Didn’t know there was anything particularly Zionist about providing disaster relief? You learn something new every day. This is a story of exploiting the suffering of poor, defenseless Haitians on behalf of Israeli triumphalism.
Sol Salbe translated an eye-opening column from Yediot by an Israeli doctor who was an integral member of all Israeli international disaster response teams until recently. Then he made the mistake of writing a mildly critical statement about Israeli disaster relief efforts. As a result, he was relieved of his obligation for further IDF service and further participation in the disaster relief program. The op ed is so revealing (and not yet available online in English) I’m going to quote large sections. An explanatory note–at Israel’s Haiti field hospital, they delivered what the Israeli PR flacks called “the first baby since the earthquake.” The medical staff urged the woman to name her baby “Israel” and she was only to eager to oblige. Another Israeli PR coup!
Public Relations instead of saving lives
Sending portable toilets to Haiti would have been a better option, but this does not provide good photo opportunities. Israeli missions to disaster areas in the past have shown that such activity was in vain.
Yoel Donchin
I received my final exemption from the army after I published an article which said that the State of Israel acts like the proverbial Boy Scout, who insists on doing a good deed daily and helping an old lady cross the road even against her will. How ungrateful of me to publish such a column when I had participated in almost all the rescue missions to overseas disaster areas! Suddenly I am no longer suitable to take part in such heroic endeavours. But in light of the experience I gained in such missions…we have wasted our effort.
Generally speaking, we start preparing for such a mission within hours of the announcement of a natural disaster. Most often the Israeli mission team is the first one to land in the area. Like those who climb Mount Everest, it plants its flag on the highest peak available, announcing to all and sundry that the site has been conquered. And in order to ensure that the public is aware of this sporting achievement, the mission is accompanied by media representatives, photographers, an IDF spokesman’s office squad and others.
I understood the purpose perfectly when the head of one of the delegations to a disaster zone was asked whether oxygen tanks and a number of doctors could be removed to make room for another TV network’s representatives with their equipment. (With unusual courage, the delegation head refused!)
The lesson learnt from the activities of those missions is that when there is a natural disaster, or when thousands of people are expelled from their homes by force, as happened in Kosovo, survivors may benefit from international assistance only if it responds to the region’s specific needs. Also assistance must be coordinated among the various aid agencies.
The competitive race to a disaster zone imposes a huge strain on the local health and administration authorities. Airports are clogged by transport planes unloading a lot of unnecessary but bulky equipment. Doctors and rescue organisations seek ways to utilise single carriageway roads and in fact they are a burden. The correct way to help is to send a small advance force to gauge the dimensions of the disaster…
Would they still call that child Israel?
Three components are crucial: shelter, water and food — these things are crucial in order to save the largest number of people. Water purification equipment, tents, basic food rations are needed. But they do lack the desired dramatic effect. If we went down that track we would miss out on seeing that child who was born with the assistance of our physicians. Most certainly, the excited mother wouldn’t give her child (who knows if he will ever reach a ripe old age?) the name Israel or that of the obstetrician or nurse. (Would he get citizenship because he was born in Israeli territory? There would be many opposed to that.) The drama is indeed classy, but its necessity is doubtful.
It being Israel, our current force contains a Kashrut supervisor, security personnel and more.
In the present disaster, which is of a more massive scale than anything we have encountered to date, the need is not so much for a field hospital but field, ie portable, toilets. There is more of a need for digging equipment to dig graves and sewage pipes.
A country which wants to provide humanitarian aid without concern for its media image should send whatever is required by the victims, and not whatever it wants to deliver. But would the evening news show the commander of the Israeli mission at the compound with 500 chemical toilets? Unlikely. It is much more media savvy to show an Israeli hospital, replete with stars of David and of course the dedicated doctors and nurses, dressed in their snazzy uniforms with an Israeli flag on the lapel.
…It is quite likely that financial assistance commensurate with Israel’s resources would be preferable to the enormous expense and complicated logistics involved in the maintenance of a medical unit in the field…
But apparently a minute of TV coverage is much more important…and in fact Israel is using disasters as [military] field training in rescue and medical care. After a fortnight, the mission will reportedly return to Israel. To be truly effective a field hospital needs to remain for two or three months, but that’s a condition that Israel cannot meet.
…It is only in the Israeli aid compound in Haiti that large signs carrying the donor country’s name hang for all to see.
Prof. Yoel Donchin is the director of the Patient Safety Unit at the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem.
Translated by Sol Salbe, who directs the Middle East News Service for the Australian Jewish Democratic Society.
If after reading this you’re feeling either slightly soiled or angry, I urge you to perform a truly constructive, selfless act in reply to Israel’s self-promotional puffery. Make a gift to American Jewish World Service or Doctors Without Borders, who are each doing acts of mercy without thought of benefit to themselves or any narrow political movement. In fact, DWB’s flights of precious, desperately needed medical supplies have been repeatedly turned away by American forces controlling incoming air traffic, in favor of military equipment deemed needed for the occupation which seems to be taking shape there.
Somehow Israeli field hospitals and all their support equipment manage to get through this bottleneck. Could it be? Nah, I didn’t think so.
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im not a man that knows alot about alot of things in this life. im a simple jewish man with a simple jewish family. i take pride in that fact because of where we come from and how we work towards helping others and looking out for ourselves as jewish people. i know in a world of over 6 billion people our numbers are about 15 million and it profoundly saddens me to hear all the negativity generated by you and all the articles ive read on this site. its obvious you were hurt along the way embarrassed or otherwise by someone close to you in this life. my guess is most of the hatred you have for people stems from a jew that hurt you to deep to comprehend. so in the spirit of yom kippur coupled with the assumption that you have had no closure with your past issue id like to personally apologize for whatever had affected you in such a horrible way to have made you into such a bitter and venomous person. maybe one day you will find alittle pride in who you are rather that manifest an identity by fault u find in others. the simple fact is with all the fault u find in others there is 100x more good to discuss,hope to share,and positive vision to try and cultivate. in the end you just talk and stay a part of the problem or you can be part of a solution(and dont try and tell me your just trying to “give people something to think about ” or “awareness leads to positive change” because weve heard it, know it,and thats old…OLD! news) you DO NOT HEAL THE WORLD BY HATE AND BLAME! you heal the world with LOVE COURAGE CONSISTANCY and forgiveness…good luck with your new pair of glasses.shalom.
Beware of someone who begins a comment in this way. Either he’s genuinely humble (doubtful) or he putting up a big show of how humble he is only to lay a big fat one on ya.
Thanks for all the pop psychology narishckeit. In fact, I’ve never heard of Jewish pop psychology, but you’ve started a new trend. BTW, someone who offers a fake apology is worse than someone who offers no apology at all. You have nothing to apologize for other than you’ve offered an entirely insincere apology. So do us all a favor & either read the blog & learn something or don’t. But do spare us the nonsense.
Yeh I have plenty to say about the subject matter Richard,
1) The opinion of one disgruntled former aid worker doesn’t prove that mobile toilets were needed more than medicine. I know your standard answer: “He’s an expert and you’re not.” But that doesn’t cut it Richard because he’s just one expert and one swallow does not a summer make.
2) You tried to imply – with your usual innuendo and lack of evidence – that Israel was responsible for America turning away “precious, desperately needed medical supplies.” And this after telling us ad nauseum that it was toilets they needed not doctors.
What a pathetic attempt at anti-Israel Hasbara you engaged in Richard.
“I recall reading that several planes carrying relief workers were not able to land because of the massive number of Israeli press who were landing to cover Israel’s humanitarian mission.”
Do you recall WHERE you read this?
A good article on Israel arming Baby Dock and Papa Doc Duvalier dictators back in the day!
link to globalgrind.com…
On Dec. 27, 1982, the US newspaper Christian Science Monitor reported that since 1968 Israel had sold weapons to two Haitian dictators-Francois Duvalier, who became president in 1957; and his son Jean-Claude Duvalier, who succeeded him in 1971. The two, known as "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc," controlled and terrorized the country with a private army. On March 27, 1983, the New York Times reported that Israel was among the few countries that had agreed to sell weapons to Baby Doc, and provided him with the long-term payment arrangement that he requested.
Paul Farmer, who would serve as President Bill Clinton’s deputy UN representative to Haiti, previously reported that Gen. Prosper Avril, the head of the military junta that took power in Haiti in 1988, received temporary asylum in Israel in 1990. Avril was the head of Baby Doc’s notorious "Presidential Guard," and a US court ruled that he was responsible for "scandalous human rights violations." He would later serve prison time in Haiti for his crimes.
In 1990, four years after Baby Doc was ousted from power, the popular priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president of Haiti-in the first democratic elections the nation had seen. But in 1991 he was deposed in a military coup. Britain’s The Independent newspaper reported Oct. 14, 1991 that about 2,000 Uzi and Galil machine-guns from Israel were sent to Haiti in the weeks prior to the coup-with diplomats claiming the weapons went to military units especially loyal to the coup-plotters.
How wide is the scope of this thread. The reason I ask is that the original posting was about Israeli aid to Haiti which has been criticized on the grounds that it was for PR reasons and not of the most helpful kind, according to the single source whom the author chose to quote.
But then in the responses, I read references to Zionist “control over the news media” and then to Israel having sold weapons to the then dictators of Haiti. So I was wondering what is the subject of the thread? Is it Haiti? The wickedness of the Zionists? Or do the sales of weapons to other dictators (e.g. by Arabs or Muslims) also qualify as relevant? Or can we discuss aid by the Arabs to Haiti? if so, can we speculate that they too were motivated by PR considerations? Or is this another no-no?
“If a commenter behaves in an obnoxious way, they will be treated the way they treat others.”
Dear Mr. Silverstein: You’re fucking obnoxious. This may be your blog, so you’re technically allowed to say whatever you want, but when you set such a poor example for your commenters by being abusive, it’s difficult to see why anyone except supercilious yes-men bother to read this blog. You’re a vile hypocrite and a useful idiot for the enemies of both Israel and Diaspora Jewry.
Not technically, I’m actually allowed to say whatever I want.
And you’re fucking BANNED.
No big loss, Brian. Too bad that any Jew who criticizes Israeli policies is automatically branded “a traitor to Israel and world Jewry,” as if one cannot be a good Jew without being a Zionist. I would personally say that any Jew who speaks out against illegal occupation and abuse of the Palestinian people, and in favor of peace, is the better Jew than one who adopts a racist and abusive ideology and confuses political loyalty with religion.
“And you’re f*cking BANNED”
LOL
Daniel: First of all, my remark that Zionists have control over the news media is my own opinion, and there is nothing “dumb and thuggish” about it. You misquote me when you claim that I used the term “Jews” in my comment; kindly go back and read again and you will see that I said nothing about Jews. However, I will not withdraw or repudiate my remark about control of the media, and as a case in point I will remind anyone who cares to argue that Jared Malsin, an editor for Maan in Palestine and an American Jew, was deported from Israel recently, and it was painfully obvious to everyone that it was because of his so-called anti-Israel reportage. Once again, I caution you as to the language you use and ask that you think twice before you use it.
I also will not tolerate any remarks that generalize Palestinian resistance as being the cause of the failure of the fossilized “peace process.” It is obvious to most of us that the block in the “road” has in almost all cases been the Israeli government, and now it is at the point where it is too late for a two-state solution, and I believe this had been the Israeli intention all along. This is not the proper thread for a full blown argument on this, and it has been hashed and rehashed ad infinitum on others, but I am drawing attention to your comment simply to point out that you’re not as open-minded and liberal as you think you are. It is the Israeli government’s responsibility to end its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem, and its brutal and disgusting siege on Gaza. As an Israeli citizen, I do hope you are active in achieving this goal.
