Launched a bit over a year ago, more or less coinciding with the eruption of the Arab Spring, the ministry’s Arabic Facebook page on Thursday reached the milestone of 100,000 fans. The fact that so many people have said they “Like” the page, however, does not mean that all of them really do.

Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein talked about the best way to combat Israel-bashing, which he said had become a very popular subject. His advice was to tell the truth. “The more accurate the picture of Israel, the easier it will be for us to deal with those on the Israel-bashing campaign."

Nations must actively manage their brand, he stressed. Israel is constantly portrayed negatively in the news, and until a few years ago, the nation as a whole wasn’t doing anything to try and promote itself, he added. Branding a nation is “putting a human face on a product."

Timothy H. Parsons in his book, The Rule of Empires, describes the Romans as “deft practitioners of soft power.” Rome preferred to rule the conquered and the potentially hostile through “semiautonomous client kings which the Senate euphemistically termed ‘friends of the Roman people.’

While Israeli leaders are sending warnings of potential strikes against Iran's nuclear installations, a group of Iranian-Israelis are transmitting a different message. RADISIN, a private Farsi-language radio station, airs Iranian music, poetry and current affairs shows aiming to spread peace between the Israeli and Iranian people.

In a bid to boost its international image, the country's Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs has established a cadre of diverse volunteers who speak about Israel around the world. In a recent post on its website, the ministry encouraged minorities and members of the gay community to step forward.

Tel Aviv University president Joseph Klafter proudly announced that Israel's only Confucius Institute is to be found at TAU. As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, in coming years we’ll see a dramatic expansion of Israel-China ties, which will in part be achieved through a decision to bring 250 Chinese students to Israel on an annual basis.

Water reveals a new apartheid in the Middle East...My most recent columns have been devoted to analyzing Israel’s public diplomacy, the reasons for its manifest ineptitude, and the mechanisms that produce this abysmal performance.