The Israeli government has launched a public diplomacy campaign to discredit the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recent decision to start an inquiry into what the Palestinians call Israeli “war crimes” in Judea and Samaria.

Cultural exchanges are flourishing, with theater, classical and popular music groups, as well as dance troupes, bringing their art to audiences in both countries, and piano master-classes being held for young Israeli and Chinese children, further cementing the friendship.

So much for world peace in 2015.  A selfie taken by a Miss Universe contestant, Doron Matalon, who represents Israel, has caused a huge stir – because one of the other contestants in the photo happens to be Saly Greige, Miss Lebanon.

One of the problems with Israeli public diplomacy is that it is predictably reactive and generally negative. Suppose, for once, Israel were to take a different tack, one based on the principles used by judo experts--namely, to use the opponent's own strengths and moves against him

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Saturday $2.5 billion in humanitarian and development aid for the Middle East as he launched a regional tour that includes visits to Jordan and Israel.

The Labor Party and in Habayit Hayehudi both held primaries that sent charismatic female candidates to the upper reaches of their electoral lists; also, what good news did an American strategist give Herzog and Livni?

Israel’s hasbara efforts just received an enormous boost thanks to a new collaborative effort launched jointly by the Prime Minister’s Office and StandWithUs. The initiative, in which StandWithUs will coordinate closely with the PMO’s National Information Directorate, is designed to “educate young people about how to use social media for education and public diplomacy.”

At times, digital diplomacy may be used to foster dialogue between two countries that have yet to establish diplomatic relations.  Last month, Twitter announced that another world leader had joined the world of digital diplomacy – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.