Send in the Clown...

"American Jewish publications have received numerous proposals in recent days from senior Palestinian officials to interview Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who will be arriving in New York next week to attend the United Nations General Assembly. The Palestinians hope to utilize Abbas' trip to carry out what they describe as a 'smiles & appeasement campaign' among America's Jewish community, in efforts to raise sympathy and support among US Jews... The non-profit organization [The] Israel Project, which provides information on the Middle East, was planning to hold a special dinner in Abbas' honor during his visit." (Palestinian officials launch 'smiles campaign' in US Jewish media, Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz, 17/9/10)

Supping with the devil...

"About TIP: The Israel Project (TIP) is an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel. The Israel Project is not related to any government or government policy. Our team of trusted Middle East experts and former reporters provides journalists with fact sheets, backgrounders and sources. TIP regularly hosts press briefings featuring leading Israeli spokespeople and analysts that give journalists an opportunity to get information and answers to their questions face-to-face. By providing journalists with the facts, context and visuals they need, TIP causes hundreds of millions of people around the world to see a more positive public face of Israel. This helps protect Israel, reduce anti-Semitism and increase pride in Israel... Through its Jerusalem office, TIP operates 'Intellicopter' tours - two-and a-half-hour guided helicopter tours with expert guides that give reporters a bird's-eye view of the situation on the ground. The TIP 'Intellicopter' educates journalists about security threats and opportunities for peace. More than a thousand journalists from more than 450 media outlets have taken the 'Intellicopter' tour, including top journalists from the US, England, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Latin America, Australia and Asia. Millions of people around the world have seen footage shot from these strategic aerial views - views which show Israel's tiny size and enormous security challenges." (theisraelproject.org)

Meanwhile, out of sight of Western 'journalists' on their 'Intellicopter' tours of the Apartheid State, or Palestinian quislings on their 'smiles & appeasement' tour of New York, life goes on as normal in occupied Palestine:

"Eyewitnesses reported that dozens of armored Israeli military vehicles invaded Tulkarem city and Nour Shams refugee camp at approximately 2:30 am and assassinated Iyad As'ad Shilbaya, 38. As details of the assassination began to unfold, it was revealed that soldiers first broke into the home of Iyad's father and forced his brother to accompany them to his home. After arriving at the home of Iyad, soldiers wired and detonated the main door and immediately went to Iyad's bedroom and fired at least 3 rounds at him while he was still in bed. One bullet hit him in the neck and 2 in the chest. Soldiers then took Iyad's body and withdrew from the area. His brother said that he heard him shouting 'Who's there?' before the soldiers fired 3 rounds at him while he was still in bed. His wife was not at home as she was visiting her parents in Jenin... Furthermore, soldiers kidnapped 10 Hamas members in Nour Shams and took them to unknown destinations." (Army assassinates a Hamas leader in Tulkarem, Saed Bannoura, imemc.org, 17/9/10)

Or, if you prefer the TIP version, as chanelled by The New York Times: "Israeli troops killed a Hamas militant during a raid in the West Bank... Israel said soldiers were trying to arrest him when he ran toward them, ignoring orders to halt." (West Bank: Israeli soldiers kill militant in raid, Associated Press, 17/9/10)

[See also my 6/9/10 post On the Nose]

The Secrets of Successful Hasbara

"The term hasbara represents the old, archaic perception of transmitting information to the public. The very nature of the word implies the need to explain - lehasbir - to justify, perhaps even apologize. Sorry, but I'm tired of apologizing. We do not owe explanations to anyone. We waited patiently before deciding to act, maybe even too long, and perhaps when we did act, we did not go far enough. It is unacceptable that 250,000 people should live under the constant threat of rocket fire. No country in the world would tolerate that, and neither will Israel... For some reason Israel, which was established with the support of a guilt-ridden world, feels obliged to apologise to that world for its actions and, sometimes, even for its existence. We are the ones feeling guilty - and for absolutely no reason." (Bye-bye, 'hasbara'. Say hello to 'public diplomacy', Nachman Shai, The Jerusalem Post, 5/3/08)

"What is Israel advocacy and, more specifically, what is hasbara? Hasbara comes from the Hebrew verb l'hasbir, which means to explain. Remember the last time you tried to explain to a bank official why you needed a loan? That should give you some insight into what is systematically wrong with hasbara. It is defensive, reactive, and worst of all, it is about 'me'. Advocacy, on the other hand, is based on persuasion. It is based on understanding your audience and finding messages that resonate with them." (David Olesker, Director, Jerusalem Centre for Communication & Advocacy, The Australian Jewish News, 29/8/08)

So, hasbara merchants - sorry, Israel advocates - whether you're selling Israel's 'vulnerability' to yokels in Australia, New Zealand, America, or wherever, always localise it:

"For an Australian it is almost impossible to imagine the smallness of the distances involved. Gilot [sic] was routinely fired on by snipers in Bethlehem several years ago... [which] is like Sydney's Surry Hills being fired on by Redfern... "

(Greg (Jerusalem Prize) Sheridan 'advocating' in The Australian- See my 20/1/08 post, Gullible's Travels)

"Would New Zealanders ask their Government to sit idly by while a terrorist organization fires missiles on the towns of Tauranga or Hamilton?"

(Yuval Rotem 'advocating' in The New Zealand Herald - See my 14/2/08 post, Rotem's Revenge 2)

"The Israel Project is launching a major television advertising campaign to coincide with the Republican and Democratic conventions. Two ads - one focusing on Israel's role in creating energy independence from Middle East oil and the other on Iran's backing for terrorists and its suspected nuclear weapons program - will air 1300 times on cable-news networks over the next 2 weeks... The Iran ad underscores the threat of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group, and begins: 'Imagine Denver under missile attack from nearby Boulder...' "

(Israel Project launches tv ads, AJN, 29/8/08)