Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy

The Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy (HaMisrad LeNos'im Astrategi'im) was an Israeli government ministry responsible for leading the campaign against the BDS movement.; ; The ministry was closed down in 2021 by the 36th government and merged into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some of its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.
== Activities ==
Under Gilad Erdan's leadership, the Ministry attempted to keep its activities secret. Erdan and Vaknin-Gil even tried, unsuccessfully, to exempt the Ministry from the Israeli Freedom of Information Law. In 2016, Vaknin-Gil refused to divulge details of the Ministry's activities to a committee of Israeli parliamentarians. "A lot of what we do is under the radar," she told them. However, the Ministry came under a new leadership in 2018; Orit Farkash-Hacohen became the new Strategic Affairs Minister and Ronen Manelis his director general. They announced that they intended to increase the Ministry's transparency which allowed previously secret documents to be published.
The Ministry believes that state propaganda is less effective in persuading the public than institutions and individuals perceived as acting independently. The Ministry has therefore created a "network" of domestic and international organizations to advance the state's "message."
=== Purchasing favorable news coverage ===
In January 2020, the Israeli investigative magazine The Seventh Eye reported that the Ministry was buying space in mainstream Israeli newspapers to promote its campaign against the BDS movement.
The campaign began in summer 2017 with a budget of ILS 7 million campaign to influence media outlets such as Yedioth Ahronoth, The Jerusalem Post, and the Keshet Media Group. The Ministry paid NIS 120,000 to place articles in The Jerusalem Post and NIS 70,000 to "sponsor" a conference hosted by the newspaper. In exchange for the sponsorship, the Ministry received a 30-minute-panel at the conference which included a screening of a film produced by the Ministry about BDS and anti-Semitism. Prior to the conference, The Jerusalem Post published several articles and op-eds about supposed "links between BDS and anti-Semitism."
Karin Peretz of the Ministry's "public arena" arm told the Seventh Eye that the payment included "sponsored content" but a spokesperson for the Ministry later stated that Peretz was mistaken and that the payment did not include a series of articles. The Jerusalem Post denied that the articles had been paid for.
In October 2020, The Seventh Eye reported that the Ministry in 2019 had paid The Jerusalem Post NIS 120,000 to publish a special supplement titled Unmasking BDS. The Ministry's own officials were interviewed in the supplement as well as Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
=== Act.IL ===
The Ministry supports and funds Act.IL, a grassroots mobilization app that directs its users to serve Israel online. For example, by commenting on and sharing pro-Israel material on social media and to flag, report, and respond to criticism of Israel.
=== Closure of bank accounts ===
In 2019, the Ministry announced that a financial campaign had resulted in the shutdown of 30 financial accounts belonging to BDS-promoting non-governmental organizations (NGOs); 20 in Europe and 10 in the U.S. Among them, accounts belonging to the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, the Palestinian BDS National Committee, and Al-Haq. The accounts were shut down through a combination of efforts by the Ministry, Shurat HaDin, and the International Legal Forum.
== Coordination with NGOs ==
The Ministry cooperates and coordinates with several Israeli and international pro-Israel non-governmental organizations. Among them, Shurat HaDin, the International Legal Forum, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and the Israel on Campus Coalition. The Ministry has given $445,000 to the American think tank Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, and $40,000 to the American anti-Muslim hate group Proclaiming Justice to the Nations.
In 2017, the Ministry announced the formation of an anti-BDS legal network. As part of this network, the Ministry-funded NGO the International Legal Forum, would distribute grants of NIS 600,000 to professionals and organizations engaged in the legal fight against BDS.
In 2020, the Ministry announced a "financial aid program" to the "pro-Israel network" to counteract the funding crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A diplomatic cable first reported about in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in 2017 caused controversy as it indicated that the Ministry had attempted to "operate" British Jewish organizations. The Israeli Foreign Ministry which, had sent the cable to the Strategic Affairs Ministry, cautioned it not to do so. "The strategic affairs ministry must understand that ‘operating’ organisations directly from Jerusalem by email and telephone isn't good for their health," it warned.
== Criticism ==
Critics allege that the Ministry is leading a campaign of online trolling, legal harassment and intelligence gathering against BDS activists worldwide. According to Rebecca Vilkomerson, former executive director of the Jewish Voice for Peace, the Ministry's attacks on BDS is part of a campaign "to stifle the growing support for Palestinian rights, using dirty tactics including cyberbullying and false legal claims that intimidate and try to silence criticism of Israeli policy".
