Yesterday the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization accepted the State of Palestine into the club. What State of Palestine you might ask? Therein lies the problem. The Palestinian bid for Statehood is still being considered by the United Nations.
So the question really is, where do we as the Pro-Israel, Pro-Zionist Movement go from here?
Let us demand the Palestinians take this step seriously. If they want to play in the big leagues they must follow ours rules.
Sure, we can begin with our typical Jewish or Israeli approach, and sit people down for a three course dinner, pull down a screen and begin with our power point presentation. In 1948 blah blah blah blah...
The time for Hasbarah (the Hebrew word for "long boring explanations") has long since passed. I would argue, it never had a time or place to begin with. As we spend our time drawing diagrams, and color coating our manila folders of legal analysis and logical arguments with Latin names, we lose our audience. Before the raid on the Marvi Marama even began, international media had begun the Public Relations battle. Instead of standing in the quads and food courts of Universities across America explaining that event according to the United Nations charter the Israeli Navy was legally allowed to board the ships, we should have been posting the pictures of the soldiers being attacked. Pictures of Israeli soldiers being thrown from one deck of the boat to another. Light does in fact travel faster than speed, and a series of pictures from the boats would have made the impression we wanted them to.
We as a movement need to shift our focus away from long winded explanations and focus on one thing. Winning.
We live in an age where people express whole thoughts in 140 characters, where you can download an album that took artists years to put together on iTunes in under 2 minutes, and where the new best way to contact someone is via text message.
The majority of people between the ages of 15-35 get their news from John Stewart's the Daily Show. To borrow a quote from the good ol' days, "The times they are a changin. And you better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone."
Pretend the Pro-Israel world is just like any other marketing campaign. In the famous words of Ari Gold, "In this town, there are no second chances." We need to get over our natural impulse to explain away a situation and succinctly address the issue in a marketable and timely manner.
The issue: An organization of the United Nations accepted a non-state to their committee.
Natural Inclination: This is absurd, they should accept Atlantis, Never Never Land, and Narnia as well. While Palestine will soon be a state, it is not yet, and therefore legally cannot be accepted.
What we believe, but are too afraid to say: I hope the Palestinians will now begin to set up a hate free educational system that values life over death. I hope they invest in scientific research labs that will help the people of the region deal with the extreme issues, including scarcity of potable water. And finally, I hope that now, with acceptance into UNESCO, the Palestinian culture may flourish proudly and effectively. I look forward to a blossoming of the LGBT Community, women's rights, and minority rights within the Palestinian community. Now the Palestinians must live according the shared vision of the founders of the United Nations, and fulfill the verse inscribed upon the wall of the United Nations. Let them “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore.” That is the standard; nothing below it should be tolerated.
The Palestinians have requested to be treated like members of the international arena, and UNESCO has agreed. Now is the time to call upon both sides to fulfill the basic requirements. Set down your weapons, set aside your hatred, and let us build a better world together.
Simple, direct, and expressive of the language we so often miss. We must learn to re-tailor our message to a newer group of people. Legal arguments are boring, save those for the International Court of Justice. On the street no one cares.
Do I think it silly and childish to accept a State that isn't a state? Most certainly. However, what else would you expect of an organization that appoints Iran as the head of the Women's Rights Council?
When speaking amongst ourselves, sure, let's get into the absurdity of the situation. But when we turn our focus to the outside world let's give them a message they can deal with. Palestinians want to be treated like a real country? Then they will have to deal with the consequences. The next rocket should not be treated as a provocation, but as an act of war. Our message needs to be clear, and must be appropriate for our target audience. No one sells snow to Eskimos, but we may be able to sell responsibility and self-determination to a generation increasingly wishing to be treated as adults.
Just as tailored suits are the new fashion, anything short of a perfectly tailored message will sit on the rack until the next President’s Day Sale.
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