The coronavirus crisis has afforded Israel some prestige points on the international stage, according to a report by the Department of Public Diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry.
The report, which is based on hundreds of reports relayed by Israeli embassies in recent weeks, indicates that coverage of Israel has undergone a transformation during that time period.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
When the coronavirus pandemic first hit in late January 2020, "Israel's [approach] was viewed with hostility, mainly due to its decisions to cancel flights, close borders and remove foreign nationals in the first stage, and later on for its implementation of cellular location technologies that Israeli security agencies were using in the fight against terror," the report said.
This line of reasoning, however, quickly changed course. Once the scope of the pandemic became more apparent in the West, articles involving Israel began praising the country's life-saving policies.
"In the second stage, Israel was portrayed as a model of a country successfully coping with the medical crisis, precisely due to all the reasons for which it was previously criticized," the report said. Israel also received recognition for its immense efforts on behalf of its citizens stranded across the globe during the crisis.
'A diplomatic opportunity'
The report went on to say that the global media's extensive coverage of the coronavirus crisis greatly reduced its coverage of international affairs, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is beneficial to Israel. The report also noted that interfaith cooperation in Israel during the pandemic received attention as well, for example, the famous photo of the Magen David Adom paramedic, one a Muslim and the other an orthodox Jew, praying alongside one another
Noam Katz, the deputy director of media and public affairs at the Foreign Ministry, told Israel Hayom that "from a media representation standpoint, we can say the coronavirus was beneficial for Israel twice. The international discourse moved to the digital media, where Israel operates no less than 850 channels in different languages – such that we had a comfortable starting position.
"Secondly, the coronavirus helped focus the discourse on Israel's advantages, in science and high-tech, and also from the perspective of interfaith relations."
Foreign Minister Israel Katz added that "the coronavirus crisis created an opportunity for Israel to present our immense contribution to science and innovation in the world."
