Doc's Talk: Fighting the PR War

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Fighting the PR War

David Suissa

Is there a PR idea that can reverse Israel's deteriorating image? I've been thinking a lot about this, and I can't say it's been too much fun. For one thing, being in PR mode doesn't bring out the best in me. I get linear and think only of "winning the war" - not engaging in complex and nuanced conversation. Also, I have my doubts that anything can help. I've seen how despite a significant outburst of Israel advocacy over the past decade - from groups like CAMERA, StandWithUs and The Israel Project - the situation has only gotten worse.

It's now so bad that the very legitimacy of Israel is being questioned, which, in a strange way, makes sense: If you're routinely accused of being an apartheid state, it follows that your legitimacy can be put into play.

So why has Israel's image gotten so bad?

One reason is that Israel gets little credit for its good deeds, but plenty of rebuke for its mistakes. It can wait seven years before taking defensive action against terrorist rockets raining on its civilians; it can expel 8,000 of its own citizens from Gaza and offer to expel 60,000 more from the West Bank (as Ehud Olmert did) to create a Palestinian state; it can dismantle roadblocks in the West Bank and help to revive the local Palestinian economy, but as far as most of the world is concerned, all those things are nothing compared to Israel's mistakes.

After all, no matter what Israel has done, it still hasn't led to a Palestinian state, and as long as that albatross remains around its neck, the world will have all the ammunition it needs to undermine the Jewish state.

And it's working. We can crow all we want about Israel being a "start-up nation," but the real news today is how so much of the world is trying to turn Israel into a "shut-down" nation. From the Goldstone report accusing Israel of war crimes to Kadima leader Tzipi Livni canceling her trip to London for fear of being arrested to European polls depicting Israel as the most dangerous country on earth, it's no wonder so many Jews have given up on trying to win the "PR war."

But for those of us who haven't given up, what is there to do?

I wanted to brainstorm that question the other day when I met with a marketing wiz, my friend Gary Wexler. Gary talks a mile a minute, so if I don't rudely interrupt him, I'll just sit there for a couple of hours while he goes on about all kinds of fascinating stuff before abruptly getting up and saying, "OK, Suissa, I have to go."

I was determined to pin him down on the subject of Israel PR, and I am glad I did. It turns out that Wexler, a former Peace Now activist who couldn't hurt a fly, thinks it's high time for Israel to "take the gloves off" and "take back the truth," as he put it.

We both agreed that current efforts at pro-Israel advocacy are like infantry without air support. Lots of different grass-roots programs that reach 10 or 100 people at a time, but very few concerted programs that reach millions at a time.

Just like in real war, air support - in this case, mass and viral media - is what makes everything else work better. But for PR to really work, it needs one short, simple, compelling message that is repeated over and over again in every medium and makes the average person say, "OK, I see your point."

What should that message be? One thing Wexler impressed on me is that we shouldn't fool ourselves into believing that if we go "beyond the conflict," as many people are advocating, that somehow the world will be distracted from the Palestinian issue. They won't.

But still, what can you possibly say in 10 or 30 seconds that can cut through the complexities of the conflict and generate more sympathy for Israel's position?

In a word, hate.

Specifically, we ought to focus on the hatred and glorifying of violence taught in Palestinian schools, summer camps, media and mosques that many of us believe is the real obstacle to peace.

Even Dennis Ross, a top advisor to the White House on Middle East affairs, once told me that his biggest regret in the Oslo process was the failure to enforce the clauses against incitement in Palestinian society.

In truth, how can we expect Palestinians to want to make peace with those they have been taught to hate and reject? And how can we expect Israelis to take enormous risks for peace with those who have been taught to hate and reject them?

Settlement freezes are nice, but they don't deal with the core problem: a Palestinian society that worships total victory against the hated Zionist enemy rather than reconciliation and peaceful co-existence.

Israel advocates around the world should begin immediately a concerted campaign around this one single-minded message: "You can't reach peace while you teach hate." Factual and visual examples of this teaching of hatred can easily be accessed on Web sites for MEMRI or Palestinian Media Watch.

That's some of what Wexler and I came up with after a couple of hours of brainstorming. Like I said, not very subtle or pretty, but then again, neither is war.

David Suissa is the founder of OLAM magazine and a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal. You can read his daily blog at suissablog.com and e-mail him at Suissa@olam.org

Guest Comment:It is typically Jewish to explain...Israel the only country in the world that has no PR but "Hasbara" Explaining (is it substitute for apologizing?) ...change the Explaining to Marketing or Selling issues with facts only. We cannot play the game of chess by rules of checkers. We will not convince anyone even if we are right unless we speak their language. We need to choose our battle and win it. Israel has the right to security and peace and to live next door a "Palestinian" State only if the Palarabs get off their: H-O-R-S-E

H-for Human Rights: All that is wrong with Israel is the lack of Human Rights...do not show empathy without sympathy...pictures of dead civilians are dreadful…

O-for Occupation: The bathroom cubicle on an airplane is "Occupied. We cannot deny the connection between the Jewish Nation-Am Yisrael and the Land of Israel-the Holy Land. Knowledge is to know it is fact and wisdom id to know it is the right of the Jewish Nation to be there. Like Knowledge is to know that tomato is fruit and wisdom is to know that you do not put it in fruit salad.

R-for Racism: Branding Israel with Apartheid is to systematically delegitimizing Israel. If we cannot beat it by warfare then by lawfare!

S-for Settlements: We must complain where they are coming from. To the Left: we wish you were Right in your argument. The issue is not settlements...now the Palarabs are shooting at each other...that is why Israel shifter to the Right because when Israel did what the Left wanted it did not work...you are politically correct or anti-Semitic or both.

E-for Extremism. What is Extremism? It is proportionality - eye for an eye -- kindergarten for kindergarten ... Disproportionate!? Everyone who is innocent and is caught in a war is a terrible thing, however, how do we get to the point of no war?!

You can't reach peace with a party that all you lean about them is lies, deception, and them having warped and despicable image; you can't reach peace with anyone while all you lean is to hate them, to fight, kill and annihilate them, to launch jihad against them for which you will be paid with holy martyrdom.

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Shalom, Nurit

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk