I’ve maintained for a while that Israel has been shooting itself in the foot by its inability to play the public relations game. While the PA has the international media eating out of its hand, the Israeli government has dispatched standoffish spokespeople with poor English skills, issued a host of “no comments” or “we’re investigating”, and has failed to come up with the catchy one-liner soundbytes to advertise its cause.
That appears to be changing, as Israel is at last acknowledging that sometimes it’s not enough to be right; you have to be snappy. This media strategy is sure to have an impact:
Jerusalem bus wrecked in a suicide bombing was readied Tuesday for a flight to the Netherlands as part of an Israeli public relations offensive surrounding a World Court hearing on Israel’s West Bank barrier.
Israel’s Zaka private emergency service said it was sending the charred skeleton of Bus 19, in which 11 people were killed on Jan. 29 when a Palestinian policeman blew himself up, as grim evidence of how Israel has “suffered from terror.”
The bus, taken in pieces to Ben-Gurion airport on a flatbed truck, was to be flown out Wednesday and displayed outside the World Court in The Hague during next week’s hearings on the legality of the barrier Israel is building in the West Bank.
As an advertising person, this strategy is sound. It’s sure to make a strong emotional impact. But it’s funny… I’ve been arguing for so long that Israel should swing a few punches on the public relations front, and now that they’re finally doing so, it’s leaving a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
I can’t help but feeling that it’s wrong somehow for Israel to stoop to the level of media ploys or one-liners. I’m in no position to criticize; the cynic in me knows that perception is reality. But maybe I keep thinking that it would be nice if Israel were above these cheap strategies… that it would be nice if the world recognized right and wrong instead of catchphrases and slogans.
Still, a reality check tells me that Israel is just presenting its case in the strongest way possible, and that it’s about time.
Perhaps Israel doesn’t have a valid case for building a wall and has to resort to cheap strategies to convince people.
Perhaps the Palestinians don’t have a case to wipe the jews out and have to resort to cheap strategies to convince people.
I agree. It is their fault after all. They are the terrorists.