The Ministry has also been criticized for its cooperation with, and sometimes funding of, American NGOs, which critics believe could violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.; Ali Abunimah, founder of the pro-Palestinian website The Electronic Intifada, said "if you had on tape a statement of a senior Russian or Iranian or even Canadian official saying that they were running covert operations, to spy on Americans, and using an organization like the Foundation for Defense of Democracies as a front…it would be a bombshell."
==People==
===Ministers===
#	Minister 	Party 	Government	Term start 	Term end 	Notes
1	Avigdor Lieberman 	Yisrael Beiteinu	31 	30 October 2006 	18 January 2008 	
2	Ehud Olmert 	Kadima 	31 	18 January 2008 	13 April 2008 	Serving Prime Minister
3	Moshe Ya'alon 	Likud 	32 	31 March 2009 	18 March 2013 	
4	Yuval Steinitz 	Likud 	33 	18 March 2013 	14 May 2015 	
5	Ze'ev Elkin 	Likud 	34 	14 May 2015 	25 May 2015 	
6	Gilad Erdan 	Likud 	34 	25 May 2015 	17 May 2020 	
7	Orit Farkash-Hacohen	Blue and White 	35 	17 May 2020 	30 November 2020	
8	Michael Biton 	Blue and White 	35 	30 November 2020	13 June 2021 	
9	Yair Lapid 	Yesh Atid 	36 	13 June 2021 	3 August 2021 	
===Officials===
*Ram Ben-Barak Former deputy chief of Mossad, Director General of the Ministry of Intelligence Services, and Director General of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs. Served as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. Currently President of Fortify Solutions Inc. and member of the Yesh Atid party.https://www.eng.arenajournal.org.il/swot-ram-ben-barak
**Board Member - Cyabra, Cyber Security & Disinformation Company. Israel 21c former Mossad deputy director Ram Ben Barak is on the company’s board of directors. Israel 21c Retrieved from Archive.today of 25 June 2020 on 25 June 2020.
**Chairman of the board at Eye-Minders. Wikipedia Ram Ben-Barak Wikipedia Retrieved from Archive.today of 25 June 2020 on 25 June 2020.
**Served as an advisor to the Israeli Embassy in Washington and a visiting research fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
**Deputy Head of Mossad 2009-2011
**Joned Mossad in 1984.
**IDF Counter-Terrorism Division, 1981.
*Sima Vaknin-Gil, Director General. December 2015 - June 2019
**SVG Strategic Consulting Company (Impact solutions), Sep 2019 –
***On oct 2015 the Israeli government enacted upon the need to take action against the de-legitimazation and boycott campaign , otherwise known as BDS, against the state of Israel and called upon the newly formed Ministry of strategic affairs and public diplomacy to lead the initiative.
**Chief Censor, The State of Israel, Aug 2005 – Aug 2015. Sima Vakin-Gil LinkedIn Bio LinkedIn Retrieved from Archive.today of 25 June 2020 on 25 June 2020.
**Sima Vaknin-Gil spoke on a panel during the IAC 2016 conference where she stated: "We have three different sub-campaigns: Data gathering, working on activist organisations, money trail. This is something that only a country, with its resources, can do the best. We have FDD. We have others working on this."" Max Blumenthal, @MaxBlumenthal, Here's Sima Vaknin-Gil, Director General of Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs, describing DC think tank @FDD as an Israeli government agent. From Al Jazeera's censored The Lobby - USA Twitter Published on 13 August 2020, Retrieved from Archive.today of 17 November 2020 on 17 November June 2020.
*Tzahi Gavrieli, Director, National Task Force for Countering Delegitimization, described as the 'ministry’s deputy director general'. 
:Gavrieli, 43, a lawyer, was Netanyahu’s adviser on content affairs and also worked in the bureaus of prime ministers Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon. He was involved in the establishment of the Public Diplomacy Council and before the last election left Netanyahu’s office and worked with Moshe Kahlon on preparing the platform of Kahlon’s party, Kulanu. He took up his current post in the Strategic Affairs Ministry last year [2015].
:During the discussion in the Knesset’s transparency committee, Gavrieli said a number of times it would have been better for it to have taken place in a less public forum. According to Gavrieli, the ministry’s role was to “act so the narrative of the State of Israel as the national home of the Jewish people is clear and unquestionable, not among countries nor among audiences, not among progressive liberal audiences, not on campuses, nor among economic decision makers, nor among jurists throughout the world, nor among labor unions and churches. And the second narrative is to stop the phenomenon of delegitimization. And on that matter, there is difficulty speaking in an open forum.”
