I couldn’t agree more with the critics of Israel’s failure to wage an effective PR campaign against a rising tide of detractors. To remedy that sad situation the suggestion has been made that we need to let the world know about the significant contributions in science, medicine, finance, high tech, and in a host of other disciplines that the Jewish State has made to the world. So as of late, there have been a proliferation of PR videos appearing on YouTube and elsewhere which publicize Israel’s accomplishments. Patting ourselves on the back may make us feel good but that alone will not turn the tide.
Do not get me wrong. I too believe that ramping up efforts to point out to the world all that Israel has done to benefit mankind is a good first step, but only a small one. Israel's achievements have been published and distributed worldwide, but thus far to no avail. Why? Because Israel has a minority of supporters who continually carp at and criticize everything that the government does. Perhaps it is because the current government’s actions are not in synch with their political agenda and they believe that they are acting in Israel’s best interests. Perhaps it is because they feel that Israel’s actions are illegal and immoral, even though they are in the distinct minority holding that opinion.
Public dissent, in the face of Israel’s current PR crisis, is best expressed by the results of a democratically elected government, for it reflects the will of the people. Sometimes individuals, whose personal ideologies are in conflict with the majority, need to take a step back and acknowledge the possibility that it is they who are advocating the wrong course of action. But as long as we have well meaning critics from within, who publicly draw attention to what they deem are Israel’s mistakes, the world will feel justified in its obsessive and relentless condemnation of Israel.
Those who would destroy Israel, or at least have her toe the line to serve their own self interests and not those of Israel, are thrilled to hear the voices of dissent from within our ranks. Energized and embolden by our self inflicted discord, some of the perpetrators of the world's worst crimes, feel justified to gleefully exclaim to the entire world, “See even the Jews agree that Israel is wrong”. Surely positive image building, through better PR, will help tamp down the braying of Israel's detractors - but what we most need now is a United State of Israel.