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Jewish World Review Dec. 7, 2000/ 12 Kislev 5761
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
THERE ARE MANY stereotypes about the Jewish people and, as we all know,
most of them are not true.
No, we don’t run the world. No, we aren’t obsessed with money. No, we
aren’t devious and untrustworthy.
And there’s one more stereotype about us I’d like laid to rest once and for
all.
That we’re smart.
We aren’t. And if there was any doubt about that, there shouldn’t be after
the most recent example of just how not smart we are.
Especially when it comes to public relations. Ironic, since another
stereotype about us is that we control the media.
Control it? Heck, we can’t even spin it. When it comes to dealing with it,
we are the most ham- handed people on the face of the earth.
Especially when it comes to Israel. And that becomes especially clear at
times like now, when Israel is much in the news and when Israel needs all
the help it can get in terms of its image and in terms of where it’s coming
from.
Though most Jews believe the media is out to get us, that it does much to
make Israel look bad, the fact is not only isn’t that true but it’s dangerous for
us to think so. Dangerous first because thinking so makes the media out to
be our enemy when it isn’t and so leads us to a hostility that is misguided
and counter productive. It’s dangerous second because it lets us off the
hook, doesn’t let us see how much is our fault.
That’s right, our fault. For what we should be doing but aren’t is getting our
message across effectively. Instead, we spend too much time complaining
about the media and too little effort spinning the media.
The problem is that Jews don’t believe in spinning and so aren’t very good
at it, when they bother to do it at all, which they usually don’t.
Jews have been taught from birth about our traditional allegiance to
absolute truth and justice, have been weaned on all our learned and
lengthy and legalistic texts.
All of which is good but not at all good in a media age of the Internet and
24-hour cable news channels.
The values we most hold dear are exactly the values that’ll kill you where it
most counts in today’s media world. Thick statements about where truth and
justice lay, long examples of what the facts really are, don’t cut it in a world
that wants the pithy quote, the fast reaction, the catchy sound bite.
There is not the time nor the inclination nor the patience within the media
for how we operate. That ain’t anti-Semitism, that’s reality.
But instead of seeing that and adapting to it, we try to ignore it, rail against
it. And continue to do things as we did them when the dominant mode of
communication was chiseling words onto rocks.
The most recent example of how lousy we are at p.r. came last week. You
will recall that in September, there was the memorable image of a
12-year-old Palestinian boy cowering near his father as a gun battle raged
all around them, resulting in the boy’s death.
Israel took a big media hit as a result of that. But one of the truths of this
fast-paced, ever-changing media world is that everything passes, and
sooner rather than later. Yesterday’s giant news story is forgotten two days
later as the media moves on to today’s giant news story.
In the case of the 12-year-old Palestinian boy, that was good news for
Israel. The sooner it faded, the sooner it was forgotten, the better for Israel,
from a pr standpoint.
Which is why Israel could not have been more stupid by doing what it did
last week. What it did last week was bring that story, and that image, from
way back in September back to life.
Amazingly, stupidly, the Israeli army held a press conference last week in
which it announced that it was Palestinian gunmen and not Israeli soldiers
who probably were responsible for the death of that 12- year-old Palestinian
boy.
It seems the Israeli army, as Jews are wont to do, has spent the last two
months investigating and inquiring, measuring bullet angles and analyzing
video, calculating the positions of various Palestinians and Israelis involved
in the gun battle. And having done that, felt obligated to call a press
conference and announce to the world that it wasn’t Israeli soldiers but
Palestinian gunmen who killed the boy.
Probably. Maybe. The spokesman noted that the Israeli army did not make
a definitive determination but concluded only that it was “quite plausible
that the boy was hit by Palestinian bullets in the course of an exchange of
gunfire.”
Read that quote, which is how Jews say things. Read that quote again
because such talk is poison in today’s media age. “Quite plausible” doesn’t
cut it. Everything today must be yes or no, black or white. It was stupid for
Israel to even bring the subject up again, but if it was going to, it had to say
“it wasn’t us who shot him. Period. No question.” But they couldn’t say that,
since there was no autopsy and since the scene of the shooting had been
bulldozed and so there was no way to be certain about anything.
Which is why we should have just left it alone, let it be forgotten. But no.
And so by so stupidly doing what it did last week, what did Israel
accomplish? Well, it got every newspaper in the world to write a story
reminding everyone about what happened in September, with many of the
newspapers printing with that story that famous picture of the cowering boy
and his father. One more time for all to see again.
And so once again people could see how scared they were, could
remember that the boy was killed. And so could see Israel as the bad guy
once again, as using excessive force, as killing 12-year-old boys, all over
again.
Great pr move, guys. Really good going, great way to improve Israel’s
image.
We are so stupid. Did we really think anyone cares what the inquiry found.
And did we not realize that whatever it found, what Israel did by doing what
it did was further etch that horrific and powerful picture in people’s minds.
Once again, we shot ourselves in the foot. Not probably, but most certainly.
When are we going to learn that “our people of the book” way of thinking
and acting is hurting us. When are we going to understand how the media
works, what the media needs and give them that.
Pop quiz for you. If I asked you to name the spokesman for the Palestinians,
what would you say?
Didn’t even have to think about it, did you? Hanan Ashrawi immediately
came to mind, didn’t it?
Hanan Ashrawi. We may all hate her, but we all know her and can
immediately identify her as the spokesman for the Palestinians. Which tells
you a lot about how effective she has been for her side.
Another question. If I asked you to name the spokesman for Israel, what
would you say?
Take your time. Think about it. Really think.
Give up, right? You have no idea, right? No one person immediately, or
even ever, comes to mind, right?
I rest my case.
While Hanan Ashrawi has been able to establish herself as the voice of the
Palestinians, it is amazing that there is no Israeli who has done the same,
who, like she is, can be plugged in anytime and anywhere and make an
effective sound bite media savvy case for our side.
That is absolutely vital in today’s world and yet Israel has no one like her,
instead trots out a whole array of people, this time a Cabinet member
whose English isn’t so great, next time some army official too hot for TV or
some government official too laid back for TV.
Now we can curse Ashrawi all we want or complain that the Palestinians do
things only because they look good on TV or whine, as did the Israel army’s
spokesman, that the Palestinians have “concentrated all their resources on
the effort to win public opinion,” as if that’s some kind of dirty trick when, in
fact, it is quite smart.
Smart being the opposite of what we are.
Public opinion is vital for Israel in so many ways, on so many fronts. Well,
public opinion is shaped by media coverage. And media coverage is
shaped by those being covered.
I was amazed to read that a top Jewish organization official said one of the
main purposes of sending Jews on solidarity missions to Israel at this time is
so they can “come back loaded with information so that they can explain
Israel’s perspective to the media.”
Great idea. When we need to start acting in ways that most effectively meet
the press, we instead resort to amateur
10/26/00: Against Jewish unity
Is the media Jewish controlled?
By Joseph Aaron
JWR contributor Joseph Aaron is Editor of
The Chicago Jewish News. Send your comments to him by clicking here.
08/17/00: It ain't easy being ... a 'Joe'
05/26/00: Rudy and the Torah way
09/29/99: A Jewish life
08/18/99: Misconstruing Jewish unity
06/03/99: Partake from the feast --- but don't gorge
03/28/99: Things go better with Judaism?
03/09/99: Having seichel
03/03/99: One thumb --- way up
1/12/99: Thank G-d!
12/31/98: Judaism, Inc.
11/19/98: My kind of folks
