For almost 80 years, a major thrust of Israel’s foreign policy was the need to explain itself to the world. Hasbara (public diplomacy) was the means, to be carried out by various bodies whether in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry, or even, over the years, by ministries and officials dedicated to hasbara.
Hasbara became institutionalized in the functioning of Israel’s foreign diplomatic representations, in the offices of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization missions in Jewish communities throughout the world. Rather than presenting and representing Israel’s policies to the world like any normal state, Israel found it necessary to explain and excuse itself by developing its unique hasbara policy.
One may ask why, since its very establishment, did the sovereign State of Israel feel this constant necessity and irresistible urge to explain itself, to excuse itself, to ingratiate itself with the international community, as if its very existence as well as its daily activities were in question, illegitimate, and given to doubt?
Clearly, from its inception, the State of Israel was indeed greeted by a hostile international community that questioned everything Israel represented. Such hostility emanated from a melange of envy and resentment at the circumstances of its establishment, as well as of its scientific, technological and agricultural acumen and achievements over the years as a Start-Up Nation.
Additionally and sadly. throughout Israel’s development as a nation-state and an equal member of the international community, it was accompanied by a unique, tailor-made, ongoing and overriding attitude of antisemitism, dedicated, by definition, only to the State of Israel and to no other state.
Indeed, from the start, the various United Nations organs, international and regional organizations, world leaders, governments, parliamentarians, churches, and the international media just could not resist engaging in this Israel-bashing fetish and antisemitic fixation and obsession. Nearly 80 years of immense human and financial investment by the Israeli government in hasbara did not succeed in preventing this. To the contrary, the aversion to and hatred of Israel, the multiplicity of hostile and slanted UN resolutions singling out Israel, the cynical and selectively hostile attitude of the international media, and the manipulation and abuse of international judicial bodies have only continued and increased up to the present day. Hasbara has not succeeded in preventing this.
In order to fuel such hatred the Palestinian leadership, supported by Muslim states, has incessantly sought to manufacture fictitious accusations against Israel. These include blatantly and knowingly false claims of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, genocide, and the like.
The supposed paragons of international virtue manufacturing such fake accusations, whose motives and utter hypocrisy and duplicity are clear to all, are motivated and led by the dubious South African regime, at the initiative of Iran, with the active support of an unbelievable mafia of like-minded hypocrites such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Spain, Turkey, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
Israel’s hasbara policy has not been able to cope with, or to halt, this. The massive renaissance of international antisemitism on the streets of Western capitals since the October 7, 2023, massacre by Hamas, the growing international campaign to delegitimize Israel, the growing influence of Islamic fanaticism – all these have occurred despite Israel’s failed attempts at hasbara.
ACCORDINGLY, IN the light of this situation, one may indeed ask why the continued need to explain, to apologize, to excuse, and to ingratiate ourselves on an international community that has consistently resented and continues to resent Israel and to cynically and openly demonstrate its aversion?
Why should Israel continue to grovel before the world with its failed hasbara policies?
The time has come to reverse this negative and self-flagellating policy. Israel must now openly, proudly, assertively, and not embarrassedly demonstrate to the world its rights-based diplomacy.
If Israel’s territorial integrity or political independence is threatened by terrorism or by any rogue regime, Israel has the right to take whatever military action is necessary, without having to apologize for this, to excuse or to justify it.
It is high time that Israel’s approach to the international community be one of confidence and assertiveness, not of apology. This in the knowledge that in fighting to protect its own integrity and rights, it is also protecting the integrity of those other states throughout the world threatened by Islamic fanaticism.
By adopting such an assertive rights-based attitude, it is highly likely that the other states in the international community will finally acknowledge Israel’s vital contribution to their own survival, rather than constantly criticizing Israel.
The writer heads the international law program at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign and Security Affairs. He previously served as the legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry and as ambassador to Canada.