Doc's Talk: Rebranding Israel

Monday, December 17, 2012

Rebranding Israel

Nurit Greenger

Changing the lens, changing the lexicon.

Those who follow issued concerning Israel may see what I see: Israel is being pushed to a corner in every aspect possible, whether it is politically, economically, and/or morally. It is almost as if the world is out to reaffirm to the Jewish nation, we never did, we do not and probably we will never like Jews.

The past is well known; the future however is in Israel's and her supporters' hands, who now have a chance to change.

There is indeed a desperate need for the state of Israel to reverse the tide flowing against it in the war of ideas, gain international support and strengthen her standing with every possible human being.

This is the message I got this week from attending the Jewish National Fund-JNF breakfast meeting, held at the Beverly Hills Hilton, in which 500 attendees came to hear the keynote speaker, Ambassador Ido Aharoni Consul General of Israel to New York, on the topic, De-legitimization of Israel, the invisible threat to Israel's existence.

From L-Consul General Ido Aharoni, Barak Lurie Co-Chair, Doug Williams Chair-Photo Orly Halevy

JNF Breakfast audience-Photo by Orly Halevy

If we have been complaining for years that Israel's public diplomacy is atrocious, listening to Mr. Aharoni I am convinced that there is a new generation of Israeli diplomats who may turn, in Israel's favor, the Israeli Hassbara, meaning explanation, her public diplomacy. From Mr. Aharoni's impressive speech the audience have received new tools to fight the anti-Israel tide.

The way Israel has presented herself till now, a victim of Arabs' hate, a beleaguered country where Zionist fighters have to constantly fight aggressive Arabs has not worked, and thus must end. The time is now for Israel to end the twinning with the Arabs and tell the world who she is and what the Jewish state stands for.

Time to fold sleeves and address and refute the new de-legitimization narrative along which Israel's detractors are working diligently, spreading the word that the Jewish state is the remnants of the European colonialism, a country that is not an asset, rather a burden to the world.

The reason this vile narrative is spreading wings is because very few know what is the real Israel; what is Israel outside the conflict and she has to offer to the world, which the world is willing to accept and deal with.

In his December 11, 2012 article, Israel's China Challenge, http://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-china-challenge/?utm_source=The+Times+of+Israel+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=3029e290fc-2012_12_12&utm_medium=email, the writer, David Horovitz sums it up: "the world's second largest economic power knows very little about Israel. The countries that wish us [Israel] ill have been active here for decades and have been telling it plenty. Israel’s cause is not lost here, but we could and should be advancing it more effectively. There is no vacuum. We have much to offer. We should and can change that, and the sooner the better." And it is not only the people in China who know so very little about the 'other side" of Israel, it is the majority of people in the world.

Take for instance the book Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle, by Dan Senor and Saul Singer. (http://www.amazon.com/Start-up-Nation-Israels-Economic-Miracle/dp/0446541478). The book made the best seller list because it has brought to light another Israel; a country of innovations and creativity and that captured the world's attention.

There is the need to assume responsibility that Israel has been in wrong therapy since 1993 and it has not worked for her. A trip to Israel will be the best therapy session. Ask anyone who took a trip to the Jewish land with the Taglit-Birthright Program (http://www.israeloutdoors.com/?gclid=CO741OXzk7QCFQ_hQgodDSsA_w). Any participant will tell you that the trip was a life changing event.

So we need to begin with telling the world that Israel is not defined by the conflict and the trouble she has from here neighbors; Israel is much more than its problems. No place is perfect, including Israel; the same way people do not judge other places they visit, Israel needs not to be judged by it imperfections, rather its perfections and there are many.

Time to see Israel not through distorted lenses, rather through new lenses of….

1.Being a world leader in environment projects;

2. Being a world leader in start-up companies;

3. Being a culture and art powerhouse, the third larger producer of content for American TV;

4. Heritage, diversity, where 120 ethnic groups are represented and many languages are spoken;

5. Life style and leisure;

6. Israel best secret, which is Tikun Olam, making the entire world a better place to live.

You still do not believe, watch this movie: Music Voyager Episode 1 & 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4m9tjiDU2w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba3rJ35V34s

Also listen to Naftali Bennett, let 's talk about the important thing, not the isolation, the "settlements," rather beautiful Jaffa…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp8fu1tgCI4&feature=player_embedded

In this reverse price tag policy, a combination of any of these six lenses will convey a different message to which the world has been accustomed and slowly will change the narrative in Israel's favor.

There is tough competition in the world. Every country that aims for high revenue that will better the standard of living of its citizens needs to market itself just like a product; so does Israel.

Israel is not a defective product and has very good goods to sell, but she had cut herself short and have not used the assets she has. The country's ongoing crisis management of the conflict is not the only issue about Israel. It is not about bad news; and if Israel is going to be associated with the crisis only it will go down the tube.

Israel's beaches compete with other Mediterranean beaches; Jerusalem competes with London, Paris and Rome, not Ramallah or Riyad. There is something of interest in Israel for every human being.

Israel has allowed the other side to hijack her narrative and define her negatively. Time to reclaim the narrative and the original Zionism. Because without Israel Jews are guests in other people's country – in whatever country they live. In Israel every Jew is at home, in his or her homeland.

Jewish National Fund (JNF)-Keren Kayemeth Le'Israel (http://www.kkl.org.il/eng/ - http://www.jnf.org/) is your voice in Israel. On your behalf and with your financial contribution, JNF will build communities, manage water conservation, create forests, take part in ecological development, provide Zionist engagement programs, preserve historical sites, sponsor research and development initiatives, and make sure that no member of Israeli society is left behind.

Become a shareholder in the Jewish National Fund; be a shareholder in Israel, be part of the solution not part of the problem.

Let us leave the conflict aside, stop the spinning and start helping and supporting Israel through a totally new lens and rebranding and thus begin bringing to an end the de-legitimization of Israel era.

International relations revolve a great deal around priorities. It is best to be attractive than right.

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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