Israel and the "War of the Words"

As the "People of the Book", you'd think that we Jews would be able to do a more effective job explaining ourselves to the rest of the world.

Sadly, that is not the case, and for far too long, Israel has underestimated the importance of the propaganda wars, often conceding many of its battles before they have even begun.

As I wrote in the article below, it is high time for this to change, and for the Jewish state to start thinking ahead and fighting back in the battle for world public opinion.

Words do count, and ideas do matter, so let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.

The Jerusalem Post, May 5, 2005

War of the Words

By Michael Freund

It is a war that Israel has never really fought, despite the inestimable damage which it continues to inflict. And while our foes have been on the offensive for decades, claiming one victory after another, most of us have yet to even acknowledge its significance.

It is the "War of the Words," or of terminology. It is a battle to define and describe Israel's conflict with its neighbors, and it is time that we started thinking ahead and fighting back.

Glance at any major Western newspaper and it quickly becomes clear who is winning the linguistic tussle in the Middle East. The territories are "occupied," Jews living there are "settlers," their supporters are "extremists," while those trying to kill them are mere "activists" or "militants."

On the whole, the language is clearly loaded, helping to shape public opinion against the Jewish state. And thanks to repeated use over the years, these terms have come to be accepted in nearly all public discourse regarding the Middle East.

Needless to say, this is far more than just a struggle over semantics. It is about influencing international opinion and shaping policy. Words, after all, are an instrument of persuasion. As George Orwell noted in his 1946 essay "Politics and the English Language": "If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought."

And corrupt it most certainly has. An entire generation has grown up imbibing a slanted version of reality, one that is peddled on a daily basis by the Arabs and their supporters.

Our foes long ago understood that by fixing the definition, you also effectively fix the debate. In the process, they have succeeded in laying the conceptual groundwork that has come to dominate the world's (mis)understanding of the issues at stake in the region.

Now, you might be thinking: so what? What difference does it make?

The answer is a whole lot. Indeed, anyone who doubts the political role and significance of words need only take a look at the energy and effort expended by others to deploy them effectively.

Take, for example, the Bush administration. Say what you will about the conduct of the war in Iraq, but there can be no doubt that the US has managed the war of words in a compelling manner.

Saddam Hussein's government was always referred to by the ominous-sounding term "regime," and the war itself was dubbed "Operation Iraqi Freedom" to underline its main objective.

From the start of hostilities, administration officials were careful to refer to troops stationed in Iraq as "Coalition forces," rather than GIs, in an effort to stress international backing for the war.

Of course, finding the right phrase is not necessarily going to change people's minds or transform their positions, but it can and does have an impact on the way an issue is viewed and understood. And over time, this can have a cumulative and often decisive effect.

Is it any wonder that after being told for so long that the territories are "occupied," many Jews and Israelis have now come to view that as being the case?

By conceding the point, Israel unwittingly set the stage for conceding the territory, too.

And that is why it is so essential that we prepare ourselves for the next phase of the propaganda war, and start thinking more clearly and effectively about how to get our points across.

Consider the term "settlement blocs," which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon himself has used on occasion, including in his April 22 interview with this newspaper. Is that really the best phrase to be using when describing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria that Israel intends to retain in any final-status agreement?

Over the years, our foes have succeeded in demonizing the word "settlement." By adopting this label, Israel is playing directly into their hands, giving them an unnecessary advantage.

Various other expressions, such as "Israeli population centers" or "suburban Jewish communities" should be used instead. They sound less menacing, and are more in line with our national interests.

At this point, it is perhaps too late to turn back the clock, or to press the rewind button and start fighting the linguistic battles that were lost decades ago. But it is certainly not too late to begin applying a little foresight, and to anticipate the clashes that inevitably lie ahead.

As John F. Kennedy once said regarding Winston Churchill, he "mobilized the English language and sent it into battle." After decades of forsaking this important arena, it is time for Israel at last to do the same.

-----------------------

The writer served as an aide to former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Comments

[Piranha]

To me the most loaded word is the one that you didn't put in quotation marks -- "territories".

To this American, at least, the word "territories" conjures up an image of vast African wilds attached to a small, civlilzed Western outpost and under its control. The image ties in -- directly -- to failed European colonialism more closely than any of the other words that you highlight.

Until that word is changed, all of the accusations of apartheid, colonialism, oppression of the indigenous people and racism will resonate because they fit the template.

