The path to international recognition of Palestinian statehood by September - when the Palestinians plan to bring the matter before the UN General Assembly - seems clear. The question before Israel and its supporters who oppose such recognition is how to create a detour.

On January 11, at Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s annual new year press conference with the foreign media in Jerusalem, Oren Helman was introduced to the foreign press corps as the Government Press Office’s new head, taking over from Danny Seaman, who had a rather torrid 10-year relationship with the foreign press.

In the Middle East, perceptions are as important as realities. A notable change-of-mind occurred when a newspaper published an article by Richard Goldstone, who was the head of a UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) commission that accused Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes in Gaza.

The Israel Foreign Ministry is speaking Arabic, on Facebook. The Facebook page which was launched in early January, entitled "Israel speaks Arabic" in Arabic, was opened by the Foreign Ministry's Media and Public Affairs Department and is devoted exclusively to Arabic-speaking audiences.

The teenage pop idol Justin Bieber became embroiled in a diplomatic imbroglio on Tuesday when it emerged that plans for a meeting between the singer and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had been called off, with the sides differing over why.

What do Israel and Syria have in common? Not much, but both have ministries of hasbara. No such thing exists in the West. No such thing exists in democracies. But in Israel, we have falafel and a minister of hasbara, who is known as the minister of public diplomacy and diaspora affairs.

Tel Aviv Municipality's stand at Europe's largest gay pride parade, set to take place in Berlin in June, won't include any Israeli symbols or markers in an attempt to blur the connection between the city and the state – a problematic brand to market, especially these days.

Reeling from war crimes accusations during a major offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza more than two years ago, the Israeli military is studying the wide distribution of cameras as a tool to make its case to the world.