Window on Israel: Persuasion, perspective and public relations

Israel has an image problem.
 
It has worsened due to Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, a foreign minister-designate perceived by many as a bigot and a prime minister-designate who speaks out against what is widely held to be the key to peace in the region - the idea of a Palestinian state.
 
EU  foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said Europe would reconsider its relationship with Israel if it did not remain committed to establishing a Palestinian state.
 
Israeli officials are worrying about a leftward tilt in the American administration. Liberal Jewish Democrats are unhappy with what they saw in Gaza, and what they see in the new government.
 
Nervous officials at Israel's foreign ministry have budgeted $2 million to improve the country's image by sending artists and intellectuals abroad to present a positive image. An even more nervous professor says that $100 million may be necessary for the job. 
 
Israel sometimes does ugly things.
 
So do other countries faced by violence.
 
One question is: Does war have to be as ugly as it is?
 
We are reading in our own newspapers about the killing of Palestinians and property damage in Gaza that may not have been justified. The IDF will investigate.
 
No doubt there are some undisciplined individuals in Israeli uniforms, who should not have passed through the training meant to weed them out.
 
Other armies are also imperfect. Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and My Lai come to mind.
 
Another question is: Can music, art, and well-spoken writers and academics overcome the negatives from Gaza and the government offices in Jerusalem?
 
Some of the charges against Israel come from extremists who long ago accepted Palestinian stories of Israeli oppression. Nothing may penetrate strongly-held beliefs about the injustice of Israel's existence or its actions.
 
Some will appreciate the art, music and literature of Israel, the fruit of its orchards and the products of its laboratories, industries and medical facilities. These showcase the creative and humane sides of a culture that has spent more than two millennia learning and probing the nuances of its problems. Demonstrations of diversity and outright disputes may produce understanding and appreciation of what Israel is, even if they do not increase support for all of Israel's actions.
 
Israelis have explained the sequence of events behind its military operations. The history includes acceptance of compromises offered by others going back to the 1930s, as well as Israeli proposals since 2000 having been met by Palestinian rejection and violence. Thousands of rockets aimed at civilians preceded the most recent Gaza operation. The selection of Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu as prime minister and Israel Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman as foreign minister reflect the workings of democratic politics, and frustration at efforts to produce a Palestinian state, which have been ongoing since the 1993 Oslo Accords.
 
There are people who take no heed of  Israeli explanations, are not convinced, or are more impressed with Palestinian explanations. Americans and Europeans have their own concerns. The Middle East is over the horizon and troubling. Officials who aspire to world leadership must appear even-handed. People who have suffered attacks by Muslim extremists hope for a key that will lessen the threat of more violence.
 
Israel's future depends, in part, on cultural outreach and dispassionate explanation. Neither alone will assure continued survival or prosperity. Both together are not likely to be enough.
 
Armed force is the ultimate defense of any nation faced with enemies who speak about destruction. Gaza shows what Israel may do when faced with seven years of rocket attacks, and little more than sympathetic words from foreign visitors. The continuing blockade against the import of material to repair the damage shows persistence in the face of Hamas's refusal to back away from its sworn commitment to destroy Israel.
 
What some see as unpleasant or reprehensible, others see a tough country doing what is reasonable. The most recent demonstration came in the government's refusal to free all the prisoners demanded by Hamas in exchange for the release of one Israeli prisoner: St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit. The refusal also demonstrated the limitations of public relations. The Schalit family came close to monopolizing the media with a campaign to build support for paying whatever price was necessary to gain Gilad's freedom. Numerous ministers in the government, members of Knesset and other public figures visited the tents across the street from the prime minister's residence and expressed support for Schalit's campaign. Those who opposed the deal being offered by Hamas were quiet, especially during the intense period surrounding the most recent negotiations.
 
Noam Schalit, Gilad's father, said the family would end its stay in the tents this week, as Gilad's imprisonment reaches 1,000 days. They will go home, he said, and "wait for a miracle."
 
Along with the sadness felt for a task not accomplished is the regard for officials who considered numerous sides of a moral quandary, and defended a decision that is less than ideal.
 
We hope for the time when persuasion and public relations will solve our problems.