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The
campaign will highlight Israel’s commitment to actively seek
peace with its neighbors
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WASHINGTON,
August 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – American Jews are
preoccupied with Israel’s public image as reflected in the American
media, an Israeli newspaper reported Tuesday, August 20.
Ha’aretz
said that over the past year, American Jews have tried almost
everything in an effort to influence public opinion - from organized
boycotts of media outlets, which the boycotters felt provided slanted
coverage of Israel, and public demonstrations of solidarity, to a
concerted effort to influence decision makers in the American
administration and on Capitol Hill.
However,
these Jewish activists still feel frustrated and fear they have not
succeeded in the battle over public opinion, the paper said.
According
to a new poll sponsored by the American Jewish Committee (AJC),
although the base of support is still strong and Israel’s situation
in terms of public opinion is infinitely better than that of the
Palestinians, in recent months there has been some erosion in support
for Israel and an increase in the number of those taking a neutral
position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reported Ha’aretz.
Because
of this poll, said the paper, Jewish organizations in the U.S. are
about to launch a nationwide television advertising campaign relating
to Israel. The first Israel-related ad is scheduled to air
coast-to-coast in two weeks or so. This is deemed a significant step
both in terms of the support it is intended to evoke and the huge
financial investment it entails, said Ha’aretz.
The
poll reviewed attitudes toward Israel among the overall American
population, among Jews, among students and among different ethnic
groups within the population. The purpose was to ascertain how the
American public reacts to different messages relating to Israel and
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in order to sharpen the message and
the desired emphases in pro-Israel lobbying efforts in the U.S, it
said.
The
main problem with the results of the poll, according to the paper, was
the fact that many Americans who in the past voiced support for Israel
seemed to adopt a neutral stance that sees both sides as responsible
for the situation and maintains that both parties must make an equal
effort to find a solution.
This
may result in a reduction of public pressure on Washington to support
Israel’s positions and may expose decision makers among the American
leadership to pressure from the other side, said Ha’aretz.
The
paper said that poll takers tried to check what could influence the
public to reinstate its unequivocal support of Israel and found two
main messages that work well on American public opinion. The first is
that Israel is a democracy just as the U.S. is, and like it, Israel
supports in practice, freedom of expression and equal rights.
This
message, it turns out, reinforces the connection between Americans and
Israel and manages to differentiate between Israel and its Arab
neighbors and get the public to move away from its balanced position
regarding the conflict, said Ha’aretz.
The
second message that was found effective was to highlight as a country
actively seeking peace with its neighbors and reference to the peace
agreements with Egypt and Jordan as well as Israel’s willingness to
pay a price for peace if there is a suitable partner on the other
side.
The
ads will initially air on the cable news stations - MSNBC, Fox News
and CNN - based on the assumption that they are the news sources for
the population segment that is involved in American political life. It
is possible that in the future they will also be aired on public
broadcasting stations. The organizers refuse to provide details on the
cost of the pro-Israel campaign, but the estimated cost of a
nationwide television ad campaign is in the millions of dollars, said Ha’aretz.
According
the paper, the organizers say that this is an American initiative with
American planning and American funding. They do not want to be
perceived as an arm of the government of Israel, the paper said.
But
this is not the first Israeli attempt to polish their image. On June
14, the Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahranot said that the
media adviser to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, an American,
recommended appointing women in media posts, esepcially those with
blond hair to explain the government stats to the international
television networks.
The
paper said that the Israeli Foreign Ministry received this
recommendation while it was discussing the problems facing the Israeli
media corps abroad.
The
ministry has received many e-mails and phone calls from Israeli women
who want to apply for the job, while many others sent their photos,
the paper said.
Earlier
this year in March, the Israeli government has banned the filming of
Israeli incursions into Palestinian territories after a TV channel
broadcast Israeli soldiers raiding a Palestinian refugee camp in
Bethlehem.
The
broadcast of television images the Israeli army wanted censored has
raised concerns that Israelis are getting a sanitized view of the
conflict with Palestinians, reported the Canadian daily Toronto
Star.
Last
August, The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ deputy spokesman,
Emmanuel Nahshon told AFP that high ranking officials have been
dispatched to France to hire a major public relations firm to restore
Israel’s reputation across Europe.
High-profile
intellectuals and artists will also be called on to influence
colleagues and the masses, Nahshon said.
“We
believe there’s been a devaluation of the image of Israel and we
want to restore a more positive image,” he added.
“Israel
was in final negotiations with an unnamed French firm, and a deal
could be signed within days with the campaign to start shortly
after,” Nahshon said..
Israel
already employs a PR firm in the United States, the New York-based
Howard J. Rubenstein Associates, to win the hearts and minds of
Americans, the Jerusalem Post reported.
This
has already resulted in more women and less people wearing army
uniforms in Israeli PR campaigns and the Israeli Defense Force hiring
a spokeswoman who speaks English fluently, without an Israeli accent.