01:29 Israeli field hospital in Haiti closes gates, en route back to Israel (Israel Radio)
I guess they can’t wait to fold their tents and go home. Couldn’t even wait out the week.
Grand total of 11 days in situ. Not even the 2 weeks Dr. Donchin claimed they would stay or the 5 wks. Janica the hasbarist claimed let alone the 2-3 months Donchin said they needed to stay to really have an impact!
We are scattered, outnumbered, poorly organized and we are up against a news media influenced by Zionists and their sympathizers, to put it bluntly. We do not have a big lobby. We only have a handful of friends in Congress. We do not have the equivalent of AIPAC or Campus Watch. Most Palestinians are poor, many Palestinian bloggers are routinely hacked and virused, and one of my monumental tasks as an activist is to try to bring the Palestinian voice into mainstream media coverage. As an activist, I come to comment threads to attempt to speak for them, and I do my best to base my arguments on factual information and logical interpretation. I am not naive and do not idealize the Palestinian people.
I did not at any time attack the people who traveled to Haiti and worked to save lives there. My criticism went to the Israeli government and their cynical attempt to redeem themselves from committing war crimes by boasting about their great humanitarianism. I speak rather bluntly, but it is not my intention to give any offense unless I am unfairly attacked by another commenter. I thank you for your politeness and if I offended you, please forgive me.
“We are scattered, outnumbered, poorly organized and we are up against a news media influenced by Zionists and their sympathizers, to put it bluntly.”
Whoa! I’m not going to touch that one, I’m afraid. It’s just bollocks. Outnumbered, seriously? Zionist influenced media? Really?
Richard, you argue that “potential” is irrelevant, but my argument is that for the article you wrote here it’s exactly the point. The Arab lobby (whatever its size) doesn’t look at AIPAC and use words like “pernicious”. They look at AIPAC and say “how do we do exactly the same? How can we organize our supporters and achieve the same ends?” As soon as they do, you will forget this argument and find something else that Israel did bad first and accuse them of it.
“The Israel lobby is one of the most noxious single issue lobbying efforts in this country. Their impact on policy is absolutely pernicious and must be opposed by all reasonable, right-minded people Jews & non-Jews.”
It’s not just the Israel lobby as I tried to point out. All lobbies are pernicious. The NRA, Big Tobacco, Pro-Life. The US system allows these revolting groups to take power unelected. I wish they were all banned. There is an Arab lobby, there is an Israel lobby. It is a double standard to demonize the Israeli lobby for doing well what the Arab lobby happens to be doing less well. I will condemn both. I get the feeling that you will not.
As for your comment that in Israel I have a limited vision of how we are portrayed in the rest of the world, it’s a fair criticism for which I have no answer. I don’t have a TV and I don’t buy newspapers either in Hebrew or English. I read the Guardian online most days as it was my paper of choice before I made aliyah.
Elisabeth, I was in a hotel before shabbat and watched a bit of Sky News which is where I saw the report on the British team returning. Sky News is a channel that is broadcast throughout the world. To claim that the PR team that orchestrated the interviews at Heathrow did so for domestic consumption only is silly.
The job of every government PR is to make their country look good domestically and internationally. You claim that the Israelis are dreadful for doing this aggressively. I agree. But we are exactly as dreadful as everyone else. Ask around among the other government press agents you know, including those from countries antipathetic to Israel. They would love the budget and the support to do exactly what Israel does. I find it distasteful, but I would find it so whoever was doing it. I don’t believe everyone else here feels the same.
My point is if everyone cheats in a test, how can you be angry only with the person who cheats best?
Many of the responses to me seem to imply that Israel is the only one cheating. The Americans have too much integrity. The British are too proper. The Palestinians are too poor and disorganized. I think this is racist claptrap.
