In its short history of two-thirds of a century, the State of Israel has fought many wars, some of them against overwhelming odds, and has won them all.
Right now, however, it is badly losing a war fought with words, not bullets, but the effect of which can be just as devastating for Israel’s future.
This is, of course, the public diplomacy war. Recently the Gatestone Institute in the US published a study by Denis MacEoin entitled “The NGO Plan to Destroy Israel”, which details the astonishingly large number and equally astonishing lavish funding of these “non-governmental organizations”, many of which are actually funded in whole or in part by foreign governments, and many of which are registered as Israeli entities, all of which constantly and unendingly attack Israel as an exemplar of a tyrannical, oppressive and brutal regime dedicated to constantly violating the human and civil rights of other peoples, particularly the “Palestinians” on the West Bank and in Gaza.
These organizations engage in all forms of propaganda, with no regard whatsoever for the facts, reality or truth, but relentlessly repeating the same libels and slanderous lies concerning the only truly democratic country in the entire MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), a country the military forces of which engage in a kind of warfare testified to by military experts as “exemplary” in their attempts to spare civilian populations.
This propaganda is directed primarily to the people of Europe and North America, and is having notable success, as exemplified by the spread of the infamous BDS movement (boycott, divest, sanction) in universities and professional associations, as well as international organizations.
I do not intend to repeat here either the lies or the truth, which are both well known to the readers of Globes. What is undeniable is that the anti-Israel campaign is succeeding, despite the valiant efforts of a number of private Hasbara organizations. The public diplomacy efforts of the Israeli government, however, are pathetically inadequate and ineffective and the current government has made the situation even worse by spreading responsibility for public diplomacy over three ministries and the prime Minister’s office.
What is desperately needed is a truly independent government agency, similar to the highly successful United States Information Agency (USIA) during the Cold War, to counter lies with truth and propaganda with facts. Such an agency must be staffed entirely by professionals, be adequately funded and have the authority to contract with private entities for services, as the PLO has been doing for years with great success.
There is a project to promote the formation of such an agency, and a conference will be held at the University of Haifa in November to discuss the issue. In any case, if the war Israel is currently losing, is to be turned into another victory, the requisite attention and resources will have to be devoted to it. Make no mistake, defeat in this war will be just as devastating as defeat would have been in any of Israel’s shooting wars.
Norman A. Bailey, Ph.D., is Adjunct Professor of Economic Statecraft at The Institute of World Politics, Washington, DC, and teaches at the Center for National Security Studies and Geostrategy, University of Haifa.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 29, 2015
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