By Kevin McCauley
Israel’s Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs plans a $260K PR campaign targeting bloggers and opinion-leaders at home and overseas to bolster the image of settlements on the West Bank.
The World Zionist Organization is to handle that effort, according to a report on YNetnews.com.
The PR drive comes as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for elections to be moved up to January.
According to the Ministry, the settlers are “misrepresented as a violent, conquering and destructive group.”
The Ministry said in a statement that the PR project “seeks to set off proactive measures aiming to expose opinion leaders abroad to the complex Israeli reality, thus improving Israel’s global image.”
It says the PR push is in line with its diplomatic strategy. “The activity aims to take foreign delegations on trips across Israel, including the sites of conflict and the settlements, which stand at the center of the de-legitimization efforts waged against Israel,” according to the Ministry.
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