Israeli Development Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa: Soft Power and Foreign Policy by Karolina Zielińska

Author:Karolina Zielińska [Zielińska, Karolina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Middle East, Israel & Palestine, Political Science, General, Reference, Globalization, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies
ISBN: 9781000363487
Google: HS0hEAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 55645508
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Target audiences

In terms of target states and populations, Israeli public diplomacy is traditionally concentrated on Europe and the United States (US). Africa is not a major direction due to the limitations in available resources, interest in SSA and perceived influence of SSA's public opinions. Following the failure of Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Internet revolution and the Arab Spring, calls emerged for greater attention to be devoted to Arab countries’ populations. Arabic version of Kol Yisrael radio was created already after the 1956 campaign. It used to broadcast 34 hours weekly (including local dialects) meant for Arab citizens of Israel and the inhabitants of neighbouring countries. During the 1967 war, it was also used to undermine the enemy's morale. Israeli Arab and Farsi radio broadcasting were assessed as very popular among foreign audiences, judging from the amount of letters send (through European post boxes) to its editorial team. In 1960, Kol Yisrael started broadcasting to Africa, matching the rising Israeli presence on the continent. This was countered by Egypt by such means as a 1965 widely distributed pamphlet “Israel, the Enemy of Africa” depicting Jews as villains through anti-Semitic rhetoric. Israeli television started Arabic broadcasts in 1968 and aimed at countering content spread by stations based in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. However, the main viewers were Israeli Jews originating in Arabic countries and Israeli Arab population, with some Arab population of the Golan, West Bank and Gaza. Recent years have witnessed upgrading in information projection in Arabic. Foreign Ministry's Arabic Twitter account has run since 2011 with around 65,000 followers. Messages are targeted at groups of influence.14

Prof. Lemelshtrich Latar advises concentrating public diplomacy efforts on the “grey zone” of those without firm opinions on Israel and unbiased. SSA is a particular region where such a population constitutes a large share. Beyond populations, who may be in the end relatively indifferent, in his opinion, reaching to countries’ elites through soft power is very effective. Still if African leaders are pushed by stronger powers against voting with Israel, they abide.15 It remains to be seen to what extent the Israeli public diplomacy will refocus on other continents, particularly Africa. Such a shift would be logical bearing in mind Israeli diplomacy's drive for new allies.

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