The World's View of Israel

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Indeed, a recent survey by Mr. Edelstein's own ministry found that 91 per cent of Israelis believe Israel has a bad or very bad image abroad, with 80 per cent saying that Israel is perceived as being overly aggressive.

To be sure, the TV ads are part of a larger campaign to fight the negative images that afflict the country.

A study released earlier this month by the Reut Institute, a Tel Aviv think tank, found Israel is facing a global campaign of "delegitimization" and urged the government to treat the matter as a strategic threat. It cited examples of anti-Israeli demonstrations, attempts to boycott Israeli products and academics, and threats to arrest Israeli government officials for alleged war crimes. The campaign, the institute said, is being waged by a network of individuals and organizations with hubs in London, Brussels, Madrid, San Francisco and Toronto.

In December, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government will stand up to those who besmirch Israel's reputation, citing the UN report into the war on Hamas in Gaza chaired by the South African judge Richard Goldstone, as Exhibit A. "We must delegitimize the delegitimizers," Mr. Netanyahu said.

That's where the citizen-diplomats come in, as well as other groups.

Hadar, a newly formed action group of English-speaking Israelis, hopes to be part of such a network.

At one of its first public events, it will host a panel discussion in Jerusalem today led by Canadian MP Irwin Cotler on how to combat "lawfare," by which it means false legal actions that demonize Israel. As examples of lawfare, the group cites the Goldstone Report, attempts to arrest Israeli officials on war-crimes charges and complaints to the World Court in The Hague.

Meanwhile, more-established institutions are taking up the cause and employing new means to do so. At the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a think tank run by Israel's former UN ambassador Dore Gold, young people are paid to wage cyberwar on various blogs known to criticize Israel. As Israelis learned during the war on Hamas in Gaza, they need to be inventive if they are to counter the critical view of their country projected by Palestinian and other groups.