UN Goldstone Report Council Vote Endorses Terrorism, Israel Lacks PR

UN Goldstone Report Council Vote Endorses Terrorism, Israel Lacks PR

With the passing of the resolution to send the UN Goldstone Report to New York,
those members who voted for this resolution will have blood on their hands.

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
http://www.israelnewsagency.com/ungoldstonereportunitednationsisraelhamasgazaprpublicrelationsaffairscrisiscommunicationsmfaidfnetanyahuliebermanwarcrimes48161009.html

Jerusalem, Israel ---- October 16, 2009 ..... A friend just asked: "Am I the only one who feels like crying?" My response was: "we don't have time for tears."

And so the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today endorsed the UN Goldstone Report, which will now send this flawed and biased so-called human rights report on Israel defensive war against Hamas terrorism to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court.

The UN resolution in Geneva on the Goldstone Report passed 25-6, with mostly developing countries in favor and the United States and five European countries opposing. Eleven Europe and African countries abstained, while England, France and three other members of the 47-nation body declined to vote.

The UN Goldstone Report effectively ignores Israel basic right of self defense. The Goldstone Report makes unsubstantiated claims about its intent and challenges Israel's democratic values and rule of law.

Israel President Shimon Peres responded to the UN Goldstone Report saying that it "makes a mockery of history." That the UN Goldstone Israel Gaza War Crimes Report "does not distinguish between the aggressor and the defender."

Respected Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz states: "The report gives de facto legitimacy to terrorist initiatives and ignores the obligation and right of every country to defend itself, as the UN itself had clearly stated."

"The effect, if not the intent, of the UN Goldstone report will be to keep Israel troops in the West Bank longer."

"This UN report not only takes away the right to self-defense from democracies, it gives this self-defense to the terrorists," says Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.

By voting for the Goldstone Israel Gaza War Crimes Report to be moved onto the UN in New York, those members of the United Nations who voted for this resolution today will have blood on their hands as this resolution directly and clearly encourages "resistance" or terrorism against democratic states.

And these effective and truthful soundbytes will be repeated over and over again.

But in Israel, we must ask ourselves one and only one question, who is to blame for the outcome of today's vote in Geneva?

It would be easy to point our fingers at the Arab states, Iran, Syria, Islamic terror groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. To those Europe nations who bow down to Arab oil. And to place responsibility with South Africa Judge Richard Goldstone for being naive, for being used as a wooden puppet by those who seek to destroy Israel, those who seek to destroy any chance of real peace with the Palestinians.

And to say that it is a numbers game, would also be correct. There are more Muslims, more Arabs than there are Jews and Israelis.

But if we are to believe in our own rhetoric that the UN Goldstone Report was based on politics rather than human rights, then we must also address Israel's failure to address the politics with the most potent PR and public affairs professionals and NGO's who have been placed on standby by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs since Goldstone inked his report.

Could Israel have done more to illustrate its basic right to defend herself against Islamic terrorism? Against over 8,000 terror missiles launched by Hamas from Gaza, a place that Israel left 4 years ago in an unilateral peace move?

Yes.
So what went wrong?

Without going into great detail or logistics, without mentioning names, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israel Prime Minister's Office and the IDF critically lacks the professional PR manpower.

Yes, they have the tools. They have the capability of reaching the world media and governmental leaders using some of the most sophisticated Web 2.0, social networking, viral marketing and SEO tools in a matter of minutes.

But the MFA, the IDF and the Prime Minister's Office suffer from a cultural Achilles' heel. Israel believes that if you have the right product, there is no need to market it. People will come and buy. That if we are telling the truth, that if we really are humane, people will believe us. This is where we go wrong.

Yes, we have some very professional and creative public relations and public affairs people in government. Mark Regev, Danny Seaman, David Saranga, Amir Gissin, Jonathan Peled, Ashley Perry, Ronit Ben-Dor and Lt.-Col. Avital Leibowitz to mention just a few.

But these Israel PR media professionals either lacked the manpower and or the mandate to get the job done.

So what now?

Let's place the responsibility where it rightfully belongs.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who made one of the finest speeches in Israeli history this month at the UN and Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Israel lacks professional, crisis communications PR but does not see
nor acts on this problem which has a direct effect on Jewish and Arab life.

These two gentlemen cannot accept today's UN Goldstone Report UNHRC vote in Geneva. A few good soundbytes will not dismiss the ramifications of the International Criminal Court passing future judgment on every IDF soldier.

Netanyahu and Lieberman must hire the finest crisis communications PR professionals they can find and give and make a mandate that the Israel MFA, the IDF and the Prime Minister's Office will and must follow.

As I write this news report, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has senior staff in the most sensitive international PR and public affairs positions, staff of which have no professional experience whatsoever in journalism, PR, media placement, branding and Web 2.0 social networking. This flaw in our government must be addressed immediately with the same vigor that former Israel Defense Minister Amir Peretz was dealt with as he viewed war exercises with binoculars whose lense caps were still on.

Israel public relations and public affairs have a direct effect on lives on the ground. Both Jewish and Arab life.
It is time that the modern master of Israel public relations, Benjamin Netanyahu, puts on his war uniform and secures the most potent media weapons he can find.

Submarines, space satellites, the Mossad and F-16's are just not enough.

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