Even if the Jewish state has already dug itself too deep a hole during this war, it can at least start improving in these areas to prepare for the inevitability of future conflicts.
All Israel has to do is issue the following official statement:
REMEMBER THE 38 WORDS: The Jews are the indigenous inhabitants of Israel, ethnically cleansed by the colonial powers of Imperial Rome and Imperial Arabia. They have their country back, Baruch Hashem, and never again will they be driven off their ancestral land.
No PR will speak to these groups: In Muslim countries there is a religious fanaticism that is beyond reason-in the name of Allah, they lie, they murder, they commit martyrdom. That’s a big group. An other group, are those who know the truth, but they are deep down so antiSemitic that it blinds them. Another group are the Jews who in the name of some corrupted sense of Justice are siding up with the enemy. They are the most despicable. They are the wicked children at the Seder table.
"Adopting Better Slogans" -- #4 below -- has a good point. "Let my people go!" would have been much more effective in the international arena to keep the focus on the crime of the kidnapping. But "Bring them home now" as a rallying cry keeps the pressure on the Israeli government. It has the unfortunate consequence of taking the spotlight off of Hamas and creating internal domestic tension.
I suspect that this is why it was chosen by the protest organizers. It implies that the government should be doing something more, and that the prolonging of this dreadful nightmare is somehow the government's fault. I wish I were less cynical, but I smell a rat here.
Yes!!! The specific choice of words unfortunately can give a permanently-damaging message which aborts or hinders progress. Word choice is all important in this deepening rift in the Middle East & the deepening rift between Jews of the diaspora, set in motion as of October 7th, 2024.
Netanyahu is doing exactly what the Hamas propaganda apparatus wants him to do! The wise thing would be to do the exact opposite: Start with Raffah, cutting off smuggle routes, then make your way North, so that aid would have to go through Israel, not Egypt, making Israel look like the good guy!
"It must state continuously that this war is about more than defeating Hamas; it is a fight for Israel’s and the Jewish People’s existence." Indeed and also, it is also a fight for Palestinian existence.
The well- being of Israel is interdependent with the well- being of the Palestinians.
Unfortunately, the other side has no credible representatives - I doubt if the population of Gaza still sees Hamas as advocating their cause.
Isn't there within Israel's democracy, within the Knesset someone who could rise to the occasion and become a reliable interlocutor?
Outstanding piece. Israel's culture of "directness" has led it chronically to underestimate the power of strategic PR. Israel needs be an office that focuses specifically on this, or if it has one, then it should be completely overhauled to be headed by a PR genius, and counseled by the best available Western style PR firm (that also has top flight digital expertise). This office should be integrated with the office of the Prime Minister and IDF, among others.
Something around 30, 000 Palestinians in Gaza have died. Primary reason so many are against Israel ,and the spike in anti-semitism is due to this humanitarian travesty. And empirically, it is a humanitarian travesty. Us Jews and our supporters mitigated stating this is war, a war we did not start, and Israel is not fighting against a traditional military force but Hamas, whose military is gorilla fighters and locate themselves within the Gazan populace. And when it comes to the 30,000 plus who are already dead, with the numbers climbing, for so many, as a humanitarian issue, the mitigating circumstances of war it's not acceptable for so many civilian deaths. There were many Israelis who were against the current governments aggressive tactics. And for the first time Israel is not the underdog. They are the most powerful military in the Middle East. Furthermore, if Israel had the border better secured and he didn't intelligence reports who potential attack, we wouldn't be in this mess. Israel always has to take the high road because we're always judged more critically and to a higher standard then other countries. And the majority of people against Israel right now are ignorant of the history coming up to this point. And in such empirically, the high death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is just not acceptable. Hamas new that if Israel went to full scale War this is exactly how it would turn out the world sentiment would turn against Israel in favor of a terrorist organization. And again, why wasn't the border secured? Why were intelligent reports of a pending attack utterly ignored? So who should we blame? The current Israeli government of extreme right wing religious hawks. And citizens of Israel have obviously rallied around them during a time of war. But before this war started, many Israelis were angry and taking to the streets and refusing military service as reservist due to this ridiculous right wing government. I used to admire Bibi a lot. As a Jew talking to other Jews, I blame Netanyahu and his right wing cabinet heads for this entire fiasco. Still, as a Jew I support Israel. My parents were Holocaust survivors. And for us Jews, Israel is our Mecca and Vatican. We will not forsake Israel. Still, we have no chance of winning the public relations battle in regard to this war. At best we can preach to the choir, those Jews and gentiles who still support Israel in spite of this fiasco. Anyone who thinks otherwise, is as foolish, and reckless, as Netanyahu and his religious right-wing cronies are. And it's because of their recklessness we are in this situation right now.
Nachum, You've portrayed the truths so clearly of why Israel is desperately losing the PR war, now how can this clear logic both permeate Netanyahu's stubborn Israeli skull & go from "your mouth, your articulate logic, to his ears!?"
You state that 'The Jewish state is losing in the international court of opinion.' This is not true of where opinion matters. Israel is a vital bulwark against terrorist Islamism and Militia-cults like Hamas in The Middle East. This is understood by both intelligent mass-opinion here in The West and Western military and their cores in these Western States. So stay strong. The people who matter are absolutely with us, Israel.
Whatever psychological traits he has, he put Israel on the map, created a super power, created a market economy. We don’t need Mother Teresa in the arena with Hamas, Erdogan, Aiatollah, and other barbarians. May Gd give him strength. Amen.
A large part of the problem, if not the entire problem, is that Bibi does not allow a democratic government; It's HIS way or the highway. The fact that his position/his job are "land-locked" at such a critical time are a very uncertain Pandora's Box that's being intermittently unleashed. NO ONE can control him, and his impulsivity and mouth are either the perfect salve or alternately destructive to Israel.
I believe that Netanyahu is a bigger treat to Israeli Security as Hamas, and as much as Hezbollah! His divide and conquer tactics are de-stabilizing Israel! Just when an united, strong Israel is never, as never before, not just for Israel, but for the whole World! Planet Earth NEEDS a strong and prosperous Israel!
All Israel has to do is issue the following official statement:
REMEMBER THE 38 WORDS: The Jews are the indigenous inhabitants of Israel, ethnically cleansed by the colonial powers of Imperial Rome and Imperial Arabia. They have their country back, Baruch Hashem, and never again will they be driven off their ancestral land.
No PR will speak to these groups: In Muslim countries there is a religious fanaticism that is beyond reason-in the name of Allah, they lie, they murder, they commit martyrdom. That’s a big group. An other group, are those who know the truth, but they are deep down so antiSemitic that it blinds them. Another group are the Jews who in the name of some corrupted sense of Justice are siding up with the enemy. They are the most despicable. They are the wicked children at the Seder table.
"Adopting Better Slogans" -- #4 below -- has a good point. "Let my people go!" would have been much more effective in the international arena to keep the focus on the crime of the kidnapping. But "Bring them home now" as a rallying cry keeps the pressure on the Israeli government. It has the unfortunate consequence of taking the spotlight off of Hamas and creating internal domestic tension.
I suspect that this is why it was chosen by the protest organizers. It implies that the government should be doing something more, and that the prolonging of this dreadful nightmare is somehow the government's fault. I wish I were less cynical, but I smell a rat here.
Yes!!! The specific choice of words unfortunately can give a permanently-damaging message which aborts or hinders progress. Word choice is all important in this deepening rift in the Middle East & the deepening rift between Jews of the diaspora, set in motion as of October 7th, 2024.
Netanyahu is doing exactly what the Hamas propaganda apparatus wants him to do! The wise thing would be to do the exact opposite: Start with Raffah, cutting off smuggle routes, then make your way North, so that aid would have to go through Israel, not Egypt, making Israel look like the good guy!
I think your article hits the PR problem squarely on the head. Thanks for clarifying.
"It must state continuously that this war is about more than defeating Hamas; it is a fight for Israel’s and the Jewish People’s existence." Indeed and also, it is also a fight for Palestinian existence.
The well- being of Israel is interdependent with the well- being of the Palestinians.
Unfortunately, the other side has no credible representatives - I doubt if the population of Gaza still sees Hamas as advocating their cause.
Isn't there within Israel's democracy, within the Knesset someone who could rise to the occasion and become a reliable interlocutor?
I’m much more partial to “Release them NOW!”
This is been a problem from the beginning. It seems they -- not just Bibi -- don't actually care what the world thinks, and that is not helping!
Outstanding piece. Israel's culture of "directness" has led it chronically to underestimate the power of strategic PR. Israel needs be an office that focuses specifically on this, or if it has one, then it should be completely overhauled to be headed by a PR genius, and counseled by the best available Western style PR firm (that also has top flight digital expertise). This office should be integrated with the office of the Prime Minister and IDF, among others.
Yes! Do it! As they say in the work place, the person with the idea, gets the job. Go for it.
Something around 30, 000 Palestinians in Gaza have died. Primary reason so many are against Israel ,and the spike in anti-semitism is due to this humanitarian travesty. And empirically, it is a humanitarian travesty. Us Jews and our supporters mitigated stating this is war, a war we did not start, and Israel is not fighting against a traditional military force but Hamas, whose military is gorilla fighters and locate themselves within the Gazan populace. And when it comes to the 30,000 plus who are already dead, with the numbers climbing, for so many, as a humanitarian issue, the mitigating circumstances of war it's not acceptable for so many civilian deaths. There were many Israelis who were against the current governments aggressive tactics. And for the first time Israel is not the underdog. They are the most powerful military in the Middle East. Furthermore, if Israel had the border better secured and he didn't intelligence reports who potential attack, we wouldn't be in this mess. Israel always has to take the high road because we're always judged more critically and to a higher standard then other countries. And the majority of people against Israel right now are ignorant of the history coming up to this point. And in such empirically, the high death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is just not acceptable. Hamas new that if Israel went to full scale War this is exactly how it would turn out the world sentiment would turn against Israel in favor of a terrorist organization. And again, why wasn't the border secured? Why were intelligent reports of a pending attack utterly ignored? So who should we blame? The current Israeli government of extreme right wing religious hawks. And citizens of Israel have obviously rallied around them during a time of war. But before this war started, many Israelis were angry and taking to the streets and refusing military service as reservist due to this ridiculous right wing government. I used to admire Bibi a lot. As a Jew talking to other Jews, I blame Netanyahu and his right wing cabinet heads for this entire fiasco. Still, as a Jew I support Israel. My parents were Holocaust survivors. And for us Jews, Israel is our Mecca and Vatican. We will not forsake Israel. Still, we have no chance of winning the public relations battle in regard to this war. At best we can preach to the choir, those Jews and gentiles who still support Israel in spite of this fiasco. Anyone who thinks otherwise, is as foolish, and reckless, as Netanyahu and his religious right-wing cronies are. And it's because of their recklessness we are in this situation right now.
Nachum, You've portrayed the truths so clearly of why Israel is desperately losing the PR war, now how can this clear logic both permeate Netanyahu's stubborn Israeli skull & go from "your mouth, your articulate logic, to his ears!?"
You state that 'The Jewish state is losing in the international court of opinion.' This is not true of where opinion matters. Israel is a vital bulwark against terrorist Islamism and Militia-cults like Hamas in The Middle East. This is understood by both intelligent mass-opinion here in The West and Western military and their cores in these Western States. So stay strong. The people who matter are absolutely with us, Israel.
What do you expect when led by an an incompetent narcissist and populist, like Netanyahu? Nothing good ever comes from a narcissistic populist!
Whatever psychological traits he has, he put Israel on the map, created a super power, created a market economy. We don’t need Mother Teresa in the arena with Hamas, Erdogan, Aiatollah, and other barbarians. May Gd give him strength. Amen.
A large part of the problem, if not the entire problem, is that Bibi does not allow a democratic government; It's HIS way or the highway. The fact that his position/his job are "land-locked" at such a critical time are a very uncertain Pandora's Box that's being intermittently unleashed. NO ONE can control him, and his impulsivity and mouth are either the perfect salve or alternately destructive to Israel.
I believe that Netanyahu is a bigger treat to Israeli Security as Hamas, and as much as Hezbollah! His divide and conquer tactics are de-stabilizing Israel! Just when an united, strong Israel is never, as never before, not just for Israel, but for the whole World! Planet Earth NEEDS a strong and prosperous Israel!