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So the blood may spin in American eyes By Akiva Eldar
Ariel Sharon did not reprimand Benny Elon after the tourism minister incited congressmen to oppose President Bush's road map. Sharon's best friends in America have been given his blessings for their campaign against the plot to give a prize to the Palestinian violence by dismantling the illegal outposts that are a prize to Jewish violence. Sharon's problem with Elon is that what AIPAC (American Israel Political Action Committee) people are doing inside the pool, Elon insists on doing from the diving board.
Sharon's attack on the road map, like the outpost attack he strategized, is being done through subterfuge. That's why the Israeli public relations establishment enlisted the services of three leading American experts on U.S. public opinion, in other words, spinmeisters.
Republican consultant Frank Luntz, Democratic consultant Stanley Greenburg (who worked for Bill Clinton and on Ehud Barak's peace campaign), and political consultant Jennifer Laszlo-Mizrahi.
Luntz was here last week to meet with the heads of the Israeli government's public relations team, including Gideon Meir, the Foreign Ministry's deputy director general for communications and information, and the prime minister's media adviser Ra'anan Gissin. He presented them with the results of polls and focus group studies conducted by his company in Chicago and Los Angeles during the first 10 days of the Iraq war.
Meir says the wise recommendations provided by Luntz and his colleagues have become the guiding lights of the Israel and Jewish public relations effort in the U.S. The million dollar plus research was paid for by Jewish donors.
Luntz laid out his recommendations in a lengthy detailed memo. The purpose of the document, he says at the opening, is to help Israel supporters get their message across about the best way to "solve" (the quotes are in the original) the Israel-Palestinian conflict, before the world's attention is drawn to the road map.
"There will certainly be some people," says Luntz, "particularly those on the political left, who will oppose whatever words you use, but the language that follows will help you secure support from a large majority of Americans." In places, he provides verbatim speeches for pro-Israeli opinion makers.
Some selected quotes from the Luntz memo:
"The good news is that the American people firmly believe that if the Palestinians want to demonstrate sincere commitment to peace, they must abide by the tenants of the president's soon-to-be-released road map. The not-as-good news is that they expect exactly same from Israel and they demand it immediately.
"Among virtually all respondents regardless of political party, Americans responded quite favorably to the language from President Bush for two reasons: `a balanced approach' and `shared responsibilities.' Keep those terms in mind and use them whenever possible.
"The emergence of Mahmoud Abbas as the new Palestinian Prime Minister comes exactly at the wrong time. His ascent to power seems legitimate. He is a fresh face, and a clean-shaven one at that. He speaks well and dresses in Western garb. He may even genuinely want peace. Just as President Bush had begun to make headway in drawing attention on the need for a reformed Palestinian leadership, the Palestinians throw us this curveball. Is it a concern that he is a Holocaust denier? Absolutely. Will that fact convince Americans that he cannot represent the Palestinian people in an honest bid for peace? Hardly. Americans don't want to hear about the Holocaust anymore, and they particularly don't want to hear it from the Jewish community. Nevertheless, you need more substance on Abbas before you can tell the American people you question his devotion to peace.
"It is essential that you use positive language when asked about Abbas. However, that does not mean you must compliment Abbas himself. While knocking him down now does little to help your long-term goals, building him up is also counterproductive. Therefore you must remain positive about the peace process and indifferent about Abbas until he defines his role.
"The settlements are our Achilles heel, and the best response (which is still quite weak) is the need for security that this buffer creates. `Security' sells. Security has become the key fundamental principle for all Americans. Security is the context by which you should explain Israeli need for loan guarantees and military aid, as well as why Israel can't just give up land.
"Above all else, reaffirm your position that first terrorism stops, and then negotiations begin."
War profiteering
The following recommendations are drawn from what Luntz learned about American public opinion regarding the war in Iraq. "Link Iraqi liberation with the plight of the Palestinian people. If you express your concern for the plight of the Palestinian people and how it is unfair, unjust and immoral that they should be forced to accept leaders who steal and kill in their name, you will be building credibility for your support of the average Palestinian while undermining the credibility of their leadership ... Yes, this IS a double standard but that's just the way things are. A little humility goes a long way. You need to talk continually about your understanding of `the plight of the Palestinians' and a commitment to helping them.
"Humility is a bitter pill to swallow, but it will inoculate you against critiques that you have not done enough for peace. Admit mistakes, but then show how Israel is the partner always working for peace.
