Paris — Thirty heads of state and some 6,000 decision-makers and activists gathered Nov. 12 at Paris La Villette venue for the second edition of the Paris Peace Forum, an assembly designed to promote the spirit of multilateralism. Still, two chairs were left empty at the central agora of the decision-makers: those of the United States and Israel. No Israeli leader bothered to come, not even a junior official or a representative from the embassy in Paris. More so, amid the multitude of stands presenting social development, new technologies, inclusive economy and gender activism projects, no Israeli nongovernmental organization (NGO) attended.

Over the past decade, Israel’s diplomacy, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at its helm, has focused much efforts on building ties with African and Arab countries, especially those Israel has no diplomatic relations with or only low-profile ties. A year ago, for instance, on Nov. 25, 2018, Chadian President Idriss Deby visited Israel, resuming official ties that were severed four decades earlier.

But resuming diplomatic ties marks only one facet of advancing Israel’s global influence. The real work behind the scenes is that of "soft power," namely using culture, civil society and the economy as tools for changing and influencing social and public opinion. In Israeli diplomacy terms, this means encouraging global Israeli projects in fields such as smart agriculture, high-tech, informal education, water management and rural development — fields in which Israel excels. Israeli diplomacy has also been endorsing a multilateral approach, where Israeli experts team up with local actors and with third-party funders, so that everyone wins and public/media visibility is high.

In fact, public diplomacy and soft power diplomacy have become the two main axis of action for Israel's Foreign Ministry in recent years. Or more accurately, its only axis of action; Netanyahu and Ambassador Ron Dermer are handling relations with the United States exclusively, and Israeli senior diplomats are regularly excluded from that arena. The same is true for the more discreet ties with Arab countries and with some of the African countries. Netanyahu’s visit to Oman in October 2018 and his meeting in Muscat with Sultan Qaboos bin Said were coordinated by Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen, and not by the Foreign Ministry. On top of that, Netanyahu is systematically emptying the ministry of all its traditional responsibilities, transferring powers and budgets to the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and to other ministries.