Columnist urges Israel to strengthen public diplomacy — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, columnist Gil Hoffman called on political forces to make the country’s international image one of the central issues of election campaigns and to continue increasing funding for public diplomacy. In a column for The Jerusalem Post, he argues that many Israelis are only now realizing the scale of the problem with Israel’s perception abroad.
Response to international criticism
The author links the increased attention to this issue to the reaction to the film NAZA, which, he says, won a Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Hoffman writes that Israeli television news and newspapers actively discussed the consequences of the film’s appearance.
In particular, the columnist mentions an Israel Hayom report about a demand by intelligence Unit 8200 to determine which reservists had spoken about the Israel Defense Forces in the film. He also cites the position of Israel Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir, who called the film a “blood libel.” This is an assessment cited by the column’s author.
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A call for more active communication
According to Hoffman, some Israelis previously considered negative attitudes toward the country to be a temporary phenomenon that would eventually pass. Others, the author writes, proceeded from the belief that the international community would always be hostile toward Israel and the Jewish people.
The columnist calls for acting not only in response to criticism but also proactively. He cited the example of the campaign surrounding the film The Voice of Hind Rajab, about a Palestinian girl who died in Gaza. According to Hoffman, HonestReporting, together with Creative Community for Peace, distributed critical material about the film among members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The author believes that Israel must systematically persuade people who do not have a fixed position on the country.
