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,A GOOD WORD page 118
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United VVay
White House and State Depart-
ment officials.
After going to the U.S., Mr. Ne-
tanyahu went to Europe to con-
vince its leaders that the first
order of business was for Yassir
Arafat to place an absolute ban
on terror, and that Israeli con-
cessions now would amount to a
surrender to violence.
But Dutch Prime Minister
Wim Kok said the Europeans
were, nevertheless, going forward
with their peace proposal, which
called for a Palestinian cessation
of violence and a simultaneous
freeze on Israeli construction at
Har Homa and at settlements in
the territories.
The international media has
jumped on board. Newsweek, for
instance, titled its story on Israel
last week 'The Neighborhood Bul-
ly," writing that Mr. Netanyahu
was practicing the "politics of hu-
miliation" with the Palestinians.
So has Bibi lost his touch? Af-
ter 20 years of winning hearts and
minds as United Nations ambas-
sador, CNN regular and speaker
at countless public and private
gatherings, have his powers of
persuasion left him now that he
is prime minister, just when he
needs those powers most?
No. Mr. Netanyahu's hasbara
skills remain as sharp as ever.
"He is Israel's number one
spokesman," said Dr. Yossi
Olmert, director of the Govern-
ment Press Office in the Shamir
government.
"Netanyahu speaks in short,
clear sentences, describes things
in black and white, in excellent
English, just like the Americans
like to hear it," said Tel Aviv May-
or Roni Milo, no hasbara slouch
himself
Mr. Netanyahu's problem is
not his salesmanship, but his
product — the policies towards
the Palestinians. In marketing
terms, it is not suited to the taste
of his audience — the leaders of
the Western world and the West-
ern media.
In these circles, Jewish settle-
ments have always been seen as
"an obstacle to peace," if not out-
rightly "illegal." As for Israel's
claim to exclusive sovereignty over
all of Jerusalem — which Mr. Ne-
tanyahu sought to underscore
with the construction on Har
Homa — each foreign embassy in
Israel, except those of El Salvador
and Costa Rica, is located in Tel
Aviv.
Europe has always leaned
more towards the Palestinians
than has the United States, Is-
rael's closest ally. But even so, no
American government has ever
sided with the Israeli right's view
of the conflict with the Palestini-
ans, and the Clinton Adminis-
tration does not side with
Netanyahu's post-Oslo, modified
right-wing approach.
So Mr. Netanyahu fights an
uphill battle. David Bar-Illan, di-
rector of hasbara in the prime
minister's office, freely acknowl-
edged this.
The Clinton administration,
Mr. Bar-Illan added, would like-
ly be happier with the more con-
ciliatory approach towards the
Palestinians favored by Mr. Ne-
tanyahu's predecessor, Shimon
Peres.
However, Mr. Bar-Elan insist-
ed that Mr. Netanyahu and his
policies had gotten a much better
reception from U.S. leaders than
has been portrayed. He noted that
after the Netanyahu-Clinton.
meeting, White House spokesman
Mike McCurry described the two
leaders' relationship as "brother-
ly." During the two-hour meeting,
he added, Mr. Clinton did not
pressure Mr. Netanyahu, nor
even mention Har Homa, but
rather "asked to hear [Ne-
tanyahu's] ideas for confidence-
building measures."
However, in scenes of Pales-
tinian funerals, Palestinians are
the desperate underdog, and
world sympathy goes to them, so
this is how Mr. Arafat fights to-
day. ❑