:When Gavrieli was asked what the ministry’s definition of delegitimization was, he said it meant “rallying of organizations and ideas around an existing contemporary issue of rejecting the idea of the State of Israel as the national home of the Jewish people.”
*Ido Daniel Senior Director of Digital Strategy, Office of the Prime Minister of Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Apr 2017 – PresentLinkedin Ido Daniel Retrieved from Archive.today of 6 May 2020 on 6 may 2020.
*Edi Yair Freiman (also Yair Eddie Fraiman), Head of the ministry’s “public diplomacy” department. 'a few years ago [Freiman] published an article in Yedioth Ahronoth entitled “Obama betrayed Mubarak, Bibi stayed loyal.” Freiman is a member of Young Likud and a former adviser to Minister Yossi Peled, who headed the new media department in the old Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry. Linkedin Yair Eddie Fraiman. Retrieved from Archive.today of 15 May 2020 on 15 May 2020.
*Shai Masot Israeli spy thought to be connected to the MSA. Asa Winstanley Disgraced Israeli agent Shai Masot attended minister’s secret London meeting, Electronic Intifada, Lobby Watch 8 December 2017.
**Head of Advanced Digital Services - Imprint Social, March 2017 – Present. Shai Masot Digital Solutions Consultant & Customer Success Manager LinkedIn Retrieved from Archive.today of 18 Jun 2020 on 18 June 2020.
**Digital Advisor (freelance consulting services) - Masot, March 2017 – Present.
**Senior Political Officer, Embassy of Israel in the UK - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, September 2014 – February 2017.
**Deputy Head, International Organizations Department - COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories), Jan 2012 – Sep 2014,
*Amit Efrati Director of Projects, Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, 2018 - Present. Amit Efrati LindIn Bio LinkedIn Retrieved from Archive.today of 26 June 2020 on 26 June 2020.
** Cadet in Israel Civil Service Cadets Program, Israel Civil Service, 2016 – 2018.
** IDC Herzliya Bachelors Degree in Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, 2011 – 2014.
*Tal Bar-on Morali, Adviser to the Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs at Israel Ministry of Public Security, Oct 2016 - present. Tal Bar-on Morali, Adviser to the Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs at Israel Ministry of Public Security. LinkedIn Retrieved from Archive.today of 04 Jun 2020 on 04 June 2020.
**Project Manager - The Jewish Agency for Israel, Oct 2009 - 2016. 
*Gilad Atlacevitz Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Strategic Affairs. January 2020 - Present.
** Advisor for Government and Diplomatic Relations, AJC Global, Sep 2018 – Oct 2019.
** Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel: 
***Advisor and Desk Manager, Department for World Religions Oct 2016 – Sep 2018 
***Research Analyst, Oct 2017 - Aug 2018.
**The Jewish Agency for Israel: 
***JAFI Emissaries Recruiter, Aug 2014 – Aug 2015. 
***JAFI Emissary (Shaliach) May 2013 – Aug 2014.
*Liat Efrati Glazer, MFA Legal Advisor June 2016 - present. Liat Efrati Glazer Linkedin Profile Linkedin Retrieved from Archive.today of 29 June 2020 on 29 June 2020.
** Deputy to the Legal Advisor, Israel ministry of communications, Jan 2012 – May 2016.
**Senior Deputy Legal Advisor (Regulation), The Israel Water Authority, 2014 – 2015.
** Deputy to the Legal Advisor of ILITA The Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority (ILITA), .2011 – Dec 2011.
** Deputy to the Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Communication, 2006 – Apr 2011.
*Asher Fredman Chief of staff and international affairs advisor to Minister for Strategic Affairs March 2017 - present.
**Research Fellow - Kohelet Policy Forum, April 2019 - Present. Asher Fredman Linkedin Profile Linkedin Retrieved from Archive.today of 29 June 2020 on 29 June 2020.
**Senior Coordinator for International Affairs, September 2011 - March 2017.
**Content Specialist & Social Media Coordinator - Prime Minister's Office Strategic Communications Directorate, Sep 2010 - Aug 2011.
**Researcher & Legislative Affairs - Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs & NGO Monitor, Sept 2009 - Aug 2010. Asher Fredman, @fredman_a Career Experience LinkedIn Retrieved from Archive.today of 03 June 2020 on 03 June 2020. 