The Palestinians I meet are smart, savvy and sophisticated. They are professors and plumbers, computer scientists and carpenters. They are parents and football fans. They are as deserving of liberty, democracy and autonomy as every human being on this planet. I have seen more generalizations on this board about the “poor Palestinians” and their ineffectiveness in the face of overwhelming Israeli strength than I have ever heard from any Arab Israeli or Palestinian.
Sky News is privately owned by Rupert Murdoch of all people. It is not exactly the BBC. And I still don’t believe that the British mission brought their own cameramen and press officers with them.
“We are exactly as dreadful as everyone else.”
No, I think Israel is no more dreadful than a number of other countries that have problematic human rights records that need polishing up. But they are more dreadful than many, many other countries that do not have such issues.
“I think Israel is no more dreadful than a number of other countries that have problematic human rights records that need polishing up.”
Do you include the US, the UK, Australia, France and Germany in their number? If so, fine, I’ll gladly take the comparison while working within the system to improve it. I’ll also look out for your name on boards that condemn those countries for their actions.
And I don’t understand your comment about Sky and Rupert Murdoch. The reports about Israel in Haiti were also on Sky News. The important part is not who broadcast the interviews. The point was they were clearly set up by PR people on the side of the British mission to boast of their successes to an international audience. In other words whether those PR people went with the team to Haiti (do you have proof they didn’t?) or whether they stayed behind in London, they existed to do exactly the same dirty work that you accuse the Israeli PR machine of doing. I don’t understand why you can’t concede this simple fact.
I would not include Australia, France and Germany in their number as their use of military power is much more restrained than in case of the US, UK and Israel.
It is known when a mission returns home. For there to be reporters at the airport to meet them hardly needs to be ‘set up by PR people on the side of the British mission’.
But the most important thing is that there is a difference between a mission that tells the news media that gather at the airport on their return about what they did, and a mission that brings a complete media circus with them to the disaster area, including people whose only job seems to have been to approach foreign news media in order to get them to see the Israeli hospital. I have not come across similar reports concerning other missions.
The Israeli field hospital did an absolutely terrific job, but the PR effort attracted negative attention because it was over the top. Another thing is, that when you are asked to look at all the wonderful things Israel does in Haiti, the contrast with what is going on in Gaza becomes so obvious, and this causes irritation. But I am afraid we will continue to disagree.
Daniel, unless you really intend to make a valid argument against anything I say, I ask that you kindly refrain from the pointless and condescending remarks, and from using profanity (albeit British profanity) to respond to my statements.
“I don’t have a TV and I don’t buy newspapers either in Hebrew or English. I read the Guardian online most days as it was my paper of choice before I made aliyah.”
I don’t have a TV either; at least we both agree that television is useless rubbish. But what I see here is that you have decided to read only one newspaper and one perspective. And yet you seem to think you are well informed. The irony is that many Israelis, living smack in the middle of Israel, have no clue when it comes to Palestinians and their lives, nor do they care to know. Life inside the green line is not quite the same as, say, Jenin Refugee Camp. And just because you know, or claim to know, Palestinians who are educated professionals does not mean that there are not many, many more who are not so fortunate. I would say that you generalize more than you care to admit.
However, the subject of the thread is not how we perceive Palestinians. The subject is how Israel causes the horrific suffering of a people under occupation yet cynically trots itself out in front of the world as a champion humanitarian.
First, there is no Arab lobby so this imaginary group doesn’t say anything about the Israel lobby. 2nd, there are Arabs who admire the lobby in a perverse way–they have a love-hate relationship w. it but mostly hate. And if you think Arab American leaders don’t find the I. lobby pernicious you don’t know jack ’bout what Arabs think.
