In today’s Middle East, diplomacy has been replaced by propaganda. The region is witnessing mutual Arab-Israeli delegitimization campaigns. In the Rio Olympic Games, when an Egyptian judoka competed and lost to an Israeli (Aug. 12), he refused to shake hands and was later chastised by the Egyptian media and on social networks for losing to an Israeli. This stems from the view that Israel is an illegitimate entity; a view that most Egyptians have not divorced even after the 1979 peace treaty. In parallel, there is the Palestinian-sponsored boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls upon Western public opinion to boycott Israel and Israeli goods. This movement has active branches in many European countries.
In Israel, there is an informal delegitimization campaign of Palestinians guided by the Benjamin Netanyahu government. Meetings with Palestinian leaders are characterized as treason. Palestinian legitimate national aspirations are defined as an existential threat to Israel. International public relations campaigns waged by the Israeli Foreign Ministry define the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a rejectionist, violent entity.
