Guest Post: Arial Conference Part III

This is part three in a series of guest posts by Mark L. Levinson.

Does the Government Care?

Levy finished speaking, and Ben-Menachem told the audience there would be no questions from the floor.  To those who objected, he said.  “That’s the way it is, and you’ll find the exit over there.”  He put a question of his own to Seaman of the Government Press Office, as to whether the hasbara officers were influencing government policy or merely composing justifications for whatever the government did.

Seaman replied that prime ministers Arik Sharon, Ehud Olmert, and particularly Bibi Netanyahu did take international opinion into consideration as part of decision-making.  And under Yuli Edelstein, the Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Public Diplomacy, hasbara was going directly out to the people of the world, bypassing the gateways it once had to pass through.

The Israeli public supported the recent war, and thus it showed that it does believe in the justice of our course. 

As for Gideon Levy’s remarks, the difference between Goldstone’s previous investigations and his Gaza investigation is that the previous ones were not in support of a conclusion that was dictated in advance.  Levy, said Seaman, is trying to divert responsibility from the Arab side.  If there is a universal law, then it should be applied fairly.  And world is not totally against us.  The media and the academic world are against us, but not all the governments are. 

Personality Trumps Behavior

While Seaman was replying, a panelist showed up late:  Ido Aharoni of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who from 2001 to 2005 was a consul for hasbara in New York.  He briefly took his turn at the rostrum.

Having been near the scene on 9/11, he considered it an event of Biblical proportions.  What does the event mean for us? 

First, he said, we must realize that the hasbara paradigm of the last sixty years, the teaching of our history and the promulgation of logic, is pointless.  People are not open to changing their opinions.  What they want is reinforcement for the opinions they already have. 

Second, we must realize that support is granted not on the basis of behavior but on the basis of perceived personality.  Life in Brazil, for example, is not all fun and games by any means, but Brazil enjoys an image of fun, and the gap between image and reality is worth billions of dollars to the Brazilian economy.  To the world, Brazil means fun, Paris means romance, and Israel means conflict.

Even people who support Israel do not want to visit Israel, invest in Israel, experience Israeli culture, or have any contact with Israel at all because they don’t like conflicts.

New York managed between 1975 and 1990 to turn its image around to a much more positive one, and Israel should do the same.

We’re Not Allowed To Behave like America

Ben-Menachem the moderator went back to his questions, addressing one to Gideon Levy:  Is the American way of warfare so different from Israel’s?  Or is Israel criticized merely because it is a small Jewish state among an ocean of Arabs?  How would you expect us to combat terror?

Levy answered that if he were an American, he would oppose the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but being Israeli he concerns himself foremost with Israel.

The small nations cannot get away with what the big nations get away with; that’s how the world is and it won’t change, not even with respect to a narrow interest such as the country’s image.

Operation Cast Lead brought more harm to our image than it brought benefit to the country.

As for terror, there is the question of why it exists.  It has reasons.  We on the Zionist side have committed some unsavory acts ourselves, including blowing up a hotel.  To reduce terror (“not to eliminate it entirely, I stress,” said Levy), end the occupation.

We’re Off the Front Page

Ido Aharoni had started making a point about 9/11 but had not got around to completing it.  Ben-Menachem returned to 9/11 in a question to Aharoni.  Back then there had been a feeling that now the world understands.  President Bush started displaying understanding toward Ariel Sharon.  What happened since then to change the atmosphere?  And what is the effect of the transition from a Republican president to a black Democratic president who has not concealed his desire for conciliation with Islam?

First, said Aharoni, conditions have not changed since 9/11.  The structural changes are still with us, stronger than ever.  Israel as a story receded from the front page and has never returned there, not even during Operation Cast Lead.  The Goldstone Report is a non-issue in the USA.  In Europe it is a small issue.  It’s a big issue nowhere but here in Israel.  That is the effect of 9/11.

Second, there is the idea of linkage, which had been our enemy.  The idea that the whole problem revolves around Israel and Palestine, and that if you solve that, you solve everything.  People were shown by 9/11, by Kuwait, by Al Qaeda, that not everything is connected to Israel and Palestine.  The letter that Muhammad Atta the 9/11 terrorist left behind didn’t say a word about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

In France if you ask which side people support, it’s 16% the Palestinians, 9% Israel, and 75% no opinion.  What interests us does not interest them, and the things that upset us aren’t on the American radar either. 

Nuances of greater or lesser support from the US president don’t reach the awareness of the American public.  American support for Israel has stayed at the same level, somewhere above 60%, through war and peace since 1967.  The best-known reason is the values we share with Protestant America.

Any Quick Fixes?

To conclude, Ben-Menachem asked the three panelists the same question:  What could Israel do in the next half year to improve its image in the world?

Seaman said that Israel should stay alert to matters of image, but should do whatever is best for the country.

Aharoni said that rapid response is important for crisis control but we should not concentrate on crisis management alone.  We need to understand what interests the world and to exploit our niche strengths.  For example, we have an attractive lifestyle, we are active in international aid, we are strong in science, culture, and the arts.  We should do targeted marketing, narrowcasting to those who will see us as a place for fun and for investment

Levy said we should end the occupation.