Culture is often presented as universal and liberating. In Israel’s case, however, it has also been used strategically to shift attention away from occupation and violence – towards creativity, innovation, and progress.
Films, exhibitions and festivals have become part of an orchestrated effort to polish the country’s image abroad. Culture, in this sense, operates as camouflage – a tool that normalises oppression by replacing it with narratives of openness and vitality.
Key Points
- Culture is used to project an international image of normality, creativity and openness.
- Nation-branding campaigns move attention from occupation to tourism and innovation.
- Festivals, awards and global platforms legitimise certain narratives while marginalising others.
- Terms such as “dialogue” and “peace” are sometimes employed rhetorically to mask power imbalance.
- Pinkwashing: LGBTQ+ rights are showcased to market tolerance while oppression continues.
Cultural Policy and Funding
In the early 2000s, the Israeli government launched the Brand Israel campaign.
The state invested heavily in linking Israel to images of innovation, nightlife, and art – hoping the world would associate the country with start-ups and film festivals rather than checkpoints and wars.
Cultural policy began prioritising projects with international appeal and export potential, while the lived reality of occupation faded into the background.
Nation Branding and Pinkwashing
A key element of the strategy was using culture to win sympathy. Pride events in Tel Aviv were marketed as proof of modernity and tolerance, while Palestinian LGBTQ+ individuals continued to face severe restrictions.
This contrast has been widely criticised and termed pinkwashing: promoting progressive imagery to divert attention from systemic violence.
The message was simple – associate Israel with freedom and diversity, not with oppression.
│ Ethical question: When culture is used to polish an image of freedom, whose suffering is erased in the process?
Festivals and Awards
International festivals and art biennales serve as gatekeepers.
Israel’s participation in major venues such as Cannes or Venice gives global visibility to stories about technology, culture and entrepreneurship, while films or works addressing occupation often face limited funding, marginal time slots, or censorship.
Juries, sponsors, and curators thus play an indirect role in shaping what the world sees – and what it doesn’t.
Algorithms and Platforms
Global streaming and music platforms such as Netflix or Spotify add a new layer.
Algorithms rank content based on engagement and contracts, meaning that critical narratives are easily buried.
In effect, what isn’t visible becomes less real: digital culture becomes infrastructure for invisibility.
Deepening: Concepts and Examples
Concepts & Definitions
- Nation branding: The strategic use of culture to construct a positive image of a state.
- Pinkwashing: Highlighting LGBTQ+ rights to improve international reputation while systemic oppression persists.
- Hasbara: State-driven public diplomacy aimed at shaping narratives abroad.
- Normalisation: Presenting asymmetric power as “two equal sides” or as everyday normality.
Examples
- Brand Israel campaign (2005) promoting nightlife and creativity. [LINK]
- Tel Aviv Pride as a marketing anchor. [LINK]
- Festival selection patterns – critical films excluded or minimised. [LINK]
Media
- QR: “What is Brand Israel?” – short YouTube introduction.
- QR: “The Occupation of the American Mind” – documentary on propaganda and cultural narratives.
Sources
- What is Brand Israel? (YouTube, short intro).
- The Occupation of the American Mind (2016, dir. Sut Jhally).
- Schulman, V. (2012). Israel’s Brand Strategy: Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy. Public Relations Review.
- Puar, J. (2013). Rethinking Homonationalism. International Journal of Middle East Studies.
Reflection Questions
- How is culture used as a tool to shape the image of a conflict?
- Which stories are promoted in international festivals and platforms – and which are excluded?
- What can audiences do to recognise and question strategies like pinkwashing or nation branding?
Tips for Dialogue
- In what ways can film, art, and pop culture hide or sanitise ongoing oppression?
- How does our understanding change when violence and occupation are absent from the cultural narrative?
- Can you identify examples – in Israel or elsewhere – where culture is used to launder a nation’s image?
- How can art instead become a means of resistance and visibility rather than camouflage?
Resources
PDF: Cultural Heritage as a Tool of Power – download
Video: Tourism, Nature and Control – watch