Officials in Beijing are of the opinion that supporting the Palestinian cause is a "valuable public diplomacy tool" which will not only help China improve its standing amongst Muslims, but will, at a minimum, fend off any potential Arab criticism of Beijing's unsympathetic attitude towards Uighurs.

Google and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem have partnered to launch a new website that allows the public the ability to examine the Dead Sea Scrolls in fine detail. The site provides searchable, high-resolution images of the scrolls, plus explanatory videos and background on the foundational texts.

My answer is best summarized in the words of Joseph Nye... "Even the best advertising cannot sell an unpopular product. Policies that appear as narrowly self-serving or arrogantly presented are likely to prohibit rather than produce soft power."

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told The Jerusalem Post, “Netanyahu had an extraordinarily successful visit here in New York in terms of public diplomacy and his appearance on American television. His interviews, were an unqualified success.”

Edelstein said that despite the positive speech by President Obama in the United Nations this week, Israel still has a lot of work to do to explain its position regarding the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral statehood bid and to present the real face of Israel. It is for this reason, he explained, that dialogues with non-Jews were also included in his public diplomacy campaign.

Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein arrived in New York City on Thursday, where he held a public diplomacy campaign with both Jewish and non-Jewish communities around the city. Miller said that the discussions are aimed “to show that Israel is interested in dialogue,..

Now lay practitioners of hasbara, or public outreach, are joining the ranks of the digital diplomats. The latest video making the rounds to illustrate Israel's position is "Israel Wants Peace - Friend Request Pending" (above). We're in a Facebook era, "like" it or not. Not everyone will agree with the video's message but most will understand its language.

Golbi, 19, and the winner of the 2010 season of "Kochav Nolad" - the Israeli incarnation of "American Idol" - performed a short set of songs on behalf of ELEM, a nonprofit organization that assists and rehabilitates “distressed youth” in Israel with programs ranging from counseling and social services to vocation and job training.