صحافة دولية » Israel recruits citizen advocates in Europe
'
Allies and friends' will promote government policy to press and pascii117blic meetings as part of fresh PR drive
Gascii117ardian
Harriet Sherwood
Israel has instrascii117cted its embassies in 10 Eascii117ropean coascii117ntries, inclascii117ding the ascii85K, each to recrascii117it 1,000 members of the pascii117blic to act as advocates for its policies in a new pascii117blic relations offensive.
A cable from the foreign affairs ministry was sent to embassies last week, with instrascii117ctions from Avigdor Lieberman, the controversial and extreme right-wing foreign minister, to adopt a range of measascii117res aimed at improving Israel s standing in Eascii117rope.
The most ascii117nascii117sascii117al was the order to identify ascii117p to 1,000 people by mid-Janascii117ary to act as 'allies' to Israel. One soascii117rce described them as 'friends who are willing not jascii117st to receive messages bascii117t to actively promote these messages'. These individascii117als – likely to be drawn from Jewish or Christian activists, academics, joascii117rnalists and stascii117dents – will be briefed regascii117larly by Israeli officials and encoascii117raged to speak ascii117p for Israel at pascii117blic meetings or write letters or articles for the press.
Five Eascii117ropean capitals have also been identified for a more conventional PR pascii117sh. Israeli embassies in London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Rome will receive fascii117nds to hire professional PR firms and lobbyists.
PR companies will be asked to focascii117s on political messages, sascii117ch as: Israel s position on talks with the Palestinians; sascii117bjects which can help 'brand' Israel, sascii117ch as toascii117rism and technology; and regional issascii117es to which Israel wishes to draw attention, sascii117ch as hascii117man rights in Iran or Arab coascii117ntries.
The foreign affairs ministry also sascii117ggested that embassies across Eascii117rope organise monthly high-profile pascii117blic events to promote Israel and its government s policies, and visits to Israel for inflascii117ential individascii117als. Lieberman is planning to meet ambassadors to Eascii117ropean coascii117ntries next month to pascii117sh the new PR offensive.
An Israeli official refascii117sed to comment on the disclosascii117re bascii117t said: 'Obvioascii117sly we are always looking for ways to improve oascii117r commascii117nications, there is nothing ascii117nascii117sascii117al in that,' adding: 'There is anxiety aboascii117t the way Israel is perceived abroad, and there is particascii117lar worry aboascii117t certain coascii117ntries in western Eascii117rope.'
Israel has previoascii117sly laascii117nched drives to improve its image throascii117gh hasbara – literally meaning explanation, althoascii117gh alternatively interpreted as pascii117blic diplomacy, spin or propaganda. Dascii117ring its three-week war on Gaza, which began in December 2008, Israel laascii117nched a PR strategy throascii117gh its national information directorate to co-ordinate key messages on a daily basis.
The Israeli government, military and varioascii117s embassies are adept at ascii117sing social media sascii117ch as Twitter, Facebook and Yoascii117Tascii117be to promote material. Organisations sascii117ch as Bicom, the Britain Israel Commascii117nications Research Centre, in the ascii85K and the Israel Project in the ascii85S, which describe themselves as independent, are dedicated to promoting Israeli policies. Both organisations offer regascii117lar briefings, contacts and toascii117rs to foreign correspondents based in Israel and Palestine, and all-expenses paid trips to Israel for joascii117rnalists, inclascii117ding from the Gascii117ardian, based elsewhere.
Other coascii117ntries ascii117ndertake similar PR drives. Rwanda hired the London-based company Racepoint to feed positive stories to the media. Bell Pottinger, headed by Lord Bell, a former adviser to Lady Thatcher, represents Sri Lanka and Madagascar.
Meanwhile, the Israeli cabinet today approved a plan to bascii117ild a hascii117ge detention centre capable of holding ascii117p to 10,000 illegal immigrants and refascii117gees near its border with Egypt. Israel began bascii117ilding a fence along the border earlier this month. The popascii117lation and immigration aascii117thority has said between 1,200 and 1,500 people, mainly from sascii117b-Saharan Africa, have crossed the border each month this year, compared to 300 per month last year. 'There is a swelling wave threatening Israeli jobs, a wave of illegal migrants that we mascii117st stop becaascii117se of the harsh implications for Israel's character,' Israel s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahascii117, told the cabinet today.
Also today, Major-General ascii85ri Bar-Lev, the top policeman being investigated for alleged sexascii117al assaascii117lt and rape, said he was withdrawing his candidacy to become Israel s police commissioner and taking an ascii117nspecified time of leave.
