Yaalon: Arabs resorting to propaganda after losing wars

Israel's enemies turn to de-legitimization after realizing they can't defeat Israel on battlefield, deputy PM says

Roni Sofer
YNET

Israel's Arab enemies have resorted to a propaganda campaign after realizing they cannot defeat the Jewish State on the battlefield, Deputy Prime Minister Moshe (Bogi) Yaalon says.

"When the Arabs realized they cannot defeat us with their armies, they turned to terrorism and rockets," Yaalon told Ynet in a special interview Wednesday. "Now they are realizing that they cannot defeat us this way either, so they are taking the path of de-legitimization."


Arab propaganda efforts had an effect mostly in Europe and in some parts of the United States, the deputy PM said.



"The success of Israel's de-legitimization stems from several elements, such as the new anti-Semitism, which at this time is manifested through anti-Israel sentiments in practice," he said. "There is another group, the liberals, some of whom are radicals while others are naïve. People who compare our security fence to the Berlin Wall, for example, are naïve."



'Flawed British policy'
Yaalon said he believes that Israel's diplomats across the world are at fault for the current situation.


"For years we neglected public diplomacy. We haven't done enough," he said. "Not always those who represent us are worthy of representing us, especially when we examine the manner in which they do so. During my travels I encountered some people who simply cannot be representing us. This is why the government decided to travel and speak across the world. Ministers, including myself, are traveling abroad and explaining our position."


Addressing the recent arrest warrant issued against former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in England, Yaalon said he warned former British Prime Minister Tony Blair more than two years ago about the "flawed policy in respect to arrest warrants against myself and other senior Israeli officials."


"To my regret, nothing had been then since then, and now Britain is the only state where we are facing such problem," he said. "We need to tell the Brits that we're in the same boat, as their commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan clearly say."