Avoiding the Spin

by Ghassan Khatib

From: Bitter Lemons (used w/permission)

Propaganda is key in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Both parties are very dependent on external factors, and therefore expend a great deal of effort in trying to swing support to their side, subsequently exerting pressure on their opponent.

Adding to the stakes, the international community views the Middle East as a region of crucial importance. This is Europe's backyard, it is where most of the world's petrol is produced, it is central to the world's monotheistic faiths and also forms a bridge between the geographic east and west.

For these reasons, Israelis and Palestinians respectively have devoted a great deal of effort to trying to convince the outside world that their cause is deserving of support, with the fault lying with the other side. Israel relies on external assistance, especially from the United States, to guarantee its security through arms and financing. Israel is also dependent on the support of the Jewish community in the diaspora, particularly that of Jews in the United States and Europe. It is crucial, therefore, that Israel be able to convince those parties that it must have their backing, and with this in mind, Israel often presents itself as a victim that needs protection, as well as the standard bearer for American and western values.

But sometimes, reality gets in the way. When the state of Israel came into being, a great injustice was inflicted upon another people. Now, in order for Israel to survive under the terms it has established for itself, Israelis must illegally occupy that same people and their land. This occupation is maintained through all sorts of violations of human rights and international law--just the sort of actions that Israel would like to avoid in view of its target audience. To explain this disparity between reality and the ideal, Israel maintains a sophisticated public relations machine whose job is to offset the negative propaganda that results from Israeli actions. Sometimes, this means hiding the truth, twisting reality, or just plain lying, if necessary.

There is no doubt that Israel has the equipment to succeed at this task. Israeli officials have very high expectations in this regard and they invest tremendously in producing results. At the same time, Israel benefits from an understanding of its American-western audience, because in some ways, Israelis are part of it. The interplay between Israeli propaganda efforts and the western audience is illustrated vividly through the obvious differences of opinion generally found between foreign media representatives stationed in Israel, and their editors "back home." Because the correspondents in the field are more attached to reality and relatively less influenced by propaganda and games of interest, their views are often more textured, fair and less subject to manipulation that those to be found in western capitals near the halls of power and influence.

On the other hand, for so long, Palestinians thought that the justness of their cause was so obvious as to need no explication. Particularly in the first two or three decades of the conflict, Palestinians were completely ignorant of the importance of media and public relations, first because of a lack of expertise, and second because of a lack of contact with the western world and a resulting naivet