*Ben Moore Chief Strategist and Foreign Media Spokesperson at PMO - August 2017 to present.
** Editor of Financial Markets - Investing.com, March 2017 - August 2017.
** Executive Account Manager - Finn Partners Israel, Oct 2014 - March 2017.
** Foreign & Donor Relations Liaison - Freelance, Oct 2014 - Jan 2017.
** Foreign Affairs and Media Relations Assistant Spokesperson - City of Jerusalem Mayor's Office, July 2012 - May 2013.
** Account Manager - Lonestar Communications Inc, 2013.
** Team Leader - The Jewish Agency for Israel, June 2010 - Oct 2012.
** Volunteer Team Leader & Israel Advocacy Tour Speaker - Stand With Us, 2012 - 2017.
** Volunteer Consultant - Thank You IDF Momentum Program.LinkedIn Ben Moore. Retrieved from Archive.today of 17 May 2020 on 17 May 2020. 
*Revital Yakin Krakovsky Executive Director for Strategy & Communications Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs Jan 2017 – PresentLinkedIn Revital Yakin Krakovsky. Retrieved from Archive.today of 23 May 2020 on 23 May 2020.
** Manager of Business Development - The Jerusalem Post Group, Jan 2015 - Dec 2016. 
** Executive Vice President - Internatoinal Fellopship of Christans and Jews (IFJC), Dec 2014 - Dec 2015.
** Deputy Director - Debby Communications, May 2004 - Dec 2014.
** Executive Assistant to Chief Executive Officer - Telad, May 2004 - May 2005.
*Joshua Zarka - Deputy Director General for Strategic Affairs at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. Jul 2018 – Present Joshua Zarka, @yzarka Linkedin Profile Linkedin Retrieved from Archive.today of 29 June 2020 on 29 June 2020.
** Director of North American Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Israel, Aug 2015 – Jul 2018.
** Minister, Embassy of Israel to the US (Washington DC), Aug 2011 – Aug 2015.
** Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel (Jersualem), Mar 2009 – Aug 2011.
** Director of External Relatios, Irael Atomic Energy Commission, Mar 2007 – Mar 2009.
** Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Israel to the Comference on Disarmament, 2002 – Aug 2006.
** Deputy Director, Coordination Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Aug 1998 – Aug 2002.
*Eyal Eliezer - Senior Director of Public Affairs at Ministry of Strategic Affairs & Public Diplomacy.
**Invest in Israel at the Ministry of Economy, Invest In Israel, Dec 2015 – Present. Eyal Eliezar, @Eyal_Eliezer Linkedin Profile Linkedin Retrieved from Archive.today of 29 June 2020 on 29 June 2020.
**Economic Advisor to Director General, Israel Ministry of Interior, 2014 – 2015. 
**Advisor to Director General, Israel Prime Minister’s Office & Ministry of Senior Citizens, 2011 – 2014. 
** Member of the Board, Akademon Ltd. 2008 – 2012. 
**CEO Hebrew University Student Union, 2008 – 2010. 
**Economist, Interior & Municipal Authorities, Israel Ministry of Finance, 2008 – 2009. 
**Economist, Financing Administration & Internal Trade Company NameIsrael Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor Dates Employed2007 – 2008. 
*Shimrit Tsubery Heuberger - Chief of Staff to the Minister, Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Apr 2015 – Mar 2017
***Managed the team of the Minister's advisors and staff.
***Negotiated an unprecedented budget and managed its allocation.
***Oversaw expansion of the ministry in terms of staff and budget.
***Designed the organizational structure of the ministry and helped to develop multi-year work plans. LinkedIn Shimrit Tsubery Heuberger. Retrieved from Archive.today of 26 May 2020 on 26 May 2020.
**Project Manager - Rhenium, July 2017 - February 2019.
**Chief of Staff - Minister of Interior, November 2014 - April 2015.
**Advisor to the Minister of Communication and Home Front Defense, January 2013 - November 2014.
**Bureau Chief for the Minister of Environmental Protection, July 2012 - January 2013.
*Noam Sela - Head to the Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Communications Advisor (Media Consultant) Ministry of Public Security Noam Sela, @noamsela9 Noam Sela Facebook Page Facebook Translated from Hebrew using Google translate. Retrieved from Archive.today of 04 June 2020 on 04 June 2020. 
