Tbilisi to Host Forum Dedicated to Hasbara: A New Model of Diplomatic Support towards Israel

On December 24-25, Tbilisi will host the first International Forum of Hasbara, with the participation of the Israeli official delegation.

The large-scale event is being organized by ‘Israeli House’ in cooperation with the Ambassador of Israel to Georgia, Mr. Shabtai Tsur.

Israeli House will present the results of its three-years of activities on December 24 at the Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi. The Prime Minister of Georgia, George Kvirikashvili, and Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, are to attend.

Israeli House was founded in 2013 on the initiative of the first official Israeli representative in the region, and President of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business, Itsik Moshe, under the auspices of the Knesset. It aims to make the Israeli Hasbara policy more active abroad and enhance the direct bilateral links with friendly states. Within the framework of Israeli House, official delegations from Israel visited Georgia and conducted fruitful meetings with the governmental authorities of the country.

The pilot project of Israel House has been developed with the support of Hilik Bar, Deputy-Speaker of the Knesset, and David Bitan, Head of the Coalition. Three major results have been achieved:

1. An international model of Hasbara has been created which can be used in other countries;

2. The strengthening of relations with Georgia has become a pattern of Israel's relations with other countries;

3. After three-years of active mutual effort, relations between Georgia and Israel have been shaped in the appropriate governmental format.

On the second day of the delegation's visit, a forum dedicated to Hasbara and contemporary challenges faced by Israel on the international stage and in the greater Middle East will be conducted at Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi. Tzipi Hotovely, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, and Hilik Bar will speak, while the leaders of Israel's right-wing and left-wing forces will present their different visions of peace and neighborhood state policy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Mikheil Janelidze, is also expected to give a speech at the forum.

The Israeli delegation, consisting of Deputy-speakers, the Deputy Foreign Minister, leader of the ruling coalition, and representatives of the business, academic and media spheres, will also be in attendance at the forum.