Countering Israel’s Public Relations Deception

Palestine Violence pic 1

Military strength is one pillar of Israel’s strategy to incorporate all the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and possibly beyond, into its territorial borders. Other pillars are a strong economy to finance the adventure and a worldwide deception plan that confuses those who aid Israel and, if they had all the facts, may object to Israel’s illegal tactics. Because Israel devotes excessive resources in a worldwide plan of public relations and deception, its government must sense an importance to that battleground.

The economy is robust but vulnerable, depending upon satisfying imports, armaments exports, tourism, US military assistance, limited contributions from the Jewish community, and providing a social net to marginal communities. Not widely publicized is that, at 18.7%, Israel, other than Mexico, has the highest poverty rate of all nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is number 46 in CATO Institute’s Human Freedom Index, just below Hungary and just above Albania. Israel is akin to an industry, whose growth once impeded will reverse its trend and rapidly fall, as the social unbalances contend with shrinking resources. Knowledge of the battlefields and recommendations for combating the plan of worldwide deception is essential to a strategy that leads to Israel’s economic and social decline and forces it to re-evaluate policies.

Those favoring Israel have extensive resources and organizations to sustain their efforts. Those favoring the Palestinians have limited resources, and, except for the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) effort have not been sufficiently organized to combat Israel’s deceptions. Yet, countering Israel’s deceptions may be the most vital part of a Palestinian strategic plan  unmasking the clever disguise Israel’s supporters have devised to delude the world from recognizing its true self. Bringing Israel to international scorn can cause its economic and social decline. The plan deserves exceptional attention.

Special relationship

Commentators go to great length to explain the “special relationship” between Israel and the United States, treating it as a unique affair, in which both benefit. This slogan is a hoax, which originated during World War II as a description of the relationship between embattled Great Britain and a still neutral United States. Somehow and somewhere, a clever someone adapted the World War II slogan, applied it to Israel, and managed to insert it in the everyday lexicon. Israel’s protectors use the deceptive expression “special relationship,” to deceive the nature of Israel in most West European capitals. Examples:

The Multi-Annual Strategic Plan for the Palestinian Territory 2012-2015, based on the policy directives as set out by the Netherlands government at http://www.lacs.ps/documentsShow.aspx?ATT_ID=7419

The Netherlands maintain excellent relations with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and a constructive partnership though our development cooperation programme, while the special relationship with Israel allows for political openings.

Press TV, Jan 30, 2014

The minister met with Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Moshe Ya’alon in Berlin on Thursday. Ya’alon is on a two-day visit to Germany. “This is the first foreign guest I have the pleasure of welcoming here in my function as defense minister. It shows the special relationship between Germany and Israel,” the German defense minister stated.

Visegrad abroad, by Irena Kalhousová, 13. 4. 2012, Czech policy towards Israel. No Hypocritical Pacifism.

Some members of the EU were against the deepening of relations with Israel without the progress in the Peace Process. The Czech plan did not materialize, yet, the “special relationship” between the Czech Republic and the Jewish state remains strong.

Placing the words “special relationship” in government conversations, speeches, reports, articles, and documents so they become part of the everyday vocabulary of Europeans is a significant thrust of Israel’s public relations effort. The words seem harmless but they have a psychological impact. Parental relationship with children is special; parents warn but forgive children for their misdeeds, after all, they are special, which describes western nation relations with Israel. Constant warnings to Israel for its oppressive actions followed by a tacit forgiveness allow Israel to continue its despotic behavior.

The term “special relationship” is childish and manipulative. When the term is used, constant exposure of its nature will force people to re-evaluate their commitment to Israel. “Special relationship” should be replaced by “duplicitous relationship,” a term that more accurately describes any relationship with Israel.

Infiltration

Almost an estimated one million Israelis have left their nation, and live and work overseas. Most are immigrants who seek a different life. Among the immigrants is a cadre of weaponless soldiers, who behave benign, but within their ranks are propagandists, who seek to align foreign institutions in accord with Israel’s interests.

Because the Israeli propagandists work under the radar, the media does not capture their activities. Rather than pass on not entirely proven information and reassert some of the many known Israeli subversive operations, I prefer to describe my own experiences and those I definitely authenticate. These describe an Israeli propaganda machine that invades U.S. industry, public schools, universities, and institutions.

I have witnessed immigrants inviting fellow workers to their homes and lecturing them on why they should support Israel. I know of them going to synagogues and urging the Rabbis to place the Israeli flag next to the American flag. Contracts are given to Israeli organizations and company secrets are easily funneled to Israeli organizations.

In public schools, efforts are made to gain support for Israel by emphasis on the World War II Holocaust (nothing on the Nakba), and with events organized to attack Israel’s adversaries. I know of librarians gathering students in the library to choose general biographies to read, seven out of ten which are of personalities from the World War II Holocaust. One librarian showed her ignorance of the topic by referring to Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg as a Nazi officer who helped the Jews. The World War II Holocaust has a vital place in history but treating it as a purposeful commodity demeans the lost lives.

The Free Darfur movement, accused of being allied with Israeli interests due to Israel’s enmity toward Sudan, organized public school demonstrations against Sudan for purported genocide. Local synagogues advertised the action. No demonstrations during the genocide in Rwanda, or the present one in Southern Sudan, or how about Palestine?

Everyday U.S. citizens act as research centers for Israel, accumulating social, political, and economic statistics on American industrial and commercial life and send it to Israel  unregistered foreign agents whose activities are illegal.

Some students and visiting professors from Israel arrive with more concerns than learning. I have seen them at university conferences countering Palestinian expressions of grievances with statements such as, “The West Bank roads that Israel is building are meant to serve Palestinians one day,” and then congregate after the meeting to discuss what they can do to counter the remarks made at the meeting. A visiting professor to St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, who was prevented from using his grant to teach Holocaust studies, sued the university for anti-Semitism and won his case. St. Cloud now has a Jewish Studies and Resources Center but no courses, only a document center.

Georgetown has a Center for Jewish Civilization (what is Jewish civilization?) that has one core course:INAF-199Introduction to Jewish Civilization. This course provides a foundation for the study of Jewish civilization and is required of all certificate and minor candidates, preferably upon entering the program.

However, the Center for Jewish Civilization has periodic meetings, open to the public whose topics have nothing to do with any Jewish civilization and have much to do with Israel. Some examples:

September 13, 2016

“Regional Cooperation and Cyber Security: Discussion with Israeli MK, Erel Margalit”

September 8, 2016

“The Netanyahu Premiership: A Retrospective”

November 30, 2017

“Holy Land, Holy See: The Hal Israel Endowed Lecture”

The Honorable Zion Evrony to the Vatican and Visiting Assistant Professor at the Catholic University of America discussed his experiences as Israeli Ambassador to the Vatican and Israel’s relationship with the Vatican.

November 2, 2017

“Values and Interests: The United States, Israel, and the Arab World”

October 19, 2017

“The Soviet-Israeli War, 1967-1973”

Most other talks are on the World War II Holocaust and anti-Semitism. No talks on Maimonides and other Jewish philosophers. No talks on past Jewish life in Spain, Tunisia, Iraq, and Europe.

Political, “think tank,” peace, and cultural organizations in Washington, D.C. are unusually populated with Israelis and Israel supporters. One route that I have noticed is where a person obtains credentials from an Israeli institute, is awarded a grant to visit the United states by a sketchy organization, eventually receives an invitation (by a friend) to lecture at a university and becomes recognized as an expert on the Middle East. This leads to a recommendation for a fellowship at a Middle East “think tank,” more recognition, and soon we have an artificially prepared “Middle East expert” who ingratiates with peace groups and tries to steer everyone, including those at the institutions and universities, to lessen aggressive attitudes toward Israel. Nothing too extreme, only a neutralization of activity.

During 2010, the FBI uncovered 10 unregistered Russian agents living in the U.S. as ordinary citizens, engaged in harmless activities, such as meeting people in high places in order to influence their attitudes and reporting American views on foreign and domestic affairs to Moscow. Multiply the number of discovered Russian agents by tens of thousands and you will have the number of Israeli expatriates in the U.S., many of whom take the opportunity to do the same for Israel, become U.S. citizens, and vote for Israel friendly candidates.

It all seems harmless and operates smoothly. However, considering the number of Israelis who have migrated to the U.S. and other western nations in the last decades the amount can form a massive propaganda organization that steers westerners to favor Israel. Estimates by the Israeli government ministries and the Los Angeles-based Israeli American Council, which represents Israelis across the United States and promotes their interests, have between 500,000 and 800,000 Israelis living in the U.S., about 150,000 live in the New York area, 120,000 in Los Angeles, and 80,000 in Miami.

https://forward.com/news/israel/190625/israeli-immigrants-play-growing-role-in-american-j/

 

What are the more important voting areas in the United States? New York, California and Florida are significant. Enough dual citizen and American-Israelis can shape the ballot in those regions, and may have in the disputed 2000 presidential election.

This immigration needs intensive investigation and a full report. Americans deserve protection from foreign influence. Anyone representing the interests of a foreign nation should be registered as a foreign agent. Those placing the interests of a foreign nation before their own should be exposed.

Israel‘s Global Influencers

Extend the most deceptive propaganda mechanism in history from AIPAC, ADL, CAMERA, and a multitude of acronym named Israel support organizations in the United States to the international scene.

A more complete description of this mechanism can be found at http://europalforum.org.uk/en/uploads/upload_center/kH1JNtI1qm1q.pdf, where a report titled: The Israel lobby and the European Union, “researched and written by Public Interest Investigations and Spinwatch, and published by EuroPal Forum, seeks to explore a number of Israel lobby groups in the European Union, the power they wield and the dubious sources that fund them, while also uncovering the secretive transatlantic networks behind them. Perhaps the timeliest chapters in this report are the ones that deal with the issue of criminalising resistance and silencing dissent.”

A few examples will be mentioned.

In France, Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) gathers an assortment of groups dedicated to Israel. On example of their thrust and how they operate.

French Jewish group CRIF fined for defaming pro-Palestinian charity, April 8, 2014.

(JTA) – France’s largest Jewish organization defamed a pro-Palestinian charity by accusing it of financing Hamas, a French court ruled. The ruling against the CRIF umbrella group handed down by the Nancy Court of Cassation last month was first reported Sunday by the news site al-kanz.org. CRIF staff were ordered to pay the equivalent of $4,140 to the Committee for Charity and Support for the Palestinians, or CBSP – a group that CRIF researcher Marc Knobel in 2010 wrote “collects funds for Hamas.”

Former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar (why him?) leads The Friends of Israel Initiative (FII), which defines its thrust as “countering the growing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and its right to live in peace within safe and defensible borders.” A July 2014 working paper, Understanding the Issue of Israeli Settlements and Borders claims that

…settlements have become an exaggerated issue in the diplomatic discourse over Israel. Settlement activity, like the construction of homes and schools, does not constitute a violation of Israel’s signed agreements with the Palestinians. The assertion that settlement activity is a violation of international law is not universally accepted, though it is frequently stated in UN debates and in the declarations of the European Union.

A July 2017 event featured this statement:

As goes Israel – so goes the United States of America and so goes Western civilization. And so many of our adversaries and enemies know that. That’s what we’re facing all across the Middle East and, truthfully, all across the world.

United Kingdom has almost as many pro-Israel organizations as there are Israelis. Three of them are:

Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), a parliamentary group affiliated with the Labor Party, which promotes support for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel.

We run and promote campaigns to help create a lasting peace in the Middle East with Israel safe, secure and recognised within its borders; living alongside a democratic, independent Palestinian state.

Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), a parliamentary group affiliated with the Conservative Party and dedicated to strengthening business, cultural and political ties between the United Kingdom and Israel. CFI has given £377,994 to the Conservative party since 2004, mostly in the form of fully-funded trips to Israel for MPs, according to the Electoral Commission website. Directors of CFI have also given money directly to the Tory party.

Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) seeks to present Israel’s case to journalists.

Our Strategic Assessments provide expert analysis of the ever changing challenges to Israeli security. From sub-state actors and foreign states to domestic concerns, the strategic threats to Israel and the Middle East are explored in depth.

Russia, yes Russia, has formation of a new lobby.

Jerusalem Post, Pro-Israel caucus forming in Russian parliament, By GIL HOFFMAN, 05/25/2013

A select group of Russian parliament members will soon be urging their colleagues to say “da” to Israel after a delegation of Israelis took steps to initiate the formation of a pro-Israel caucus in the Duma in meetings last week in Moscow.

Digest all of this. Why the existence of this plethora of helpful groups for one small country that has a strong military and is economically well off? Do any equivalent assemblies of forces that promote a specific nation exist in the world?

The global influencers might cite glorious Israel as the principal motive for their operation, but it looks more like following the MONEY. They perform dutiful services and are rewarded — by salaries, campaign contributions, or by meeting the right people. Between the years 2010 to 2013, FII Inc. raised $5,778,135.

These pro-Israel groups, who proudly announce their agendas, should be exposed and criticized for their subterfuge, deceit, and aid and comfort to an Israel that seizes lands from others, oppresses a population, and commits crimes with the excuse of “security” need. How to combat them is not a simple matter; each incident is unique and requires a unique response. One problem is that they force responses to become as low as their efforts ─ charge them and they’ll discharge with the use of the anti-Semite epithet which leads to countercharges of racist, fascist and who knows what. It takes cool heads and careful consideration to respond wisely.

The trick is to expose them only to their audiences and not publicize their efforts to the public, a complex and doable effort  gather the probable names of their targets and target the information. This is not always contradictory information but real information — facts and logic that present an honest portrayal of events. In some cases, campaign contributions or grants may be the answer — fund raising and a huge war chest will be needed. For those who cherish social justice and preservation of the human race, support for a worthwhile cause is a pleasure.

Conclusion

Repetitions of the biblical David and Goliath story, the novel and film Exodus, and the moribund Kibbutz make it difficult to ascertain if Israel is a country or a public relations stunt. The many organizations that perpetuate the myths and influence parliamentary bodies to favor only Israel have no equivalents in the international scene. Evidently, they have a positive affect for Israel; why else would anyone be supporting Israel’s oppression and diabolical nature — the daily killings of Palestinians, land seizures, heartless evictions — and why would these organizations continue to operate and prosper? Number one on the agenda of those who recognize and oppose Israel’s nefarious activities is combating the deception, infiltration, and global army of pro-Israel groups.

Publicity is successful by shouting loud and often. It is more successful by shouting louder and more often. A slow shift to active support of the Palestinian cause by those who recognize they have multitudes who will protest with them, after being discouraged by deliberate attacks on them by pro-Israel deceitful practices, and an awakening from those who realize it is not moral (how about Christian) to be pro-oppression, will start a trend that soon cascades past an inflection point. Reaching the inflection point takes courage, money, and energy. Once reached, the billions of world’s people who are cognizant of the dangers Israel is to the world community, will place into motion the mechanisms for correcting Israel’s deceptive and harmful practices.

Legislators will find themselves opposed and begin to reverse themselves. Tourists will watch where their money goes and avoid Israel. BDS will advance and have an effect on Israel’s economy and its citizens. Israelis will begin to see themselves in a proper perspective and demand change. When no longer living in a society that lives and prospers by taking from others, Israelis will seek more favorable places.

Sell before the crash.

Dan Lieberman is DC based editor of Alternative Insight, a commentary on foreign policy, economics, and politics. He is author of the book A Third Party Can Succeed in America, a Kindle: The Artistry of a Dog, and a novel: The Victory (under a pen name). Dan can be reached at [email protected]

 

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