[Simulev]

So stop using Muslim Arabic terrorist lingo then...

http://simulev.blogspot.com/2005/05/palestine.html
http://simulev.blogspot.com/2005/05/palestinians.html

[yehudah pritt sehmi]

Words on war + War on Words,
As we see the battle lines being drawn.By a race in
their charter they have sworn.To put an ancient nation
to their fate. Like the hoards of Haman boasting and
fixing a date.The fools they boast The mindless they
rage , not seeing the hand that gathers them in To the
valley. (It's clean up time. J Lennon.)
I have heard it said that every word we utter will
have to be accounted for.That is a big responsibility.
The propaganda machine can work quite powerfully in the
wrong hands,to that we all have been witnesses.In this war
on words.Balaam tried it,without success. But he gave
the enemy advice that demoralised the people.
To listen to wrong advice can be devastating.
The most powerful tool we have is the Torah.It is
not a propaganda tool anyone who misuses it,do so at
their own expense. This is what will lift Israel to
the heights of David and Shlomo Ha Melech.
When our war is fought to live in the Torah values
Our battle is to subdue our inclination to do wrong
(Sefer Tanya) Tanya was written for the benoni.
The parshat shvua and the haftarah kedoshim. Spoke
volumes, just on this subject.but with fewer words.
Quote.”You shall be Holy,for I am Holy””Keep the Sabbath”
Do not make images for idolatry”Parhat Emor carries
On to live the life,to be the people set apart, (not
Set aside)for HaShem.May we Truly be the People
Set apart for holy service……

[Arnold Millan]

the problem is that no matter how good a government's PR dept. happens to be, it will follow the party line. In the case of Israel, it is a leftest party line with leftist understandings of words.

[Shraga Feivel Neeroth]

Certainly there are purely neutral alternatives like Judea and Samaria, but "occupied territories" is, in the final analysis, accurate. I don't believe that any nation has recognized Israel's annexation of Yerushalayim or the Golan. What can one expect, therefore, regarding land that Israel hasn't annexed? (This isn't just the doing of left-wing gov'ts either; Begin didn't annex Yesha, nor did Shamir, nor Bibi) And "territory" connotes the essentially stateless status of the land fairly well, I think. Think of Canada, which consists of 10 provinces + the Northwest and Yukon Territories.

And it could be worse: Mainstream media could follow the anti-Israel mindset to its extreme by calling Yesha "occupied Palestine," the settlers "colonists" and Israel "the Zionist entity."

[Simulev]

>>Certainly there are purely neutral alternatives like Judea and Samaria>>

Look, that does not sound like Arabia and therefore it's not never ever used in European media. The closest you will get is the recent previous invading Arabic re-name to "west-bank".

>>And it could be worse: Mainstream media could follow the anti-Israel mindset to its extreme by calling Yesha "occupied Palestine," the settlers "colonists" and Israel "the Zionist entity.">>

That’s how European news agency daily brainwashes their readers. In fact in the Nordic region the largest paper are quoting Hamas straight, and daily news snippets with pure Arabic place names served by the huge local news agency TT are shoveled down the throats of the news-consumers. They do not write for instance the Hebrew (since time's of David) Har ha-Bayit or in plain English "temple mount", but almost always "Haram al-Sharif".

For Israelis and Jews that as starters might be a minor problem, until they start to grasp what kind of financial funding multi billion revenue industry, and yet even worse, moral support this produces for the terrorists movements that then can continue to slaughters innocent Jews.

[Simulev]

Uh okay. On my blogg (links above, and in my signature) you will find plenty of examples of what I just stated. However, instead of doing shameless PR ;) for my own blogg, I suggest you tune in to the former conservative leader Swedish PM Carl Bildt own blogg (the equivalent of Netanyahu on the political scale) to see our discussions.

http://www.google.com/search?q=palestine&ie=UTF-8&sitesearch=bildt.blogspot.com&x=0&y=0

What was once Judea-Samaria for millenniums, then recently became "West-Bank" and today is viewed upon as "Palestine" by supposedly allied politicians. Try then and grasp what the governing leftist mainstream politicians think....

[AmyS]

Of course you are right. Perhaps we need to look at *why* Israel is so bad at choosing the right words. It certainly isn't a matter of language difficulties. Rather, I think, the problem lies in attitude. Israelis seem to believe that "public relations" is synonymous with "weakness." When we can get over that, we will make some progress in this area.

[IamJoseph]

STOP WHINGING AND COMPLAINING, AND DO SOMETHING!

Israel can negate the Iranian declaration of an Israeli Holocaust without the loss of a single life. Here's how:

As a means of negating Israel's potential destruction, if Iran's oil wells are threatened, first by destroying 20% of her wells so they are not an assett anymore, and it becomes clear Israel is serious about her existence, then no one will supply Nukes to Iran - it will mean they won't get paid. If Israel infact destroys ALL of Iran's wells, it will be a great chagrin to the world - but it is better than facing the destruction of Israel.

The same formular should be used with other oil nations which foster Israel's demise. While this will concern America greatly - it is better that America works on the Regimes to avoid this issue than with Israel. America will understand that Israel cannot pay in blood for oil. The rest of the world will also have to do more than blaming Israel for such consequences. Hey, at least Israel will then be trying to do something - other than just complaining? Israeh holds Aces here - what is she waiting for when the Nazi-Iranian Regime has already declared its goals of Israel's anihilation?

A GOOD NAME IS BETTER THAN OIL (King Solomon).