Sky News is not the UK gov’t TV channel. The IDF team in Haiti on the other hand was the official national delegation of Israel. And it wasn’t as if one single network like Sky reported on the Israeli team. Every Israeli TV channel & paper prob. had reports fr. Haiti AND the Israeli hasbara guys got articles placed in international media virtually everywhere. That’s a far cry fr. a single network like Sky covering the UK Haiti delegation. Not to mention that Sky is a Rupert flag waving media circus that operates in some ways just like Israeli hasbara (cf. FoxNews).
You claim I make up numbers out of whole cloth for the Israeli hasbara budget, yet here you essentially concede the munificence of the hasbara budget.
That’s so beyond feeble & a real abuse of a useful term. Pls. don’t abuse it for the sake of grandstanding or scoring a few debating pts.
VS.
Including yr own.
If you want to read a brilliant Palestinian analyst really complain about Palestinian leaderlessness & ineffectiveness read Rashid Khalidi. Then you can talk about your so-called deep knowledge of Palestinians & what they want. Till then you might want to back off yr attacks on commenters here who know a helluva lot more about who Palestinians are & what they want than you do.
Thanks again for your time and your tone.
I guess I have a problem with the lack of online organization on the pro-Palestinian side. It neatly plays into stereotypes of Jews being more devious and achieving their nefarious ends through underhand means or through the exercise of money.
The power of the Israel Lobby in the US is comparable to the power of the NRA or the Teamsters. A group of people playing within a corrupt system are playing the game better than the people who are playing against them. But make no mistake, there are people playing against them. There is an Arab lobby with access to just as much money (if not more) than the Israel Lobby, just as there is an anti-gun lobby trying to oppose the NRA. You cannot fault Israel for doing well what the opposition are trying very hard to do better.
Using Elisabeth’s example of the lynching in Ramallah. Palestinian ineffectiveness in this instance was not a moral choice. If the governing body could have organized a press conference to sell their biased view of events to the world press, just as the Israelis did, they would have. Spin and media bias is not new. Israel is not doing anything that every other country in the world does not do when it comes to selling a story that paints it in a good light. Your claim that the Palestinians aren’t very good at it and are therefore morally superior is bogus. As soon as they can do it better they will. Israel uses spin and PR exactly the way every other country, including the Palestinian Authority would like to do. Sometimes we do it better, sometimes we don’t, but it doesn’t make us any worse than anyone else for trying.
To bring it back to the original article. If the Palestinian authority had sent a delegation to Haiti they would have bragged about it in exactly the same way as every other country did. I watched the UK news and saw the triumphant returning British rescuers tearfully telling the press about all they good they did and the lives they saved. We have already heard the Chinese are doing the same.
The title of this article is The Zionization of Relief. I believe this falls into the trap of singling Israel out for opprobrium for appearing to do something better than everyone else who would like to do the same. I think there is a good case to be made for an article called The Nationalization of Relief which uncovers the PR liaisons that either accompanied every disaster relief team that arrived in Haiti or that issued a release to their national press or that set up a TV crew to meet teams as they returned home.
Here are some links I found easily enough. None of them seems different to the reports in the world’s press about Israel’s effort in Haiti.
link to dw-world.de
link to hellenicnews.com
link to fac.mil.co
link to abcnyheter.no
link to gulf-times.com
And on and on. Links all come from here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_response_by_national_governments_to_the_2010_Haiti_earthquake
Thoughts?
That is simply not the case. Aipac alone has a $60 million annual budget. The budgets of CAIR & ADC combined is probably in the very low millions (maybe $4-5M). You could legitimately claim that POTENTIALLY the Arab lobby has comparable financial power. But potential is not actual & so is a phantasm. When they actually have comparable budgets then you can talk about a competing entity. Right now the Israel lobby has a monopoly on the issue in Congress & the wider public. You simply cannot succeed w. the argument that the other side is doing precisely the same thing as the Israel lobby, because it ain’t true. Now, would they LIKE to exercise the same kind of power? Sure. But they don’t, plain & simple.
