Title
Israeli public diplomacy following targeting campaigns : A rhetorical analysis of the Al-Jalaa Tower strike in Gaza
Authors
[ 1 ] Department of Regional and Global Studies, Uniwersytet Warszawski | [ 2 ] Department of Finance, University of Texas at San Antonio, 24245 Wilderness Oaks, 78258, San Antonio, TX, United States
Year of publication
2025
Published in
Journal year: 2025 | Journal number: Online first
Article type
scientific article
Publication language
polish
Keywords
Abstract
EN This study investigates how states use public diplomacy to defend their legitimacy following contested military actions. Focusing on Israel’s airstrike on the Al-Jalaa Tower during the 2021 Gaza conflict, the research examines how rhetorical strategies were employed to manage international criticism and sustain normative legitimacy. Unlike prior research that addresses entire conflicts, this study narrows its focus to a single high-profile event involving protected objects. Drawing on Ben D. Mor’s rhetorical defence framework, the study applies qualitative discourse and rhetorical analysis to a dataset of 57 official statements, including government press releases, speeches, media briefings, and verified social media posts issued within 5 months after the incident. Each statement was coded thematically into three rhetorical strategies, blame avoidance, blame imposition, and moral differentiation, and analysed across temporal distribution, source diversity, and target orientation. The findings reveal that Israel’s public diplomacy reflected a layered rhetorical defence dominated by blame avoidance and blame imposition, often deployed in tandem to deflect criticism, justify actions, and redirect moral responsibility towards Hamas and third-party critics. Moral differentiation served as reinforcement for Israel’s self-presentation as a rule-abiding democracy acting within legal and ethical bounds. The study concludes that in contested military action, public diplomacy functions less as a means of persuasion and more as a communicative mechanism for managing reputational risk and contesting narratives of legitimacy. By demonstrating how rhetorical strategies evolve and interact under normative pressure, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of the strategic role of wartime communication in asymmetric warfare and legitimacy management.
Date of online publication
28.12.2025
License type
CC BY (attribution alone)
Open Access Mode
open journal
Open Access Text Version
final published version
Release date
28.12.2025
Full text of article
Access level to full text
public
Ministry points / journal
70
This website works thanks to the software SINUS
created by Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center
Log in to submit to SIS: