In a Jewish Week article heded Misguided Presbyterian Vote an editorial writer wrote: By a 310-303 vote last week, a prominent American Protestant denomination made history. The Presbyterian Church, with about 1.8 million members, became the first major Christian group in this country to approve a resolution in favor of economic divestment from American businesses that make equipment that helps foster Israel’s occupation in the West Bank (Emphasis mine)
Unless I am sadly mistaken, the West Bank was part of Israel in the UN-approved borders; it was "annexed" by Jordan in a war of aggression.
If the West Bank is occupied it is Occupied Israel.
For all the university degrees held by Israelis, for all the English majors working in public and private public relations jobs, it is beyond my comprehension how Israeli "hasbarah" - PR - can be so lacking.
Much of the blame for the current anti-Israel rants in the media and on "social" networks can be traced to (a) Israel's poor PR effort and (b) anti-Israel forces' PR.
It really IS "what you say" that forms the public's opinions.
A simple example: Propaganda vs. Public Relations.
"Propaganda" has a more negative connotation for English speakers than the slightly less obnoxious "Public Relations."
Because Israeli PR people, a/k/a "flacks" which at one time applied to this scrivener, allowed the "West Bank" to be labeled "occupied Palestine" to appear unchallenged in print and on the air, the lie took hold of the audience's mind.
Once a "fact" - true of not - is accepted as truth, it is extremely difficult to "re-educate" the people who hold the "fact" as true.
It's said that the chief nazi and his propaganda minister believed in telling the "big lie," knowing that if it was bold enough and told often enough people would soon accept it as a truth.
Companies such as Coke, Caterpillar, Sanka, and 3M used to have teams of people scanning newspapers and magazines and listening to radio and television for misuse of their trademarks. Now the checks are mostly computerized.
Newspaper editors from my day knew that if a reporter wrote that someone drank "Sanka" - meaning instant coffee - the editor was get a nice note telling him or her that (a) Sanka was not a generic term for instant coffee and that if "Sanka" was used, it better be "Sanka Brand." It's "Scotch" tape, never "scotch" tape - fail to make it a capital "S" and 3M's legal department will be calling. (By the way, people from Scotland are Scots, not scotch, although the libation is "scotch.") Not all tracked vehicles are Cats and Caterpillar makes more than tracked vehicles; editors had to challenge reporters: "Is it really a Cat?"
Granted, all of the above are working diligently to protect their trademarks, but in the end, what IS a "trademark?" IMAGE, how people perceive a product.
If a cellophane tape fails to stick and someone relates that the "scotch tape" was lousy, 3M's image is denigrated even if the tape was from China and not 3M.
Write that coke (lower case "c") was served at the party and the Coca-Cola folks will remind that it's Coke or Coca-Cola with a big "C" if you please. (Once the concern was only for the trademark; now it's also to clarify that the "coke" really was the cola variety rather than the white powder.)
Israel's government and its friends outside the government need to be alert to the language its PR practitioners use and the terms non-Israelis, friends and foes alike, use across the media. In this case, "media" includes the "social" networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
ACCORDING TO MY DAUGHTER, still in her 20s and living in Israel, Israeli young people do defend Israel and counter anti-Israel propoganda. She made her point by showing me Facebook post after post after post.
My point, however, is that Jewish publications such as Jewish Week should never allow a canard to propagate on their pages.
When I was a reporter in Trenton NJ I had an editor (Sam Graff, by name) who insisted on changing "land fill" to "garbage dump" in every PR-provided "news" release.
The only difference I could see is that a land fill is a garbage dump covered over, but the land fill owners always took issue with Graff's editing and eventually "garbage dump" disappeared in favor of "land fill."
Jewish Weekly editors could have served Israel better by having the paragraph read foster Israel’s presence in the West Bank.
"Presence" lacks the negative impact of "occupation" but still preserves the idea that Israelis are present in the area. "West Bank" should have been "Judea and Samaria," but I think that change may be a "lost cause."
