Israeli PR: No problem, right?
I heard a different tone from Orli Gil, Israel’s consul general in Chicago, at the American Jewish Press Association Conference last week in Evanston, IL. since I heard Regev speak in the beginning of 2006 Israel’s been through two wars (Lebanon, Gaza), two election cycles (Olmert, Netanyahu) and what looks to be a major shift in US-Israel relations. But the key issues remain the same: during that 2006 trip we discussed Iran, the occupation, terrorism and demographics and Gil’s speech focused on Iran, the occupation, terrorism and demographics, though of course the Iran piece had a different angle this time.
But though she was traveling down the same road as Regev, Gil wasn’t driving a Cadillac. She struck a defensive posture in her speech to the dozens of Jewish journalists present and ended the talk by asserting that Israel may do things that are unpopular, but that doesn’t mean that it has to apologize or change its ways.
The events of the past three years do provide some explanation for the tension: in 2006, the Israeli government had the pro-settlement Bush as a partner rather than the tough-love Obama; Hamas didn’t hold power in Gaza and Bibi Netanyahu was just returning from exile in his own party; The Iranian regime was further away from nuclear capability and wasn’t shooting innocent protesters on the streets.
Even so, Gil’s speech bothered me. The unpopular-but-right line was the same one used by Bush regarding the Iraq War and I’m not looking forward to a “stay the course” mentality in Israel. Public opinion does matter and by taking it into account Israel could gain PR points and work toward reconciliation on a regional and global scale. The statement that Israel doesn’t care about what other people think serves to alienate potential partners and frames Israel as a lone wolf. With the middle east fraught with problems and a US regime in place that has an increased mandate to deal with them, Israel must work together with others, not declare its isolation from those who criticize it.
Furthermore, Gil had no reason to act defensive in the face of the American Jewish media, which may have internal disagreements but which remain staunch in their support of the Jewish State on almost all counts. Framing Israel as on the defensive poses its claims as dubious, and Gil didn’t seem confident in her assertions. it was a good thing for GIl, then, that most of the people in the room agreed with her. I doubt, however, that the rest of the media world would be so kind.
Because Israel isn’t a Cadillac: it has issues that it must address with forward-looking solutions, in concert with willing partners. And those issues won’t be solved by good PR: Israel needs to walk the walk if it plans to keep talking.
