Cabinet set to vote on creating body to defend Israel in media, online

The cabinet will vote Sunday on creating a public diplomacy agency within the Foreign Ministry aimed at countering anti-Israel content in the media with the help of online bloggers and social media influencers, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The resolution set to be considered by the cabinet includes a clause allowing for the appointment of a person to head the body without needing to go through the tender process.

Jerusalem has been criticized as only half-heartedly attempting to shape public opinion and make its case in the international arena, even as it has inched toward pariah status with the war in Gaza grinding on, including dominant media narratives painting it as an unjustified aggressor.

A body already exists within the Foreign Ministry tasked with advancing Israel’s interests in the media. The resolution creates a Foreign Ministry Public Diplomacy Directorate, run by a head of Public Diplomacy.

It does not say what its relationship will be with the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, which is currently without a director.

The Foreign Ministry will hire outside staff “in the fields of digital media, social networks, advanced technologies, strategic communications, creative, production, and spokespeople,” according to the resolution.

The directorate will be funded by the Foreign Ministry’s existing budget.