TIFFANY & CO.
Behind Israel's Rare
Public Relations Win
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
I
Paloma Picasso's
Love and Kisses
Paloma Picasso's exclusive pin and earring designs
in eighteen karat gold.
JULES R. SCHUBOT
jewellers — gemologists
EMBE
ek.AN GEM S
3001 West Big Beaver Road • Suite 112 • Troy, Michigan 48084 • (313) 649-1122
NIBBLES & NUTS
LOVE is .. .
Remembering that SPECIAL SOMEONE
On Valentine's Day February 14th.
73 7-8088
Mast:TGatd
33020 NORTHWESTERN
Outside Of Michigan
1.800-752-2133
Special Candy & Stigarfree Available
24
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1991
Local & Nationwide Delivery
Congratulations
Sammy
on your success.
with love and
support from
Mom and Dad
the Acrichs
the Mosses
the Greenbergs
srael's legendary
battlefield exploits have
rarely been matched in
the struggle for American
public opinion.
But since the onset of Iraqi
Scud attacks, Israel has
employed some highly suc-
cessful tactics in the public
relations battle for the
hearts and minds of Middle
America.
Jerusalem has gone to
great lengths to put its best
spokesmen in the American
media spotlight — and to
keep its more abrasive
leaders out of sight.
Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir and the bellicose
Ariel Sharon — public fig-
ures who appear to grate on
both the leadership in Wash-
ington and the broader
American public — have
been almost invisible to
American TV audiences.
Foreign Minister David
Levy, who does not speak
English, has rarely been
mentioned in reports from
Israel.
The war and Saddam Hus-
sein's penchant for brutality
and terrorism have reinforc-
ed negative stereotypes of
Arab leaders. To capitalize
on this, part of Israel's re-
cent strategy has been to
portray its leadership as
thoroughly "Western," and
not Middle Eastern. Those
Israeli spokesmen who have
monopolized American TV
since the crisis began have
been visibly Western in ap-
pearance and manner —
something that adds to the
sense that Israel and the
United States are on the
same side in a massive clash
of cultures, not just a war
over Kuwait.
"These people all speak
English well, which is im-
portant," said Howard J.
Rubenstein, a New York
public relations executive
who has been involved in
efforts to improve Israel's
image in this country. "They
are measured in their verbal
responses. They are very
fine spokesmen."
Leaders like Deputy For-
eign Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, Health Minister
Ehud Olmert and Zalman
Shoval, Israel's ambassador
to Washington, have been
ever-present figures on
American news broadcasts
and talk shows.
Defense Secretary Moshe
Arens, always a favorite
with American audiences,
has also added his clipped,
cool style to the television
campaign.
"Shoval comes through as
a Walter Cronkite figure,"
said Marvin Kalb, the
longtime CBS and NBC
newsman, who now directs
the Center on the Press,
Politics and Public Policy at
Harvard University. "He's
believable, serious and intel-
ligent."
Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Kalb
said, manages to convey a
hardline Israeli position in
ways that do not alienate the
American audience.
"Given his naturally ex-
traordinary command of the
English language, he comes
through as 'one of us,' " Mr.
Kalb said. "At the same
time, he is hard-line. But be-
cause of the new sympathy
for Israel as a result of the
Scud attacks, his hard line is
now regarded as understan-
dable."
Israel's decision to defer
retaliation for the Scud at-
tacks, Mr. Rubenstein said,
contributed to the civilized
image of Israel that has
stood out in stark contrast to
the barbarism of Saddam
Hussein.
The impact of this re-
straint was magnified by the
expectation that Israel
would not hesitate to
retaliate if attacked by Iraq.
"You had this unfair ex-
pectation that Israel would
act without giving any con-
sideration to American in-
terests, or to the broader pic-
ture," said Jess Hordes,
Washington director for the
Anti-Defamation League of
B'nai B'rith. "It was a kind
of reverse media hype —
people expecting Israel to do
things that would cause
problems."
So when Israel showed re-
straint, Mr. Hordes said,
Washington and the Ameri-
can public were pleasantly
surprised — something that
added to the sense that
Israel was behaving as an
exemplary ally.
Mr. Rubenstein also
pointed out that Israel has
been unusually cooperative
in working with the elec-
tronic media.
"They are giving good
access, which is unusual for
them," he said. "This is very
important; the more film
footage from Israel now, the
better. You see children and
teenagers putting on their
gas masks."
❑