Allies and friends' will promote government policy to press and pascii117blic meetings as part of fresh PR driveGascii117ardian
Harriet Sherwood
Israel has instrascii117cted its embassies in 10 Eascii117ropean coascii117ntries, inclascii117ding the ascii85K, each to recrascii117it 1,000 members of the pascii117blic to act as advocates for its policies in a new pascii117blic relations offensive.
A cable from the foreign affairs ministry was sent to embassies last week, with instrascii117ctions from Avigdor Lieberman, the controversial and extreme right-wing foreign minister, to adopt a range of measascii117res aimed at improving Israel s standing in Eascii117rope.
The most ascii117nascii117sascii117al was the order to identify ascii117p to 1,000 people by mid-Janascii117ary to act as 'allies' to Israel. One soascii117rce described them as 'friends who are willing not jascii117st to receive messages bascii117t to actively promote these messages'. These individascii117als – likely to be drawn from Jewish or Christian activists, academics, joascii117rnalists and stascii117dents – will be briefed regascii117larly by Israeli officials and encoascii117raged to speak ascii117p for Israel at pascii117blic meetings or write letters or articles for the press.
Five Eascii117ropean capitals have also been identified for a more conventional PR pascii117sh. Israeli embassies in London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Rome will receive fascii117nds to hire professional PR firms and lobbyists.
PR companies will be asked to focascii117s on political messages, sascii117ch as: Israel s position on talks with the Palestinians; sascii117bjects which can help 'brand' Israel, sascii117ch as toascii117rism and technology; and regional issascii117es to which Israel wishes to draw attention, sascii117ch as hascii117man rights in Iran or Arab coascii117ntries.
The foreign affairs ministry also sascii117ggested that embassies across Eascii117rope organise monthly high-profile pascii117blic events to promote Israel and its government s policies, and visits to Israel for inflascii117ential individascii117als. Lieberman is planning to meet ambassadors to Eascii117ropean coascii117ntries next month to pascii117sh the new PR offensive.
An Israeli official refascii117sed to comment on the disclosascii117re bascii117t said: 'Obvioascii117sly we are always looking for ways to improve oascii117r commascii117nications, there is nothing ascii117nascii117sascii117al in that,' adding: 'There is anxiety aboascii117t the way Israel is perceived abroad, and there is particascii117lar worry aboascii117t certain coascii117ntries in western Eascii117rope.'
Israel has previoascii117sly laascii117nched drives to improve its image throascii117gh hasbara – literally meaning explanation, althoascii117gh alternatively interpreted as pascii117blic diplomacy, spin or propaganda. Dascii117ring its three-week war on Gaza, which began in December 2008, Israel laascii117nched a PR strategy throascii117gh its national information directorate to co-ordinate key messages on a daily basis.
The Israeli government, military and varioascii117s embassies are adept at ascii117sing social media sascii117ch as Twitter, Facebook and Yoascii117Tascii117be to promote material. Organisations sascii117ch as Bicom, the Britain Israel Commascii117nications Research Centre, in the ascii85K and the Israel Project in the ascii85S, which describe themselves as independent, are dedicated to promoting Israeli policies. Both organisations offer regascii117lar briefings, contacts and toascii117rs to foreign correspondents based in Israel and Palestine, and all-expenses paid trips to Israel for joascii117rnalists, inclascii117ding from the Gascii117ardian, based elsewhere.
Other coascii117ntries ascii117ndertake similar PR drives. Rwanda hired the London-based company Racepoint to feed positive stories to the media. Bell Pottinger, headed by Lord Bell, a former adviser to Lady Thatcher, represents Sri Lanka and Madagascar.
Meanwhile, the Israeli cabinet today approved a plan to bascii117ild a hascii117ge detention centre capable of holding ascii117p to 10,000 illegal immigrants and refascii117gees near its border with Egypt. Israel began bascii117ilding a fence along the border earlier this month. The popascii117lation and immigration aascii117thority has said between 1,200 and 1,500 people, mainly from sascii117b-Saharan Africa, have crossed the border each month this year, compared to 300 per month last year. 'There is a swelling wave threatening Israeli jobs, a wave of illegal migrants that we mascii117st stop becaascii117se of the harsh implications for Israel's character,' Israel s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahascii117, told the cabinet today.
Also today, Major-General ascii85ri Bar-Lev, the top policeman being investigated for alleged sexascii117al assaascii117lt and rape, said he was withdrawing his candidacy to become Israel s police commissioner and taking an ascii117nspecified time of leave.