"Democracy loves company. So far, one of Israel's most effective messages has been that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. It's time to take that message one step further. Emphatically state that while you are proud of Israel's democracy, you would much rather be the first democracy in the Middle East than the only democracy in the Middle East. This may seem simplistic, but the message works when delivered this way and in this order. Americans sincerely hope that Iraq - a former adversary - can become a partner in peace once a representative government is installed. This is exactly what Israel has asked of the Palestinian Authority for so long: to establish a legitimate government that will become a partner in peace.
"When you want to identify with and align yourself with America, just say it. Don't use George Bush as a synonym for the United States. Half the Democrats support the war even if they don't support George Bush. You antagonize the latter half unnecessarily every time you compliment the President. Don't do it.
"The children component is particularly important. It is essential that you talk about `the day, not long from now, when Palestinian children and Israeli children will play side-by-side as their parents watch approvingly.'
"The language in this document will work, but it will work best when it is accompanied with passion and compassion. Too many supporters of Israel speak out of anger or shout when faced with opposition. Listeners are more likely to accept your arguments if they like how you express them.
"Find yourself a good female spokesman. In all our testing, women are found to be more credible than men. And if the woman has children, that's even better.
"Of course rhetorical questions work, don't they? Asking a question to which there is only one answer is hard to lose. It is essential that your communication be laced with rhetorical questions, which is how Jews talk anyway. (Luntz is Jewish.)
Average Americans
Under the headline, "Words that work," Luntz recommends verbatim scripts such as the following, which he recommends for Israeli spokesmen: "During the Gulf War, Iraq attacked Israel with Scud missiles 39 times. Israel stood by each time, not knowing if the next missile contained biological and chemical weapons. Israel chose restraint instead of war, because it was what the U.S. asked. It was Israel's way to support our ally, America, and its troops during the Persian Gulf War. We put supporting American priorities higher than our own. But now, with our national security at stake, we need America's financial help."
"Advocates of Israel will do well if they adopt the language that follows," says Luntz: "`We are hoping to find a Palestinian leadership that really does reflect the best interest for the Palestinian people.'"
And he suggests Israeli and Jewish spokesmen tell Americans, "`We know what it is to live our lives with the daily threat of terrorism. We know what it's like to send our children off to school one day and bury them the next. For us, terrorism isn't something we read about in the newspaper; it's something we see with our own eyes far too often. We don't want to sign a meaningless agreement that isn't worth the paper it is printed on. We want something real. If there is to be a just, fair and lasting peace, we need a partner who rejects violence and who values life more than death. As a matter of principle, the world should not force Israel to concede to those who publicly deny our right to exist or call for our annihilation. Just as the American government pledges to secure for you life, liberty, and the chance to pursue happiness, so must Israel's government guarantee that we will be secure and free.'"
Sylvan glades
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, like many an elected official in Israel, doesn't do much homework when he meets with European officials. This week he met with a delegation from the European Parliament that was visiting Israel. The MPs, led by a member of the Italian Radical Party, support an initiative to bring Israel into the European Union. The Europeans would have been happy to hear Shalom say at the end of the meeting that he was grateful for their support for Israel. They couldn't believe their ears when Shalom said, "Israel would be happy to be accepted into the EU."
For years, prime ministers and foreign minsters have been very careful about jumping on the EU bandwagon. Shalom could have found piles of working papers in the Foreign Ministry detailing the numerous problems involved in Israel joining the EU - separation of religion and state, strict rules about civil rights, cancelation of protective tariffs on imports in competition with local goods, or the EU's difficulty with Israel's immigration laws, like the Law of Return. Above all, he would have learned that the EU does not open its doors to countries that are not living in peace with their neighbors, nor to countries occupying another people's land.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin is the next high-ranking guest from overseas. His Israeli colleague, who devoted his one free night in Turkey recently to a meeting with an Israeli footballer playing for a Turkish team, might consider discussing shaping policy in the light of history. That's the subject of one of de Villepin's books. Or they could discuss modern poetry. Three collections of poetry written by the visiting minister have already been published. -- Michael Pugliese
"Without knowing that we knew nothing, we went on talking without listening to each other. Sometimes we flattered and praised each other, understanding that we would be flattered and praised in return. Other times we abused and shouted at each other, as if we were in a madhouse." -Tolstoy