As The Jerusalem Post reports, the effort to make Israel’s case is being spearheaded by 400 college students posting comments, memes, video clips, images and explanatory graphics on Facebook and Twitter from dozens of computers in a “Hasbara war room” at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.

Programme fellows will meet once every two weeks to learn things such as “techniques of hasbara, standing before an audience...image of Israel in the world, Palestinian society and key topics in the world of diplomacy.” Fellows are promised “strategic tours to ‘burning’ sites on the public agenda” and encounters with “spokespersons and experts amongst the best in their fields.”

Public diplomacy must take the format from the military, considering every situation which threatens Israel’s image as if it was a conventional attack. Hasbara war rooms, coordinating all of the players, must be manned 24 hours a day and on alert for potential threats. Extensive preparations need to be made weeks in advance in cases such as the flotilla.

Hasbara is a form of propaganda aimed at an international audience, primarily, but not exclusively, in western countries. It is meant to influence the conversation in a way that positively portrays Israeli political moves and policies, including actions undertaken by Israel in the past.

The documentary is a smart and savvy approach to hasbara (public diplomacy) because it does no persuading, arguing or advocacy whatsoever. Politics could not be further from this film.

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.

Hasbara training is an imperative for the Jewish community. Israel and the Jewish people face enormous challenges today, among them existential physical threats, lies about Israel, and anti-Semitism.

In an attempt to promote the fight against the delegitimization of Israel – especially on college campuses – Alon Kimhi, founder of an independent hasbara organization, started a Facebook page close to half a year ago. The mission was organized in coordination with the World Union of Jewish Students and the South African Union of Jewish Students.