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This study provides an historical overview of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit (ISU) from the early years of the State of Israel until 2009. Analyzing five periods during which the ISU played a key role in Israel's public diplomacy, this research sheds light on the challenges the ISU faced in different periods and circumstances and examines how the ISU tried to modify its methods and actions in response to geopolitical changes and media development, albeit not always successfully. The study suggests better understanding the adaptation process by applying a three-layer framework for analysis: the tactical layer, the strategic layer and the perceptional layer. The findings of this work demonstrate that in adapting to new circumstances, the ISU focused mainly on the tactical response level, with the result that it did not undertake any review or debate over the need for deeper perceptional changes in ISU policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is drawing a comprehensive overview of the Israeli blogosphere, its impact on PR practitioner work, and the professional ethics implications of the tightening relationships between PR practitioners and bloggers. The findings illustrate a unique pattern according to which bloggers willingly accept PR involvement in their content creation. This phenomenon raises ethical questions since bloggers’ decisions to accept compensation may impact the trust that consumers have in reviews at blogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The minimal internet visibility of PR agencies in Israel, 2012. [•] The minimal number of PR agencies in Israel that implement social media. [•] A discussion of the changes undergone by PR agencies that implement the new media regarding work routines, work methods and manpower. [•] A discussion of task-related PR tactics that implement new media. [•] A presentation of the possible reasons for the limited use of new media tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This essay presents for the first time an integrated and comprehensive historical analysis of the relationship between the external intelligence service in Israel, the Mossad, and the media. The theoretical framework of this research demonstrates the significance of analyzing the relationship through the lens of a challenge–response model, based primarily on public relations literature. Since different changes have taken place in society, culture and media, it is crucial to define what issues the Mossad faced during each era in order to accurately evaluate its strategic communications. The Mossad's ability to cope efficiently with crisis situations was majorly influenced by the proportions between the challenges and the responses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As with the earlier downturn of the Great Depression, the current global economic crisis has revived direct government intervention in the marketplace. It has also stimulated wider contemporary debates on the role of government in financial markets that feature not just funding issues, but questions of regulation and social legitimacy, and a greater acknowledgement of distinctive national–international tensions rather than a converging consensus around continuing to deregulate a global market. This article seeks to provide historical perspectives to these debates by considering the role of government, with the involvement of public relations, during economic changes in Israel. It focuses on major campaigns in Israel around the roles, and inter-sector disputes, of three major sectors: agriculture during the first half of the 20th century; industrialization from the 1960s to the 1990s; and commerce and competition from the 1990s into the 21st century. The article tracks these three historical transformations as part of Israel''s gradual shifting from a nation economy toward a global economy. It concludes that, in the present downturn, the Israeli experiences offer a reminder of the impact of communication campaigns, interwoven with national identity, on economic changes, and the potential for public relations strategies and tactics to have long-term effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article provides a brief account of public relations, and of those who use its practices, in the Zionist revolution that led to the formation of the state of Israel. In relating that narrative to aspects of the American Revolution, it explores similarities and differences with a threefold aim: (1) to describe the distinctiveness of Israeli public relations development, informed by, but not determined by, U.S. accounts; (2) to clarify how different national origins continue to impact on the contemporary profession; and (3) to encourage others to put forward their accounts of their specific histories, and their specific historical actors. In Kuhn''s classic account of paradigm revolutions in science, the impetus frequently comes from activities on the margins that conflict with core assumptions. The article''s specific account of the formation of Israel, and its intertwining with public relations, adds to the recent growing movement to construct accounts of other national public relations histories. In contributing to this movement, it also points to how the American experience can be reconfigured as part, albeit a massive part, of a profession that is developing differently in different parts of the world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this study is to explore Israel''s societal culture as an environment with which public relations practice has to align. It asks whether Israeli public relations practitioners use social media elements, how do they perceive these elements and what do they think about their future? A web-based survey revealed that Israeli practitioners generally are willing to use and gain experience with social media elements although this usage is still in its initial stage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]