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Thursday, March 28, 2024

A Perspective on Israel’s Failure To Effectively Confront BDS

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The Israeli government is being called on the carpet for their woefully inadequate response to the burgeoning BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement.

It appears that an ample amount of news ink has been spilled in recent days over the ever burgeoning BDS movement.  Pundits of all persuasions have weighed in on this issue that rightfully deserves the highest degree of gravitas. After all, the economic isolation of Israel that is being sought by the vehemently anti-Semitic acolytes of this boycott movement represents not only an existential threat to the survival of the Jewish State but the future of Jewish survival around the world.

Conveying plaudits to such exemplary pro-Israel activists as Sheldon Adelson and other philanthropists of Israel for stepping up to the proverbial plate and crafting a hands-on plan to battle this nefarious scourge is definitely a start, but is certainly not the end of this protracted battle.  The fact that the individuals assembled by Mr. Adelson have displayed their largesse may be a comfort in a protracted campaign against our eternal enemies, but we must scrupulously examine Israel’s role, or lack thereof, in initiating a movement of its own that would join the growing chorus of voices who have committed themselves to tackling BDS.

While Israeli MKs from both the left and the right use the BDS issue to score political points and elicit a palpable sense of fealty from their constituents, we must ask precisely why the Israeli government has figuratively remained dormant on this issue for years; neglecting to even discuss it, let alone attempt to quash it.

Currently, the Israeli Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan is in charge of forging full steam ahead on government efforts to expose the bald faced propaganda of BDS to the world.

As part of the Strategic Affairs Ministry, Mr. Erdan’s job is being made much easier in that a cabinet decision was made last year to fund anti-BDS efforts to the tune of $26 million. Despite his good intentions at cobbling together an effective plan of throwing down the gauntlet on BDS, we have heard similar pronouncements in the past but nothing substantial has emerged. According to a Times of Israel report authored by Haviv Rettig Gur, after six years of wrestling with this issue it appears that the Strategic Affairs Ministry is currently staffed “by no more than half a dozen employees all told in the entire ministry and only two of them are in some way charged with addressing BDS.”

Gur sums things up quite succinctly: “The State of Israel’s anti-BDS efforts consist of three, perhaps four officials split between a Foreign Ministry formally stripped of responsibility for the issue and a virtually nonexistent Strategic Affairs Ministry with scarcely a part-time member.”

In truth however, we have been in collective denial over the lackluster, lethargic and overtly feckless response from the Israeli government as it pertains to any substantive efforts to save itself.  Perhaps Jewish self-hatred has become so endemic to our way of life that we can no longer see ourselves out of a morass such as this.

Let’s begin but asking why the Israeli government has not sought to broadcast its message globally through the use of the media. Even a PR novice will tell you that without the effective utilization of the electronic media, your message essentially becomes a fish out of water and is inevitably headed for an ignominious death.

Why is it that Israel has not made any serious “noises” about purchasing their very own version of “a worldwide, multi-language, pro-Israel, pro-America, pro-West, unbiased “al-Jazeera,” TV and internet station that focuses not only on Israel but also covers the world—but when it comes to the Middle East, simply tells the truth,” as suggested by prolific author Phyllis Chesler in a recent op-ed on the Israel National News web site.

She added that “this may cost billions of dollars each and every year” but we are keenly aware that the money we spend to assuage the floodgates of this lethal cognitive war of ideas is just as crucial as monies spent on military hardware and other armaments.

And while we’re on the subject of the media, a gnawing question that is often bandied about by pro-Israel advocates is why Israel has remained in a state of inertia when it pertains to courting its closest allies in the fourth estate; namely the Jewish media.

It is a well known fact that this very newspaper that you are reading (The Jewish Voice) is passionately committed to Israel’s survival’s and is proudly called a “true Zionist publication.” Why then does it become an onerous task for the editors of this newspaper to even receive a simple response to an inquiry placed to the local Israeli consulate or embassy on a developing news story?

Why is it that the powers that be in Israel that are designated to handle press communications display an unwillingness to break stories to the media representing Jewish newspapers, television, radio and internet sites?

Why is the Jewish media; those ostensibly prepared to give Israel a fair shake in the global arena of incessant information treated as a stepchild at best and an unworthy ally at worst.

Case in point: At a Jewish Media Summit sponsored by the Israeli Foreign Ministry in June of 2014, media representatives spanning the globe assembled in Jerusalem for a four day conference. It was there that many expressed their distaste of being left in the  dark as it pertains to obtaining crucial news about Israel by the very government that it sought to promote. Cogent responses to such questions were exceptionally disappointing.

Why the formidable reluctance to reach out to the Jewish media? As of yet, this remains an impenetrable enigma. The problem, however, is that we don’t have the time or luxury to deal with this governmentally imposed roadblock. The larger than life shadow of the BDS bogeyman is hot on our trail and the time for action was yesterday.

Quite frankly, such a shunning of the Jewish media defies pure logic, as who better is there to put forth Israel’s narrative as the ones most acquainted with it.

It might be noteworthy to offer a psychological perspective on this perplexing matter. Since its inception, Israel’s founding fathers and subsequent heads of state had no problem calling for the physical defense of the nascent Jewish state. The thought of arming Israel to the teeth with the most modern and advanced weaponry and using it when in conflict was an act of national redemption in their minds. When it pertained however, to the international court of public opinion that is impaneled to judge Israel, its leaders backpedalled on relying on itself but rather gave misplaced credence to the world’s distorted and hate filled views.

It is high time for Israel to offer respectability to those who can effectively defend Israel’s policies and its very existence to the world.

The time is long overdue for Israel to establish educational programs among Jewish youth around the world. The time is long overdue for media outlets to amplify the message of Israel’s outstanding accomplishments in the arts and sciences, in the humanities and its innumerable contributions to every aspect of life as we know yet.

It is time for Israel to vanquish the egregious agenda of world opinion; it is time for Israel to take the high road of truth and intrepidness and to utilize every possible avenue of assistance for every second is vital. If we miss this opportunity now, we may never have the wherewithal to defend ourselves again.

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