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.

There is no doubt that American public opinion remains overwhelmingly pro-Israel. But ..among thoughtful leaders in the media, military and foreign affairs, there has been a consensus that our policy toward Israel is severely damaging America's interests and image around the world.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon is the host in a new public diplomacy video on YouTube that explains the main reason for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is not Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria, but successive Arab leaders' resistance to Jewish sovereignty.

What happens in the UN could be a game changer...Therefore expect a fresh wave of hysteria and, along with it, a spate of declarations about how Israel confronts an “existential threat.” That expression entered the political lexicon only recently, thanks mainly to Israeli “public diplomacy.”

China has “always supported the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state” on all of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, WAFA quoted Hu as saying.

Limited response has also been implemented, in order to soothe international public opinion - which is never satisfied with Israeli concessions - thus recklessly subordinating national security to public diplomacy considerations. Sometimes it yields false sense of security and enhances short-term tactical popularity.

In the wake of any terrorist attack, Israeli governments struggle to maintain their footing, but after the Arab Spring, everything got more dramatic. The crisis began Aug. 18, with a multilayered, sustained terrorist attack along Israel's border with Egypt. Alarmed, the Israeli Defense Ministry took the unusual step of breaking the Jewish Sabbath to issue a statement of regret for the Egyptian deaths.

When Gabriela Shalev arrived at the United Nations in 2008 as Israel's first female ambassador, she was determined to launch a diplomatic offensive to improve her country's international standing. Now Shalev, who stepped down in October ...warns that Israel's image is about to take another hit with a Palestinian initiative to win statehood recognition from the U.N. next month.