Israeli PR Offensive in US Media

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Senior Israeli minister Moshe Ya'alon and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon published articles in major American media this week as part of a diplomatic offense to prove the Palestinian Authority is the obstacle to peace.

The effort is part of a recent campaign to counter libel and massive anti-Israel sentiment in the media, which has provided an open vehicle for Palestinian Authority op-eds that often include historically incorrect information, particularly the theme that ”Palestinians” have an ancient claim to the Land of Israel. Arabs in Israel previously never distinguished themselves as separate from other Arabs and generally did not begin to use the term until after the Six-Day War in 1967. Ya'alon, Minister of Strategic Affairs and former IDF Chief of Staff, wrote on the Foreign Policy magazine’s website Tuesday under the headline, “The Palestinians Are the Real Obstacle to Peace.”

Ayalon, a former ambassador to the United States, wrote one day earlier an op-ed in The Los Angeles Times entitled “Who's Stopping the Peace Process?”

“The fundamental problem is that the Palestinians continue to reject these inherent rights of the Jewish people.” Ya'alon wrote in Foreign Policy. “The Palestinians remain steadfast in their refusal to accept that there even exists a Jewish nation that lays legitimate claim to its land. They reject the entire premise of a state for the Jewish people — not only beyond the pre-1967 lines of the State of Israel, but even within its original 1948 boundaries. This, of course, explains why the Palestinians did not pursue independence prior to 1967, when Israel was within the 1949 Armistice lines.”

He also noted that the PA not only has showed “a total unwillingness to compromise,” it also often favors terrorism, “as witnessed in the barrage of terrorist attacks that followed the Camp David negotiations of 2000. Is it any wonder Israelis find it ever more difficult to trust the Palestinians?”

Ya'alon also noted PA incitement, often reported by Israel National News, that appears in Arab media and in its school system.

“The language of hate is the vernacular of choice for the official Palestinian media, which indoctrinates its audience with the narrative that Jews have usurped their land and have no business being here — and not just in Hevron or Ariel, but even in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv,” the minister wrote. “Palestinian television is notorious for broadcasting what amounts to classic incitement — parading about children who glorify the use of weapons to destroy Israel and accusing Jews of “stealing” cities such as Haifa, which even the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 included as part of the Jewish state.”

He also noted that despite complaints by the Palestinian Authority of continued development of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, “Israel has committed not to authorize any construction outside these neighborhoods in the areas under its control since 1967.”

Ya'alon concluded, “Israel remains committed to the cause of peace. We have no desire to govern the affairs of another people. But our acceptance of a viable Palestinian state awaits a similar Palestinian acceptance of the rights of the Jewish people in the land of Israel. [Saeb] Erekat, the Palestinian negotiator, recently wrote that such a step would require a modification of the Palestinian narrative. He’s absolutely right. But until this happens, there can be no chance for peace.”

In his op-ed in the Times, Ayalon countered the mainstream media impression that ”the breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has predictably resulted in blame laid almost exclusively on Israel.” He also noted that PA leaders have refused to negotiate any issues and instead insist that the PA become a new Arab country based on all of its demands.

He noted that ever since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, the Palestinian Authority has rejected offers of almost all of Judea and Samaria “without further discussion or counter offer.”

“The Palestinians have been extremely successful at presenting Israel as the obstructionist party, even as they have been engaged in a consistent cycle of evasion and rejectionism that has replicated itself many times over almost two decades,” the deputy minister declared.

“The cycle begins with the Palestinians looking for any excuse not to arrive at negotiations. They run away from an open and honest process, and yet place the onus on Israel for the breakdown of peace talks.

“Moreover, settlements are a red herring. According to previously signed agreements, settlements and borders are a final-status issue. The Palestinians turned them into a precondition for talks.”

He noted that “the built-up areas of the settlements constitute less than 1.7% of the total area” demanded by the PA.

“Unfortunately, the Palestinian position during these 17 years has not moved one inch from its maximalist demands,” Ayalon continued. “Isn't it time that the Palestinians are asked directly and openly if they are prepared to make any concessions? Are they prepared to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and the Jewish connection to the Western Wall and Temple Mount? Are they prepared to recognize that there are Jewish refugees in Arab states, and that Israel has very real security concerns?

“Uncritically adopting Palestinian positions prevents peace. The international community should break the Palestinian cycle of evasion and rejectionism.”