Benjamin Netanyahu warns that Israel must "rebrand" itself to avoid pariah status. Ordinary Israelis are therefore being conscripted into an army of spin doctors in a campaign termed "hasbara" – Hebrew for "public diplomacy" or, most literally, propaganda.

In the latest offensive, the education ministry has launched a compulsory hasbara course for students travelling abroad. All youth delegations are now required to learn how to justify Israel's policies in the occupied territories to outsiders. According to officials, the students must challenge those who "seek to delegitimise Israel".

It is yet more evidence that hasbara has become a national obsession in Israel – and that the line between support for one's country and support for the subjugation of another people has been erased.