{Previously published in The Jerusalem Post}
Wouldn’t be great if Isrotel worked with StandWithUs like El Al, to empower their employees, helping them to realize they are the face of Israel.
American supporters of Israel have complained for years that
Israel’s public relations, hasbara, has been ineffective, counter-productive,
and its importance for strengthening the US-Israeli relationship unappreciated
by Israelis as a core national security interest.
This all came to mind during a wonderful weekend wedding at one of Israel’s
leading hotels, when I went to breakfast and the only newspaper available to
read was the Haaretz/New York Times edition. This was not the first time this
has happened to me in Israel.
Haaretz’s Hebrew-language readership is dwarfed by other Israeli print dailies,
but you would never know that if you were a visiting American tourist or
English-speaking journalist staying at some of Israel’s many fine hotels,
reading the Haaretz English edition that is combined with The New York Times,
another paper that has a long history of harshly critical views of Israeli
policy.
Within Israel, the newspaper is widely known as being to the
hard-left of the political spectrum, representative of a small segment of the
Israeli population, although it is influential within Israeli academia and
intelligentsia. It is a legitimate and important viewpoint, but not one
representative of the majority of the Israeli people based upon election
results and surveys over many years.
When an English-speaking journalist, organizational leader or businessperson
visits Israel, if they receive only one critical viewpoint to start their day,
does this matter? It does, and it is representative of the greater problem of
Israel’s approach and investment in projecting a positive image, and explaining
its policies to a world that is increasing hostile to its very right to exist.
There is little doubt that some of the news writers for Haaretz, not only its
editorial and opinion-page journalists, are profoundly hostile to Israeli
policy. When I brought this up with then chief political columnist, editorial
writer and US bureau chief, Akiva Eldar, at his Haaretz office about 10 years
ago, complaining that news articles shouldn’t be editorialized and should
strive to present a factually balanced news story, he simply told me to go read
another paper.
So when a hotel offers only Haaretz to its guests, it’s representative of a
pervasive Israeli attitude that stretches from the halls of the Knesset to
Israeli companies to the Prime Minister’s Office that they are indifferent or
exasperated, that they need to continually plead to the world for understanding
of their precarious situation.
But when you are a lonely democracy living in a very bad neighborhood, you’d
better start caring.
Haaretz is a legitimate view of Israel but not the only one.
If during your time in Israel when impressions are formed and this is the only
newspaper you read, as it is for too many foreign journalists, it will present
a distorted and biased view. In short, it feeds the echo chamber for those who
see Israel responsible for all the problems of the Middle East and the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict – a brutal, undemocratic, colonialist occupier.
BUT FOCUSING the blame for bad public relations on Israeli businesses is just
the tip of the iceberg, as Israel’s government has slashed its investment into
its Foreign Ministry that is tasked with explaining its case to America and to
an unsympathetic world. Instead of expanding and increasing consulates in the
United States, there are plans to close consulates.
This month Israel ordered most of its overseas embassies to stop work due to a
“grave deficit” of its Foreign Ministry budget.
According to the Foreign Ministry, “The main effect is that during this
sensitive time, when faced with diplomatic and strategic challenges… foremost
among them the threat by Iran… and on the eve of a UN General Assembly – the
Foreign Ministry and its missions abroad will be almost entirely paralyzed.”
This is insanity.
PM Netanyahu bears responsibility as he has overshadowed his own foreign
ministers, when he has appointed them at all, choosing inexperienced
lightweights, the most recent having made too many mistakes since filling the
vacancy earlier this year.
Sometimes Israelis do get it, as when StandWithUs partnered with El Al pilots
and flight attendants, helping them use their two-to-three day layovers
overseas to educate people about the real Israel, sharing their personal
stories.
Which brings us back to the wedding at one of Israel‘s best hotels owned by one
of Israel’s leading hotel chains, Isrotel. The assistant manager told me that
offering Haaretz was the way it has been for years. I explained why multiple
viewpoints are important for their guests and for Israel’s hasbara, or public
diplomacy.
The guests at the wedding included many distinguished young American and
Europeans from the world of governments, business and NGO’S.
When they walked into the dining room and picked up their English-language
newspaper, they were presented with a one-sided minority Israeli view, but most
were completely unaware of this.
Wouldn’t be great if Isrotel worked with StandWithUs like El Al, to empower
their employees, helping them to realize they are the face of Israel.
Israel is about to form a new coalition government. Whether it is led by
incumbent Prime Minister Netanyahu or Blue and White’s Benny Gantz, both need
to realize that Israel’s security is not just in the hands of its very capable
defense forces, but needs the help of all of its people, companies and
government to present the real Israel in all its beauty and complexities.
It’s about time Israel started putting its best face forward with increased
government expenditures for its Foreign Ministry overseas, and work in
partnership with Israeli companies and their employees, who very often are the
only face that the world sees representing Israel.
Criticism is great for the health of a democracy. Thank you Haaretz. But if you
have only criticism reinforced by poor hasbara, then at the end of the day
instead of debating Israeli policy with the world, you will continue to simply
fight to explain why you have a right to exist at all.
The writer is the director of the Middle East Political Information Network
who regularly briefs members of the Senate, House and their foreign policy
advisers. He is a columnist for The Jerusalem Post, and a contributor to i24TV,
The Hill, JTA, and The Forward.