Israel’s Public Relations Expolsion

From Friday’s Jerusalem Post comes this advertisement for the Israeli government authority in charge of Hasbara (public relations).

[click on image to enlarge]

hasbara ad

Spelling error? Check

Casting of a woman who looks like a humorless headmistress instead of a young, good-looking Israeli? Check

How symbolic of the state of our hasbara (hat tip: Shy Guy).

30 thoughts on “Israel’s Public Relations Expolsion”

      1. you have totally missed the point of the ad and the campaign it's pushing
        it's a parody of al jazira and it's for israelis
        and as an israeli I found it pitch perfect
        Didn't you see the TV ad spoofing the BBC ?
        the ministry is trying to give israelis tools to explain israel to foreigners

  1. She looks just like the music teacher we had in elementary school, Miss Franzen. To get some kind of vibrato to her voice her whole head would shake and the veins in her neck stuck way out. Music time was supposed to be fun and lead to a lifetime of music appreciation, but Miss Franzen was way too intense and she had no ability to relate to us kids. I dreaded music time with Miss Franzen.

  2. Take five minutes of your day and read Strenger's article in today's Ha'aretz on how not to make the case for Israel. It made a lot of sense to me, a pro-Israel non-Jew. The final sentence is really good advice: "Most of your dialogue partners prefer flawed humanity to pompous self-rightenous." This was followed by several talkback comments critical of the article, Strenger himself and were dripping with pompous self-righteousness.

  3. She isn't supposed to be Israeli. The caption refers to explosions happening 'in Israel'.

    Well, if she was in Israel it's unlikely she would actually have to refer to the country she is sitting in and would simply refer to the location of the explosions.

    The confusion does highlight what an absolutely terrible advert it is, it's message is fuzzy, it's unattractive to look at and it's word heavy.
    It's also annoying that they seem to be asking people to do their job for them.

    It's a perfect example of Israel's problem with public relations.

  4. Is the best that the Government can come up with? The Government of Israel does not deserve the support of the Jewish Diaspora when it produces such woeful hasbara. There are much better messages to send out, and more effective means to send them out with too.

    I was particularly amused by the myths and facts, most of which are not factual at all. Take for example the Myth: Israel is a religious country. What does the Government of Israel say? False.. Although Israel is defined as a Jewish country, and even though the overwhelming majority of its residents are Jewish, most of them are not religious……

    Of course – it is crucial for anybody outside of Israel to understand that Israel isn't religious. People might get the wrong idea that Jewish tradition, values and beliefs are the foundation of the nation. We wouldn't want to communicate that idea – not good for public relations……

    Shame to the hacks that speak in the name of the nation of the Jewish people for producing crap such as this.

  5. I just finished Daniel Gordis' book SAVING ISRAEL and I think he makes some great points – in all this "we're nicer people then them" stuff we've forgotten that the sole purpose of Israel is to be a haven for the Jewish people. Add to this that we're here because we've always been here, it's our homeland and too bad if the other team wants to kill us and throw us out. This war is never going to end, peace if never going to come without Moshiach (sorry Jim, that's Messiah to you) so time to hunker down and stay on point. We don't have any choices: if Israel goes, ALL the Jews go because the war is against all of us. The physical existence of Israel is just an excuse for our enemies to rise against us.

    1. I'm a regular listener to Howard Stern, so I'm familiar with the term "Moshiach." Although when Howard uses the term, it tends to be in an irreverant way. For example, Howard might say something like: "When Jerry Lewis talks about his accomplishments in the entertainment field you would think he was talking about the Moshiach."

      Because I'm a religious skeptic, historic events speak to me more powerfully than scripture. Historic anti-semitism culminating in the 20th Century Holocaust are compelling arguments for a national homeland for the Jews. For all kinds of good reasons, Israel is the essential place for such a homeland. But I still think it is critical to try to convince the rest of the world why we're right, nanaloshen. (p.s. Is nanaloshen one name or two?)

      1. you listen to howard? point for you

        the only problem with saying the jews need a homeland because of the holocaust is that it allows its opponents to use the following meme

        "the palestinians had nothing to do with the holocaust…let the jews have their homeland in poland"

        it is our land…g-d gave it to us

        the arabs insane prophet accepted this (the one thing he got right)

        1. But the argument that the Hebrew god gave the land of Israel to the Jews is no more persuasive to the Arabs than the facts surrounding the European Holocaust. However, historic ties the Jews have with Israel/Palestine should persuade Arabs that Israel has a right to exist. If not, there are always strong measures of self-defense that Israelis will employ to preserve their country.

            1. No, I'm here to persuade YOU, Shy Guy, that you're way out in left field playing for the Toldeo Mudhens. You're never going to play for the Yankees with all your seething resentments and deep hostility towards anyone who doesn't see things the way you do. It's always going to be the Toledo Mudhens for you, Shy Guy. Live with it.

              1. Time will tell which one of us has struck out. You have no idea.

                For the rest of us, from tomorrow's Torah reading, the last chapter of Parshat Vezot Habrachah, the last words of the Torah:

                1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, even Gilead as far as Dan; 2 and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the hinder sea; 3 and the South, and the Plain, even the valley of Jericho the city of palm-trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the LORD said unto him: 'This is the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying: I will give it unto thy seed; I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.' 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-peor; and no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. 7 And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended. 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. 10 And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face; 11 in all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land; 12 and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.

                We're home.

                1. I do hope that your faith gives you comfort and strength to face life's difficulties. But for me dead is dead, there is no afterlife, no angels, no pearly gates, no God. At least I'm not sure that these things exist. You confuse knowledge and certainty, Shy Guy. I'm not asking you to believe what I believe (or don't believe). I'm just suggesting you might want to dial back on your hostility a bit. Don't nice people go to heaven, too?

        2. In addition, it is the only logical place for us. How is the Jewish Autonomous Region holding up?

          And the Arabs arent being punished. Theyve had plenty of opportunities to act civilized and accept their "new" neighbors.

        3. Walt, I know what they say, and their supporters say, but actually, the Arabs had plenty to do with the holocaust and it wouldn't hurt to really let them know it. Besides the Grand Mufti, rioting by Arabs shut the gates of Palestine to immigration. Not that the British cared, but why do we give the Pals a pass on the greatest single mass slaughter of Jews in history? They participated. Their whole raison d'tre now is to kill the Jews. How are they innocent of any of this?

          I actually never mentioned the holocaust in my original post, and I think Gordis refers to all the persecutions of the Jewish people throughout all history, along with the holocaust.

      2. I use nanaloshen as one word. It's my blog. My real name is actually a part of the bigger word. Can you guess what it is?

  6. How about a campaign that recognises and informs everyone that Europe made a deal with the Arabs back in the OPEC days to bury Israel in favour of arab oil as well as take on their attitude to the jews, as well as flood their own countries with jihadi Muslims?

    Hasbara needs to recognise this – this is not just a matter of getting Jewish voices (although i do believe in this), it[‘s a matter of acknoledging that jews and Israel have been deliberately stifled as part of a DEAL.

    and since the UN is dominated by Muslims, it affects America and Australia etc as well, especially since all these countries let Jew-hating Muslims IN.

    Oh, and Christian-hating, Hindu-hating, dawa-producing, terror-supporting, Saudi-funded Muslims too.

    Thanks for that.

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