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March 16, 2001/Adar 21, 5761, Vol. 53, No.24
New effort raises questions about Israeli P.R.
MICHAEL J. JORDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - The Palestinians may not be winning the war for American public opinion, but Israeli diplomats and American Jews are still forging ahead with efforts to augment Israeli "hasbarah" - a uniquely Hebrew term that falls somewhere between explanation and propaganda.
The Israeli government recently took the unusual step of contracting two prominent American public-relations firms - Rubenstein Associates and Morris, Carrick & Guma - on a three-month trial basis.
More controversially, a handful of Jewish mega-donors has created a think tank they hope will generate long-term strategies for presenting Israel in a favorable light.
Some Israelis have asked whether such a group is necessary; after all, isn't that why Israel supports two embassies and 11 consulates in North America?
And, they ask, if American Jews are to get involved, shouldn't it be the responsibility of the official Jewish community, rather than private interests?
But American Jewish leaders say international condemnation of Israel during the past half-year of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed has made a stronger P.R. effort necessary.
"There's always a need to do more, to educate about the hate toward Israel that exists, the unwillingness to accept Israel, that Israel is under threat," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
"As long as Israel makes news, and has perhaps the largest foreign press corps in any non-war zone, then Israel needs to be concerned about how it is presented," he said.
For much of the past decade, Israel appeared to be guided by a notion advanced by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres: If Israel's policy is right, there's no need for hasbarah, and if its policy is wrong, hasbarah won't help.
That notion was put to the test over the last half year - and, many believe, disproved.
When former Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered far-reaching concessions in peace talks, the Palestinians responded with street clashes and terror attacks - and much of the world blamed Israel.
The vitriol appeared to catch Israel's Foreign Ministry by surprise. Before Israel could organize its hasbarah effort, the Palestinians had scored major victories on the battlefield of public opinion.
"We need to be proactive, not reactive," said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations.
Enter the new think tank - "Emet," the Hebrew word for truth.
Spearheading the project is Leonard Abramson, the Philadelphia-based founder of U.S. Healthcare, along with philanthropist Michael Steinhardt and World Jewish Congress President Edgar Bronfman.
The group consulted with Hoenlein, Foxman and other Jewish activists - and only then notified Israel's Foreign Ministry, Foxman said.
American donors are expected to provide $7 million for the think tank, with another $1 million requested from the Foreign Ministry, according to reports.
When news got out earlier this month of Emet's formation, it touched off consternation in the Jewish state.
Some Foreign Ministry officials grumbled that American Jews were poaching on their turf. Not surprisingly, they would prefer that any extra money be funneled to the ministry's efforts.
Israel's left appears concerned that hawkish American Jews will use Emet to push a hard-line approach to the peace process.
A spokesman for the Abramson Foundation, Joe Yohlin, said "any speculation" about the think tank would be "premature."
If there's one thing American Jewish leaders agree on, it's that Israel needs help with its hasbarah.
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