As an Israeli you either can’t or won’t see what Israel is doing in terms of hasbara. Israel’s propaganda efforts far outstrip any other country in the world. The sad fact is that Israel’s reputation would be even worse than it is w/o this effort. If we could get the figures I’m sure we would find that per capita Israel spends more on public advocacy & image shaping than any other country in the world. Yes, other countries do this. But not nearly to the extent that Israel does. And there is 1 simple reason: Israel’s policies make it a pariah state & it must play this game better than others or risk becoming the N. Korea of the Middle East (well, it practically is that already–with another war or 2 it should join that club).
Yes, I can & do. The Israel lobby is one of the most noxious single issue lobbying efforts in this country. Their impact on policy is absolutely pernicious and must be opposed by all reasonable, right-minded people Jews & non-Jews. THis is slowly happening & is helped by Israel’s conduct & by the overreach of the lobby on various issues like Iran.
You may not see it but trust me, this is a losing game you’re playing. I thought you were not a hasbarist, but your arguments are veering into that territory. Perhaps unintentionally & you sincerely believe what you’re saying. But they’re not convincing. This may be due to the fact that you’re in Israel & not outside & so don’t see how Israel is portrayed in the world media & the impact that hasbara has on this coverage. That’s why you & other Israelis should read more about the types of stories covered here & elsewhere. It would give you a good stiff dose of reality as Israel is seen by outsiders. But most Israelis don’t really care as long as they can have their beach vacation.
The Arabs have never seen a need to extensively lobby the US in the same way the Israelis do. That is due to the fact that there is no “special relationship” for the Arabs to exploit. There is no lobby representing any ethnic or religious group in the US that comes close to the Israel lobby in terms of strength, size or monetary wealth.
Richard, I just want to address this paragraph:
“As an Israeli you either can’t or won’t see what Israel is doing in terms of hasbara. Israel’s propaganda efforts far outstrip any other country in the world. The sad fact is that Israel’s reputation would be even worse than it is w/o this effort. If we could get the figures I’m sure we would find that per capita Israel spends more on public advocacy & image shaping than any other country in the world. Yes, other countries do this. But not nearly to the extent that Israel does.”
I find it a little ironic for an American to be lecturing an Israeli about propaganda efforts. Perhaps you can’t see your country’s reputation in the world and how revolting most people find America’s attempts at image shaping. US hasbara, UK hasbara, Russian hasbara, Chinese hasbara, French hasbara, Greek hasbara. It’s all the same.
You admit that your claim that Israel has a higher per capita spend has no basis in fact, other than “you’re sure”. How does it feel to be making stuff up based on your conviction? “Other countries do this. But not nearly to the extent that Israel does.” You finish up stating something as fact that you admitted you have no evidence for. This is the kind of politicking that you would ridicule someone else for. I am more gracious than that, and I will give you an opportunity to retract your unsubstantiated suppositions.
If Israel really is the pariah state you claim, we have yet to feel it either anecdotally, economically or in any other way. I applaud you standing up my government’s wrongdoings and calling them to account for years of occupation and maltreatment. I am doing exactly the same. The difference is my efforts from within the democracy might actually make a difference.
First, you’re talking about the Bush administration, not the current one. Second, why do you think I’m so sensitive to Israel’s bad PR/hasbara? Because I’ve just lived through 8 yrs of Bush hell. That’s why.
No it’s not.
I’ve been doing this blog a long time & focussing intensively on Israel for over 4 decades. I’m not making anything up. And if you want to dispute me I welcome your doing some research & getting figures for Israeli gov’t hasbara efforts. I’d really like to see you rebut me if you can. I won’t retract anything because I think I’m right. But you’re welcome to try to prove me wrong.
I have the graciousness to wish you well in those efforts if you’re sincere in what you claim you’re doing. You don’t have the graciousness to accord my own efforts similar credibility. ‘Nuff said ’bout you. But I KNOW my work has impact & don’t need yr validation for that.