Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held a video conference on Monday with volunteers who are working to assist in the national public diplomacy efforts of the State of Israel.

Participating in the video conference were personnel from the Prime Minister’s Office National Information Directorate, the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office New Media Division, the Foreign Ministry from Dublin, as well as students and public diplomacy activists.

“It is good to see you,” the prime minister said. “I want to thank you. You are doing very important work; I follow your activities. We are [operating] on four fronts: The military front, the home front, the diplomatic front and the public diplomacy front. 

“What you are doing greatly strengthens us on the public diplomacy front. We must fight for the truth, for the facts, and your help is worth more than gold.

“The fact that you are focusing on refuting the industry of lies and that you are reaching so many sectors is a significant addition for the State of Israel,” the Prime Minister added.

“I want to thank you. Continue your important work and I tell you that we will yet face great efforts and responsibilities in the coming days; therefore, thank you very much. I wish you all success. Thank you,” Netanyahu concluded. 

In the wake of Operation Pillar of Defense, the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs opened of a special operations center aimed at coordinating public diplomacy efforts by enlisting a reservoir of 25,000 trained activists to transmit messages in Israel and around the world.

The center, which was established in coordination with the National Information Directorate, the Foreign Ministry and the IDF Spokesperson’s Office, will turn to Jewish communities in the Diaspora and Jewish organizations around the world in order to both assist them and benefit from their assistance vis-à-vis public diplomacy activity in their languages and local environments.

In doing so, the Ministry intends to encourage and initiate a public diplomacy campaign in dozens of countries and over the Internet complete with messages, photographs, video clips and additional materials in various languages.

“We are here in order to expose the unbearable reality of the residents in the south and the necessity for military action against Hamas and the [other] terrorist organizations,” said Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein.

“I am certain that alongside us will stand significant force multipliers in the form of tens of thousands of activists in Jewish communities around the world,” Edelstein added.