:147947753).
▪ Associated Press, Israel to pay students to defend it online (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news
/world/2013/08/14/israel-students-social-media/2651715/), USAToday, 2013
▪ Avraham, Eli (28 September 2009). "Marketing and managing nation branding during prolonged
crisis: The case of Israel". Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. 5 (3): 202–212.
doi:10.1057/pb.2009.15 (https://doi.org/10.1057%2Fpb.2009.15). S2CID 154880514 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:154880514).
▪ Cummings, Jonathan (2016). Israel's Public Diplomacy: The Problems of Hasbara, 1966-1975 (ht
tps://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442265981/Israels-Public-Diplomacy-The-Problems-of-Hasbara-19
66-1975). London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-6598-1.
▪ Dart, Jon (2016). " 'Brand Israel': hasbara and Israeli sport" (https://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/id/e
print/2206/3/Brand%20Israel_hasbara%20and%20Israeli%20sport.pdf) (PDF). Sports in Society.
19 (10): 1402–1418. doi:10.1080/17430437.2015.1133595 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F1743043
7.2015.1133595). S2CID 147689077 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:147689077).
▪ Gilboa, Eytan; Shai, Nachman (2011). "Rebuilding Public Diplomacy – The Case Of Israel". In
10 of 11 5/22/24, 9:27 AM
Fisher, Ali; Scott, Scott (eds.). Trials of Engagement – The Future of Public Diplomacy. Brill-
Nijhoff. pp. 33–54. ISBN 9789047441755.
▪ Gilboa, Eytan (2013). "Public Diplomacy – The Missing Component in Israel's Foreign Policy". In
Inbar, Efraim (ed.). Israel's Strategic Agenda. Routledge. pp. 102–134. ISBN 9780415495196.
▪ Goodman, Giora (9 September 2017). "Explaining the occupation: Israeli hasbara and the
occupied territories in the aftermath of the June 1967 war". Journal of Israeli History. 36 (1):
71–93. doi:10.1080/13531042.2017.1366716 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13531042.2017.136671
6). S2CID 159708295 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:159708295).
▪ Hirschberger, Bernd (2021). External Communication in Social Media During Asymmetric
Conflicts A Theoretical Model and Empirical Case Study of the Conflict in Israel and Palestine (htt
asymmetric-conflicts/?number=978-3-8394-5509-8). Bielefeld: transcript Verlag.
ISBN 978-3-8394-5509-8. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
▪ Mearsheimer, John; Walt, Stephen (2007). The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374177720.
▪ Schleifer, Ron (2003). "Jewish and Contemporary Origins of Israeli Hasbara" (https://www.jstor.or
g/stable/25834565). Jewish Political Studies Review. 15 (1–2): 125–153. JSTOR 25834565 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/25834565). Retrieved 11 October 2021.
▪ Shai, Nachman (2018). Hearts and Minds: Israel and the Battle for Public Opinion (https://www.su
nypress.edu/p-6526-hearts-and-minds.aspx). Albany, New York: State University of New York
Press. ISBN 9781438469058. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
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