The strategy of Israeli digital diplomacy toward Arab peoples

Israel’s digital diplomacy has become a central component of its soft-power strategy, particularly through Arabic-language campaigns targeting Arab publics. However, persistent conflict and legitimacy deficits raise questions about the effectiveness of these efforts. This study examines how Israel constructs and disseminates strategic narratives through Arabic-language digital channels and whether these narratives contribute to reshaping regional perceptions. It is based on a qualitative content and discourse analysis of more than 500 publicly available posts published between 2010 and 2021 by Israel Speaks Arabic and related Ministry of Foreign Affairs platforms, systematically coded by platform, publication date, communicative format, and thematic focus, and analyzed using framing and dramaturgical approaches across peacetime, crisis, and normalization periods. The analysis identifies four dominant frames, shared values, religious coexistence, technological progress, and normalization, which vary according to political context but remain constrained by entrenched public distrust. Despite high levels of technological sophistication and engagement, Israel’s digitally disseminated discourse frequently generates contestation rather than persuasion, giving rise to the “humanization paradox,” whereby humanitarian messaging coexists with visible conflict and undermines credibility. The study refines soft-power theory by demonstrating that attraction without perceived justice is inherently unstable and proposes a conceptual framework linking digital diplomacy, legitimacy, and narrative power in asymmetric conflicts.