Of
Israel, Passover, Palestine, Apartheid and PR
Why do
we call Israeli Arabs "Palestinians"?
By
Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem,
Israel --- April 12, 2012 .... It is often said that we sometimes
can't see the forest for the trees. So it goes for Israel's PR
efforts.
Israel
suffers everyday. We suffer from a lack of global understanding
of the true facts. And this suffering transcends into threats
to our very physical survival. The war of words is overlooked
by Israel and the Jewish community for the war of bullets.
Iran,
Syria, Saudi Arabia, Hamas and Islamic Jihad backed Palestine
(there is no entity as Palestine - but it is carved here for purposes
of SEO) have millions of dollars to retain the best, most creative
PR and advertising agencies. And it shows.
Their
marketing events such as the "Flotilla", "Global
March on Jerusalem" the "Apartheid Wall" and the
upcoming "Welcome to Palestine Flytilla" PR campaigns
are right on target.
So
where does Israel miss the Flotilla boat?
First,
the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has very little money.
They are lucky to pay their rent in Jerusalem and in embassies
around the world. Recently, diplomats from the MFA went on strike
just so that they could feed their children. There is no money
for PR. They have a meager training budget and that's it. They
rely on non-profit and volunteer organizations such as The Israel
Project, CAMERA, MEMRI - The Middle East Media Research Institute
and HonestReporting.com all of which do a fine and noble job.
We can't forget support from the ADL, AJC and the WZO.
But even they suffer from being overwhelmed and under staffed
by anti-Israel and anti-Semitic campaigns coming from all directions.
They are putting out fires. Little time to create potent strategies
and powerful campaigns let alone able to look at the big picture.
Case
in point is Passover.
As
Jews we all celebrate it. We honor it. We even eat matzah and
gefilte fish.
But we totally neglect it in addressing Israel's existence today.
Yes, we talk among ourselves about being freed from slavery in
Egypt but we totally neglect getting out the Passover branding
and messaging for Israel's right to exist today!
When
Iran and the Arab world talk about "occupation" - we
must ask ourselves and those around us, what occupation?
Did
we not reenter Israel thousands of years ago from Egypt?
Where
were the Palestinians then? Did we occupy their land? Did we rape
their women and steal their houmous and camels?
Israel
should give Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich citizenship
and make him a Deputy Foreign Minister. He has done more to address
the real status of Palestinians than anyone else since 1964, calling
them an "invented" people.
When
the pro-Hamas Palestinians say "occupation" we need
to say "Passover".
When the pro-Hezbollah Palestinians say Jerusalem, we need to
say "Passover".
When US President Barack Obama refuses to recognize Jerusalem
as the capital of Israel (that is when he is not campaigning for
President) we need to say "Passover".
Passover
commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites
were freed from slavery in Egypt. This was in 1446 B.C. In Jewish
tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical patriarchs
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the second millennium BCE.
The
Palestinians did not build Jerusalem. Jews did!
King
David of Israel first established Jerusalem as the capital of
the united Kingdom of Israel in c.1000 BCE, and his son Solomon
commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city. Now
let's go fast forward. Yasser Arafat invented a nation called
Palestine in 1964. There were no Palestinians - these were Arabs
who lived in the biblical, historical land of Israel who chose
war to exterminate Israel rather than having their own state in
1948.
But
you see what we are doing? We
can't see the forest for the trees as we deal with all of these
dry and boring dates.
We
need simple, exciting sound bytes.
"Israel
wants peace - not propaganda and missiles."
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Solution:
display advertising on buses and subways, from Moscow, Paris,
Geneva and London to Washington, Tokyo, New York and Toronto.
Banner ads on Facebook and Google all asking: "Israel. What
occupation?"
Or
"Are The Palestinians An Invented People?"
Add
some small print with details. "Jews in Israel over 5,772
years. Palestinians: a people created in 1964."
"Israel
wants peace - not propaganda and missiles."
As
for all other issues such as Apartheid, IDF security checkpoints
and the IDF handing out poisonous candy to Arab babies - all secondary.
Yes, Israel wants peace. This tiny democracy that gave away Gaza
for what? More missiles and lethal rhetoric.
The
Arab agenda is simple. They deflect away from the lack of employment
and human rights in their own nations and use Israel as a media
diversion. Do they care about Arabs living in Israel - heck no.
They push for Israel's total destruction. Not because they see
Israel as a threat, but because they see democracy as a threat.
We
need to have 5 questions on Passover. The fifth being: "how
long has Israel been in existence and why do we call Arabs - Palestinians?
We
need to ask this question to journalists using inexpensive but
far reaching social media during, before and after Passover.
Pass
the matzah and wine.
The
author has practiced professional PR and public affairs for over
25 years. He has served as a senior media consultant to the Israel
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the IDF. He can be found at JewishPr.co,
DigitalPrConsultant.com,
ReputationManagementPr.com
and JoelLeyden.com
The
above news content was edited and SEO optimized in Israel by the
Leyden Digital Media Group - Israel, New York.
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