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The
Jewish Agency And Why Does Israel PR Fail?
By
Joel Leyden Jerusalem, Israel ---- December 17, 2010 ...... Just a few days ago I applied for the position of VP Marketing Communications for the Jewish Agency. Within 48 hours I was told that I that I was too late to apply. They were interviewing "finalists". Is
one ever too late to apply for a job? That is until someone is
actually made an offer and signs a contract? I have been in the international public relations and public affairs business for over 20 years. In that time I was approached to create the first commercial Website back in 1995, the first Website for the Prime Minister's Office, the first English news site out of Israel and the first Website for the IDF. I successfully integrated classic PR, advertising and journalism into Web 2.0 - social media. And recently returned from Haiti assiting both the IDF and the MFA with badly needed onsite public relations. So what credentials did I lack? Well, I have team experience from serving in IDF combat units and the spokesperson's unit in the IDF. The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs retains me to train their diplomats. And I was ready to give up far more money in a successful, private international business in digital PR, SEO, social networking and crisis communications. So what was I missing? I ask this question publicly to the Jewish Agency. Not because I need their money. Not because I love the Jewish Agency. The reason is that Israel will not lose an opportunity to miss an opportunity. I am calling out the Jewish Agency on the candidate who does secure this position and kindly ask the public to raise the following questions. How
many years experience in international marketing and branding
does that Jewish Agency professional have? Lastly, can you show us how they have made one, major issue pertaining to Israel sparkle and shine? Will this PR and marketing professional for the Jewish Agency work with or work against the private and successful immigration organization Nefesh B'Nefesh? Ya see, it's not the job. It's Israel's near total lack of professionalism in conducting it's PR activities. The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made great strides in recent years in improving their professional public affairs operations with such stars as Amir Gissin, David Saranga, Noam Katz, Yaron Gamburg, Yigal Palmor, Jonathan Peled, Arye Mekel, Ronit Ben Dor, Joel Lion, Gil Lainer, Eliaz Luf and political appointees Michael Oren, Danny Ayalon, Tal Brody, Ashley Perry and Ron Prosor. At the IDF Avital Leibovitz and Aliza Landes makes us proud. And spokesperson for the Israel Police Micky Rosenfeld has both the smile and the soundbytes. And then we have superstar Mark Regev at Israel Prime Minister's Office. We had mega super star Daniel Seaman at the GPO - but opps - he's gone. But this elite public affairs team still faces massive internal and external walls. The internal walls I will not go into detail as Israel has enough problems with strategic information getting to her enemies but some basic facts do remain and need to be addressed. Israel PR suffers from a lack of money. Lack of budget. I would think that the brave firefighters received a greater annual budget than the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs gets for Hasbara or PR. And we saw what limited job the firefighters did with the recent Carmel Forest fire disaster. Israel also suffers from a lack of professional manpower. Again, I will not go into logistics. But with more money budgeted for PR manpower and operations, Israel would be able to confront the professional efforts of pro Islamic Jihad organizations such as Fenton Communications which was paid almost $400,000 to make Israel look bad on behalf of Qatar and Turkey for their "Flotilla" operation. Last, but not least, it's a numbers game. There is more Arab oil money than Israeli scheckels and more Arabs than there are Israelis. More representatives of Arab states in the UN, EU and the US State Department than whatever Israel has. Who's
winning the PR war? We are engaged
in two wars - a bloody, sweaty battle of bullets and a real-time
digital media war of words. One must take
a very close, objective look at Israel's present PR efforts to
understand why we have and continue to lose. Our enemies
are smart. They don't need tanks and F-16s. All they need is a
computer to upload images which will shock you. Images and soundbytes
that will make you fear them more than they fear us. To create
a consensus to retreat from Gaza for all of the wrong reasons.
We don't need
to display the heads of Islamic terrorists to win this war. To win this PR war we must play by the same rules as our enemy. The Americans in 1776, who were greatly outnumbered, did not walk in open formation when they entered the battlefield. They took cover from behind trees and rocks, ambushed by night and changed the rules of warfare. They were called cowards by the Brits but in the end, the creative "cowards" won the war. The British, who out of collective pride could not adapt, lost. We don't need to display the heads of Palestinians to win this war. What we do need is the immediate, urgent action of Netanyahu and his chief advisor Ron Dermer to deliver his promise of creating a professional, effective governmental PR apparatus which would be directly under his control with private, professional, crisis media logistical consultancy support. It is time
for Islamic terrorists and the populations which support them
to fear us more than we fear them. So I ask the
Jewish Agency, with the good money which is donated to you, who
have you chosen to represent the Jewish people? Yes. I'm angry because my children live in Israel. I'm angry because my children are in real danger. I'm angry
because the problem is not the Jewish Agency. Something which directly results in Jewish lives being murdered in that tiny, democratic land called Israel.
The above news content was edited and SEO optimized in Israel by the Leyden Digital PR SEO New Media Group - Israel, New York.
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