Following the signing of the Abraham Accords, the UAE have opened – for the first time in history – an embassy in Israel in July 2021. Debby team, which have been working with Ambassador Mohamed Al Khaja and first introduced him and the UAE to Israel, was responsible for communicating the opening event, that included the participance of the President of the State of Israel Isaac Hertzog and other VIP guests. Debby team was also deeply involved in planning the event from scratch.
The media challenge was twofold: increasing media coverage for the historic event while emphasizing the message of peacebuilding; and managing dozens of reporters from all media outlets – Israeli and foreign – in a tight space and under health and heavy security constraints.
The media outreach began with sending out the formal invitations which were also prepared and designed by Debby team, to reporters. The invitations made headlines since they served as a formal announcement of the long-awaited official opening of the embassy following the Abraham Accords signing. The event was meticulously planned so that all media outlets could be provided with quality and interesting materials. We also prepared a backup plan by inviting our own photographers, who later sent their footage to all outlets.
The complicated event went off without a hitch and became the biggest news of the day, if not the week. The opening of the UAE Embassy in Israel was featured on all news broadcasts and on the front pages of newspapers. President Herzog's and the Ambassador Al Khaja's quotes were highlighted, conveying a message of hope and the construction of a better future in the region and across the world.
