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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Commentary Home page  back Print  Send To friend Israel must change to change its image Abdaljawad OA Hamayel Ma`an News Agency 7.03.10 http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=265692 Israel has come out with several different schemes to sharpen its image on the world stage of late. Trying to develop a stronger and more comprehensive media strategy is one of the ways the country seeks to attract support in the West and internationally. Palestinians and their international supporters, however, have thus far been able to sustain a somewhat ‘conspiratorial attack’ on Israel. This attack has severely undermined the Israeli image of a liberal democratic haven amidst a sea of dictatorial states. The Israeli image, however, has been less damaged because of Palestinian efforts to expose its machinations, and much more based simply on the inherent political injustice, inequality and discrimination that an occupational regime such as Israel exercises. Israel is a country that boasts of its freedoms and democracy, while maintaining an occupation that contradicts those same pillars. The reality on the ground, images of dead children that circulated after the war on Gaza, were worth more than any essay written about the conflict. The new youth culture in the West of ‘seeing before believing’ and of seeking alternative sources for information has added to the degradation of the Israeli image, out of the control of its spindoctors who have until now controlled the discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. More than ever, westerners are traveling to the Palestinian territories and Israel to witness the circumstances in which Palestinians live. The rise of the internet and the challenges it poses to mainstream media is another piece of the puzzle. Human encounters that take place on the ground and through cyberspace, the images that fly out of the territories unfiltered and untouched are all collectively causing a crisis in the ‘Israeli image.’ The rise of Palestinian filmmakers, intellectuals, poets, musicians and artist showcasing Palestinian life and humanity has also dealt a blow to the dehumanization of Palestinians. The result is a dissipation of the old stereotypes that plagued Palestinians, a disintegration of ideas that denied the existence of a Palestinian nation as muttered by Gold Meir when she proclaimed “they do not exist” and a carnage that aimed at confiscating their humanity as mumbled by Menachem Begin when he stated that the Palestinians “are beasts walking on two legs.” Their utterances may have convinced an uninformed audience 30 years ago, when documentary film making was limited, when Palestinian film makers were in their naissance, when the internet and the cyber world did not exist, when booking a plane ticket was hard, when moving abroad and studying for a Palestinian student was difficult, when cameras were controlled by the eyes of a few international news organizations. But any attempt to revamp media strategy and spin the situation will not work in the age of information technology, the doctrine of ‘blaming the victim’ is looking more like a farce. The old clichés of Arabs at the gates threatening to obliterate Israel from existence seems ludicrous seeing that Arabs have offered a comprehensive peace deal. The cliché of Israel’s existential fight for its life, when it has one of the biggest nuclear arsenals in the world and one of the most powerful and technologically advanced militaries is laughable, seeing that most Palestinians choose to throw a stone, write a poem or draw a painting in response. Israel must understand, that for it to have a good image, it must show goodwill, for Israel to be seen in favorable eyes, it must end occupation, end house demolitions, collective punishment, bombing of civilians, building illegal settlements and allowing right-wing religious zealots to dictate its policies. It must end the building of high walls and break down the complex network of checkpoints and security apparatuses that humiliate hundreds of thousands of Palestinians every day. Israel cannot charm the international community away from looking at the way it has conducted itself in the territories. For Israel to have a good image, Israel must work on changing itself. Abdaljawad OA Hamayel is a graduate of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands where he was Editor-in-Chief of the University College Utrecht’s Newspaper ‘The Boomerang” and the Chair of the All Student Interest Council at the same University. He now resides in Ramallah rh Links to the latest articles in this section Is there still a chance to break the cycle of revenge and bloodshed? Israelis Against Apartheid Statement Following ICJ Hearing Three weeks into the Gaza War - a somber and sober assessment, with some historical perspectives