The Israeli Ministry of Tourism’s first Brand Israel advertisement features two men on a Tel Aviv beach observing an Israeli woman as she rubs lotion on herself. It concludes with the following slogan: “Israel: No wonder they call it the Holy Land.”

Actress Gal Gadot and several other Israeli models pose for Maxim in Israel Defense Forces attire. “They’re drop-dead gorgeous and can take apart an Uzi in seconds,” proclaims the article’s subtitle. “Are the women of the Israeli Defense Forces the world’s sexiest soldiers?”

Brand Israel launches a monthlong LGBTQ culture festival in San Francisco. “In a region like the Bay Area, this is our mission,” says the consul general to the Consulate of Israel to the Pacific Northwest. “Israeli diplomacy and hasbara needs to be innovative and adaptive to its environment.”