30 | JANUARY 4 • 2024 J
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family, or even hear the sounds
of his younger children playing.
Like all Israelis, he, his family
and their circle of friends have
not been immune to the loss of
life experienced since Oct. 7.
They include his neighbor, who
lost her husband, the father of a
close friend, who lost his young-
est son.
Spielman explained the IDF
spokesperson bureau is staffed
with 70 soldiers charged with
handling visits from high-level
government leaders or dignitar-
ies, embedding field reporters
with soldiers at the front, or
disseminating and debriefing
intelligence to other reporters
for in-depth analysis coverage.
THE WAR ON CAMERA
Spielman finds himself among
an elite group of eight spokes-
persons who are multilingual,
have lived and traveled abroad
extensively, and who go on
camera with international
broadcast media. Four spokes-
people cover Europe and
another four cover English-
speaking countries. That’s
where Spielman comes in. His
12-hour shift begins 7 p.m.
Israeli time so he can accom-
modate American primetime
broadcasts. Then he will be on
back-to-back interviews from
FOX and Newsmax to ABC,
CNN and the BBC.
“Each on-camera broadcast,
to me, is like a battle or a chess
match,” Spielman said. “News
anchors, even those I have
gotten to know, are waiting to
stump me, or waiting for me
to misspeak or catch me off
guard, which can have serious
national and even international
implications.”
He said it is essential for
IDF spokespeople to be level,
coolheaded, and have a firm
understanding of not only
who the reporter is but also
their audience makeup as well.
Above all, the audience needs
to see his humanity.
“When I am on air, I am
constantly thinking about the
audience who is watching,”
Spielman explained. “The best
chance we have of relaying
our truth during an inter-
view is to have integrity and
strength and to be balanced.
We do not let false assump-
tions (about Israel’s actions)
go uncontested. Above all, I
am trying to show to a world
that is painting us as mon-
sters that we are human and
not monsters. I have a family
and I feel a sense of justice
for what we’re doing. All my
answers come from that core.”
During the daily grind of
these interviews, what also gives
Spielman resolve is the knowl-
edge that he is speaking from a
deep truth rooted in centuries of
Jewish history and connection
to the land. Much of this comes
from his previous work of 21
years with the City of David
Foundation. For many years,
he has led VIP tours through
the archeological site, which sits
just outside of the Old City of
Jerusalem.
Much of what he says on the
air is also grounded from his
work there. A book document-
ing his experiences there is in
the works for next year.
“There is nothing more pow-
erful than walking around this
site with a Bible, finding the
origin of a (politician’s) name
in the bible, and then going to
an area of this site where that
name is referenced. It connects
the visitor to the State of Israel’s
4,000-year-old story — a story
that continues to this day. When
I speak as a spokesperson, I
carry that with me. I know I
am indigenous. That does not
mean that anyone else is not
indigenous, but I know that I’m
indigenous to this land.
”
THE CLIMATE IN ISRAEL
Aside from updates on the
war and constantly fearing the
fate of the hostages, Spielman
said Israelis are keeping a
close watch on the rise of anti-
Zionism on American college
campuses. Israelis are watching
this with increasing concern,
he said, because it is from the
university setting where the
next generation of American
leadership will arise.
“You would be surprised
to know that this is one of
the main topics Israelis are
talking about,
” Spielman
said. “Soundbites from the
Congressional hearings with
the (university) presidents were
constantly on the news. Israelis
are watching what is going on
at the college level, and they
are not sure what is going to
happen to diaspora Jewry.
”
At a time when Israelis are
feeling isolated, the support
and generosity of the diaspora
community, including from
Metro Detroit, is greatly
appreciated. Many soldiers have
expressed gratitude knowing
that some of the protective
body gear they are wearing,
or counseling and therapy for
those who have experienced
trauma, plus extra meals and
snacks during deployment,
are because of the generous
donations by American Jews,
he said.
“I’ve never seen Israel as
connected to the diaspora as
they are right now,
” Spielman
said. “There’s an awareness in
Israel that world Jewry is part
of this war and understand
they are also under attack.
But what I know is that I owe
my deep connection to Israel
to what started in the Jewish
community back in Detroit. I
have taken those lessons from
the community with me over
the years, and I remember
that now that I am a
spokesperson for Israel, how
grateful and proud I am to feel
the continued support back
in my hometown.
”
continued from page 29
ERETZ
Doron Spielman on a live shot with CNN
A Hamas tunnel that
was shown to the media