** Media Consultant - Ministry of Public Security. 
** Head of Urban Renewal - Vineyard, Directorate for Urban Renewal Petah Tikva, Sept 2015 - Present.
** Communications Consultant - World Betar Movement, 2013 - 2014.
** Project Manager, Conversion Unit - Religious Service Office, 2014.
*Nir Shor - Advisor to Minister Gilad Erden Ministry of Public Security. June 2016 - Present Nir Shor, @nirshor Advisor to Minister Gilad Erden Ministry of Public Security Twitter Translated from Hebrew using google translate. Retrieved from Archive.today of 04 June 2020 on 04 June 2020. Nir Shor Starting today a new way as the political adviser of the minister of Homeland Security for strategic issues and information Gilad Erdan, Facebook Translated from Hebrew using google translate. Retrieved from Archive.today of 17 June 2020 on 17 June 2020. 
*Yehuda Cohen - Possible Security Advisor to Minister Gilad Erdan, 2016 - 2019. Yehuda Cohen with Nir Shor Facebook. Retrieved from Archive.today of 15 Jun 2020 on 15 Jun 2020. Yehuda Cohen Gilad Erdan with Yahuda Cohen Facebook Retrieved from Archive.today of 15 June 2020 on 15 June 2020.
**Member of Municipal Council for Kiryat Gat, 2013 - Present. Yehuda Cohen Minister of Communications and Minister of Home Command Gilad Erdan. Facebook. Translated from Hebrew using google transalte. Retrieved from Archive.today of 15 Jun 2020 on 15 Jun 2020. Yehuda Cohen He is our own and he is fighting to return the municipal policing budget to kiryat gat and thus the protection fees will be cancelled! Facebook. Transtlated from Hebrew using google translate. Retrieved from Archive.today of 15 June 2020 on 15 June 2020. 
*Irena Zepelevich - Legal Counsel, Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Jun 2019 – Present, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv District, IsraelLinkedIn Irena Zepelvich. Retrieved from Archive.today of 26 May 2020 on 26 May 2020.
* Attorney at Jacob Gabsi, Jan 2017 – Nov 2017. 
* Deputy Editor of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Law Review, 2012 – 2013. 
*Daniel Seaman Managing Director of the Movement for Governability and Democracy (Meshilut) Dec 2019 – Present Jerusalem Area, Israel
**Israel Director Middle East Forum Sep 2018 – Nov 2019 Jerusalem Israel
**Editor of English Edition Mida.org.il magazine Dates Employed 2016 – 2018 Jerusalem, Israel
**Bureau Chief and Broadcaster Voice of Israel Mar 2014 – Nov 2015, Jerusalem, Israel
**Deputy Director General, Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Prime Minister's Office Feb 2011 – Jan 2014
**Office of the Prime Minister of Israel Total Duration 14 yrs
***Director, Government Press Office 2000 – 2010
***Head of Foreign Press Department - Government Press Office Dec 1996 – Dec 2000
**IDF Spokesperson Unit Head of Foreign Press Liaison office Dates Employed Jan 1994 – Nov 1995
**Office of the Prime Minister of Israel Head of News and Information Department - Government Press Office Jan 1990 – Dec 1993
**Consulate General of Israel New York Total Duration 5 yrs 9 mos
***National Director - Institute of Students and Faculty on Israel Apr 1987 – Jan 1989 New York City
***Assistant to Consul - Academic Affairs May 1983 – Apr 1987 New York CityLinkedIn Daniel Seaman. Retrieved from Archive.today of 26 May 2020 on 26 May 2020.
**Seaman was involved in 
:Daniel Seaman, the outgoing deputy-director general of the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry, which is being closed, is a highly controversial figure in those parts of government in constant contact with foreign media. An active member of the Likud party, Seaman once ran as a candidate in the party primaries. He previously served as head of the Government Press Office and gained a reputation for his confrontations with foreign correspondents and for the complaints they lodged against him. Barak Ravid Is an Abusive Racist the Best Israeli PR Can Produce? Facebook messages posted by Daniel Seaman, who will head Israel’s public diplomacy efforts, raise serious doubts about his judgment. Haaretz, Aug 13, 2013 6:04 PM. Retrieved from Archive.today of 26 May 2020 on 26 May 2020.
:The staff of the Public Diplomacy Ministry is being integrated into the national public diplomacy unit in the Prime Minister’s Office. Seaman is expected to assume a new senior position as head of the interactive media unit, which will be part of the national public diplomacy unit. One of the projects of the new interactive media unit, which will be in charge of coordinating the public diplomacy efforts of the Prime Minister’s Office on the Internet and the social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, will be the launching of “covert units” within Israel’s seven universities that will engage in online public diplomacy, as reported on Tuesday in Haaretz.
:Messages Seaman has posted on his Facebook page raise serious doubts as to the degree to which good judgment is exercised by someone who is slated to be the chief official in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Israel’s public diplomacy efforts on the various social networks on the Internet. A series of messages that he has posted over the past few months include abusive, even racist, statements directed against Muslims in general and senior Palestinian leaders in particular, as well as against countries that are thought to be Israel’s allies.
:For instance, on August 8, two days after the memorial day marking the World War Two atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which killed over 100,000 civilians, Seaman posted: “I am sick of the Japanese, ‘Human Rights’ and ‘Peace’ groups the world over holding their annual self righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the consequence of Japanese aggression. You reap what you sow.
:“Instead, they should be commemorating the estimated 50 million Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Malay, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Burmese and other victims of Japanese imperial aggression and genocide. Not to mention nearly 120,000 Allied military casualties who fought to defeat the genocidal Japanese. These are who deserve to be and should be remembered this week.”
:On July 16, a few days after the European Union decided to include Hezbollah’s military wing in its list of terror organizations, Seaman’s Facebook page presented these statements: “The EU found an unequivocal voice when it comes to Israel, but still can’t declare the Hezbollah a terrorist entity. Ironically, while Europeans try to define our ancestral borders, the Muslims are redefining theirs.”
:A few days later, on July 22, after Hezbollah’s military wing had been added to the EU’s list of terror organizations, Seaman claimed that the EU’s decision was not enough and was rather abusive: “The term ‘half-assed’ is used to refer to something being sloppy or partially completed. For example… The EU decision to only put the Hezbollah military wing on the terror list and not ban the political wing headed by the same Nasralah [Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah] as well, is half-assed.”
:Soon after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began, Seaman demonstrated a remarkable degree of questionable creativity of a racist nature when he wrote on his Facebook page on July 9: “Does the commencement of the fast of the Ramadan mean that Muslims will stop eating each other during the daytime?”
:Although he is a civil servant, Seaman saw no problem with cynically attacking President Shimon Peres in connection with the recent celebrations of the latter’s 90th birthday. On June 18, Seaman posted this message on his Facebook page: “Question for Peres, Clinton and Blair – how many ‘victims of peace’ never celebrated their 10th birthday?”
:On May 26, chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat was the target of a particularly vicious attack launched by Seaman, who posted: “Erekat, said his side would only agree to renew peace talks if Israel ceased all settlement activity and openly declared that a future state of Palestine would be created on the 1967 lines adding that this should not be viewed as a precondition to talks but rather as an Israeli duty. Is there a diplomatic way of saying ‘Go F*^& yourself’?”
:A few days earlier, on May 15, Simon sent an insulting message to all Palestinians from his Facebook page: “The Palestinians commemorated the Naqba with a 65 second siren in Ramallah. That’s not nearly enough time to stop and pause to think about how stupid they are.”
:Seaman’s use of coarse language and curses is a fairly frequent feature on his Facebook page; for instance, on May 10, in response to the report compiled by the Church of Scotland that claimed that the Jews have no special right to Palestine, he wrote: “The Church of Scotland? The Calvinist, Presbytarian [sic] Church of Scotland? Why do you think we give a flyin F*^& what you have to say?”
:These are a few, particularly abusive messages Seaman has posted on his Facebook page. In many others, he has expressed his rightist political views, has come out against the disengagement from Gaza and the dismantling of the Gush Katif bloc settlements, has crudely attacked international media players such as The Guardian or Israeli media such as Haaretz and has personally clashed swords (figuratively speaking, of course) with journalists such as Channel 2’s Arad Nir and former Haaretz editor-in-chief Hanoch Marmari.
