Strategic Communication of Israel’s Intelligence Services: Countering New Challenges with Old Methods

ABSTRACT

This study sheds light on the strategic communication of intelligence services in the new media age. Intelligence services operate in the dark, as far away as possible from the attention of the media and the public. However, in the new media age, intelligence services face a fresh set of unfamiliar challenges, including a dramatic change in the concept of time, the presence of alternative voices in the new media and a dramatic reduction in the ability to manage and control information. Using a case study approach, three traditional methods employed by Israeli intelligence services when addressing situations of exposure are examined: censorship, gag orders and the Editors’ Committee. The study addresses the organizations’ dilemmas, choices and difficulties in adjusting to the new media environment. On a broader theoretical level, the research demonstrates the importance of recognizing the differences among the diverse actors in the field of strategic communication as manifested within the well-established concepts of strategic communication, adaptation and adjustment. Since the field of strategic communication aims to include so many types of organizations and actors, it is crucial that nuances and differences among them are identified and analyzed within their specific context.