In the end, it took barely two weeks for Barack Obama to prove to the world that its obsession with him is misplaced. His support for Israel’s assault on Gaza was/is unflinching. Unquestioning. Israel’s right to defend itself is non-negotiable, beyond discussion, so deeply carved in stone that it is irrefutable. Or so the old line goes. Never mind Palestinian dispossession, suffering and poverty. Never mind also the destruction of their homes and the ghettoisation of their existence. They are, after all, an ‘invented people’. A people who have never had their own state.
Amira Hass recently wrote in Haaretz that one of Israel’s greatest propaganda victories is that it has been accepted as a victim of the Palesti
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Absolutely spot on. Effective communications has always been important to conflict … and the Israelis are very good at it these days, while the Palestinians are far worse now than they once were. It’s a sensitive topic though — talking about “messaging” as people die might come off as tactless in the extreme, but look at the damage, say, a pic of dead Syrians mislabelled as Palestinians does to the overall credibility of anything pro-Palestinians say. Gaza needs a Malcolm Al-Tucker.
Amazing read Iain, Hats off for bringing light to such a sensitive subject.
Brilliant, bold and courageous! Bad PR and their failure to spin their message clearly got the Palestinians. Thank you Iain for speaking truth to power!