*Elad Ratson - Diplomat, Head of Data Diplomacy R&D Unit Sep 2018 – Sep 2019 Location London, United Kingdom
*Special Ministry of Foreign Affairs Adviser for Algorithmic Diplomacy Jul 2017 – Aug 2018 Location London, United Kingdom
*Diplomat, Director of Research & Development Sep 2015 – Jul 2017 Location Jerusalem, Israel
**Pioneering Algorithmic Diplomacy: a code-based approach to Diplomacy
**Combating Online Extremism, Radicalization & Echo Chambers via the use of Counter Algorithms
**Created & Headed the 1st Research & Development Unit within the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
**Engage with more than 33 programmers on 6 simultaneous software development projects
**Digital Empowerment & the increase of the Digital Signature of Israeli Diplomats
**Inspire a Code-Based approach to Israeli PR
**Strategic Alliances with Social Media Platforms
***Twitter in Israel: (Eng) https://goo.gl/iRB3DY (Heb) http://goo.gl/nxvtwL
*Director of Public Diplomacy Embassy of Israel in London Jul 2017 – Aug 2018 Location London, United Kingdom
**Responsible for Country Branding of Israel in the UK
**Development of strategic Government, Public & Business Cooperation (G2G, G2P & G2B)
**Development of new innovative exposure & communication venues, transcending traditional media
*Ambassade d'Israël à Paris Diplomat, First Secretary, Director of Public Relations Ambassade d'Israël à Paris Apr 2011 – Aug 2015 Embassy of Israel in Paris, France
**Responsible for Country Branding of Israel in France and the French speaking world
**Introduction of new Israeli sub-brands such as: siliconwadi.fr, coolisrael.fr & FRaternEL65.fr
**Development of strategic Government, Public & Business Cooperation (G2G, G2P & G2B)
**Development of new innovative exposure & communication venues, transcending traditional media
**Surveillance & Analysis of hostile campaigns & administration of counter measures
**Crisis Management and Damage ControlLinkedIn Elad Ratson Retrieved from Archive.today of 25 May 2020 on 25 May 2020
*Lior M. Yafe - Chief Legal Assistant to the Attorney General Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs & Public Diplomacy 2016 – 2017. Lior M. Yafe Linkedin Profile Linkedin Retrieved from Archive.today of 29 June 2020 on 29 June 2020. 
**Founder Mezeze 2010 – 2012 Tel Aviv, Israel
***Mezeze Mobile App can identify unrecognized phone numbers before answering a call. This allows the receiver of the call to identify the caller, as well as other information about them, in real time. As the application’s inventor, my responsibilities were to write the business plan, look for investors and resolve privacy issues under the Israeli Privacy Laws.
*Deputy Director - WTO Affairs, Foreign Trade Administration - Ministry of Economy and Industry, Israel, Jan 2019 – Present.
*Director Marketing Strategy, Invest In Israel, Dec 2017 – Jan 2019.
*Commercial Attaché Cadet Course, Foreign Trade Administration - Ministry of Economy and Industry, Israel, Sep 2017 – Nov 2017.
*Chief Legal Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General, Israeli Ministry of Defense, 2015-2016.
*Articled Clerk, Israeli State Attorney's Office, 2015-2016.
*Summer Research Intern, Alliance to Rescue Victims od Traficking, July 2014-Sept 2014.
**Peruvian Embassy, Washington, D.C.
*Israel Fellow, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Aug 2012 - Aug 2013.
*Amir Zahavi - Professional Advisor to the Minister, State of Israel, Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy. Aug 2016 – Aug 2017. Jerusalem Area, Israel
***Assessed minister, ministry and government initiatives from economic and legal outlook to augment the Minister’s decision making. Formulated and managed ministerial projects to the nth degree. Supported the Minister’s ongoing functions (e.g speechwriting, pre-meeting research, meeting attendance, project monitoring).LinkedIn Amir Zahavi. Retrieved from Archive.today of 23 May 2020 on 25 May 2020.
**Deputy Chief of Staff, Israeli Ministry of Interior, Jan 2015 – Jun 2015.
**Intern at the Knesset Economic Committee, Knesset, Sep 2014 – Jan 2015.
*Shai Har-Zvi - Director of IntelligenceAsa Winstanley Anti-BDS intelligence chief revealed as Shai Har-Zvi 28 April 2017.
:In April 2017 it was revealed that:
::Israeli journalist Yossi Melman revealed in September that the intelligence section of the ministry is run by a former security services operative and receives assistance from “a special unit” within Israeli military intelligence and from the Shin Bet secret police. Melman also reported that the ministry is involved in “black-ops” against the Palestine solidarity movement. The veteran intelligence analyst wrote that the ministry had hired 25 workers whose names are classified.
*Shlomit Hammer - Advisor to MSA Director and from 2015 to date. Also the MSA Steering Committee Coordinator.
*Sagi Balasha - 2015 - 2011 Israeli-American Council national CEO, 2018 - 2016 Concert CEO and co-founder, April 2018 Israel-IS Board of Directors
*Micah Avni - In January 2018, Avni was appointed Chairman of Concert. His main roles have been within the financial sector: Chairman of Association of Credit Companies in Israel (from Aug 2017 to present), CEO of Peninsula (Israeli commerce) (Nov 2004 – present) and previous a General Partner at Jerusalem Global Ventures who invest in Israeli based projects.
