The Effectiveness of the Israeli Digital Diplomacy Targeting the Arab Public on Social Media Platforms

Authors

Moeen Koa, Modern Media Institute, Al-Quds University, Abu Dis, Jerusalem, PalestineFollow
Hiba Nassar, Independent Researcher, Jenin, PalestineFollow

DOI

10.35552/0247.38.5.2191

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of the Israeli occupation state's digital diplomacy directed at the Arab public according to a three-dimensional framework. The study employed content analysis to analyze a sample of posts from two Israeli official pages on Facebook from October 13 to November 13, 2022, based on three dimensions proposed by Bjola and Jiang (2015): agenda-setting, presence-expansion, and conversation-generating. The results showed that despite the effectiveness of the occupying state's digital diplomacy according to these dimensions, the authors see these dimensions as superficial metrics that do not express the efficacy of this type of diplomacy. The high number of posts shared on the two pages and the significant number of comments cannot be seen as an indication of the efficiency of the message, the achievement of widespread acceptance for both pages and the topics they raise, as the overwhelming percentage of the responses observed on the two pages were hostile and critical. Therefore, the current study considers the need to develop this model to ensure that the feelings expressed by the pages' followers are measured to reflect the correct value of digital diplomacy's effectiveness.

Recommended Citation

Koa, Moeen and Nassar, Hiba (2024) "The Effectiveness of the Israeli Digital Diplomacy Targeting the Arab Public on Social Media Platforms," An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities): Vol. 38: Iss. 5, Article 4.
DOI: 10.35552/0247.38.5.2191
Available at: https://digitalcommons.aaru.edu.jo/anujr_b/vol38/iss5/4