*Jonathan Bezalel - 2016.6 - present Prime Minister’s Office Senior Deputy Comptroller, 2016.6 - 2013.8 Finance Ministry Senior Deputy CFO
*Ayala Yosel - Head of the Budget and Procurement Division, Ministry of Strategic Affairs, Oct 2018 – present Ayala Yosef, LinkedIn, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://archive.vn/p5kp3#selection-1473.13-1473.24 Accessed on 15 December 2020 
*Ayelet Shiloh-Tamir - Concert CEO from around 2018 Noa Landau, Israel set up a front company to fight bds this is how it failed, Forward, 29 July 2020, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://archive.vn/QS4Oc Accessed on 15 December 2020 ; Formerly, CEO of Masa (Israel experience programs) David Horovitz, The relegitimizer: A terror victim’s son partners with government to combat BDS, Times of Israel, 5 December 2018, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://archive.vn/wip/WdO1J Accessed on 15 December 2020 
*Ron Brummer - Position: Executive Director for Operations of the Israeli Ministry for Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Israeli Official: BDS Activists Doing ‘Great Job’ But There ‘Will be a Price Tag’, Palestine Chronicle, 17 November 2017, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://archive.vn/wip/J8oFG Accessed on 15 December 2020 
*Eran Vasker - Heads Israel Cyber Shield (ICS) Uri Blau, Spying on Linda Sarsour: Israeli Firm Compiled BDS Dossier for Adelson-funded U.S. Group Battling Her Campus Appearances, Haaretz, 25 May 2018, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://archive.vn/RWu4a#selection-2005.0-2005.121 Accessed on 15 December 2020 Before leading ICS, Vasker was a former officer in the Israel Police’s international crime division and has close links to the MSA Uri Blau, Spying on Linda Sarsour: Israeli Firm Compiled BDS Dossier for Adelson-funded U.S. Group Battling Her Campus Appearances, Haaretz, 25 May 2018, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://archive.vn/RWu4a#selection-2005.0-2005.121 Accessed on 15 December 2020 
*Nava Edelstein - Edelstein is described as the program director as the Concert-Together for Israel from March 2019. Nava Edelstein, LinkedIn, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://archive.vn/rv2Ed Accessed on 15 December 2020 Previously she was: Director Of Project Development, Israel Public Diplomacy Forum, 2018 – 2019; Director of Foreign Relations, National Union of Israeli Students, 2016 – 2018 Nava Edelstein, LinkedIn, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://archive.vn/rv2Ed Accessed on 15 December 2020 
*Tzvika Einbinder - Einbinder is based within the FOIA Department of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs Eitay Mack Advocate, FOIR, 19 August 2018, archived on 15 December 2020 at https://web.archive.org/web/20200326110137/https://electronicintifada.net/sites/default/files/2018-08/eitay-mack-labour-foi.pdf Accessed on 15 December 2020 
==Resources==
*Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Leading BDS Organizations 19 June 2018. Retrieved from the Internet Archive of 7 May 2020.
*Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy 284428 (Hebrew) 13 September 2018. Retrieved from the Internet Archive of 7 May 2020.
*Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy The Ties Between NGOs promoting BDS and Terrorist Organizations, February 2019. Internet Archive version of 9 March 2020.
*Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Behind the Mask: The Antisemitic Nature of BDS Exposed, September 2019.
===See Also===
*Digitell18 Conference
*Digitell19 Conference
*4IL
*Act.IL
*Ministry of Diaspora Affairs
*Ministry of Foreign Affairs
*Ministry of Strategic Affairs (Israel)
*Kela Shlomo/Concert/Voices of Israel
==Contact==
According to Haaretz: 'even its location is a secret, described only as “greater Tel Aviv.”' According to YNet News: 'At first sight, it looks like a startup company’s office. But it is from this place, on the 29th floor of Ramat Gan’s Champion Tower, that the State of Israel is waging one of its most important and difficult battles: The war on delegitimization and on the boycott movement.'Itamar Eichner Israel vs. boycott movement: From defense to offense Y Net News, 07.12.17. Internet Archive copy.
*Address:
:Champion Tower, 30 Sheshet Hayamim St.Bnei Brak, Israel
:Tel: +972 (0)72327-5555, 
:Fax: +972 (0)72327-5556
==Notes==