Opinion
Learn to speak English
Esti Appelbaum-Polani
Published: 02.01.09, 00:14
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170 Talkbacks for this article
1. Even being mute palestinians will win the public opinion war
oscar ,   buenos aires   (01.02.09)
Just because the justice is on their side.
2. Very well put, extremely important matter
Flavio ,   Sao Paulo, Brazil   (01.02.09)
Let me take the opportunity to renew 'in totum' a talkback I posted Dec31st, under #6, at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3647685,00.html, for it is exactly about the matter at discussion here: 'The 2nd Lebanon War proved, beyond any doubt, that hasbara is an essential part of warfare - and quite frankly, Israel's always been lagging behind the Arabs with regard to winning hearts and minds in the West. To be sure, there are huge obstacles in the way: media bias, underlying antisemitism, deep psychological guilt complexes in Europe, etc etc - but all propaganda efforts should be doubled and redoubled! Foreign Affairs personnel ought to use each and every means at their disposal, preferably skilled PR professionals (not rough mannered military spokespeople) and in as many languages as possible (not only English, please!!!), in order to make crystal clear to everyone listening/watching that: 1) the current campaign is a response to relentless provocations from Hamas; 2) 500,000 Israelis living south of Ashdod deserve peace and tranquility like any other human being; 3) The targets are legitimate military facilities, which Hamas deliberately built among heavily populated districts in order to turn civilians into an human shield and to exploit the images of collateral victims in the most cruel, disgusting way. I know that some rugged, stereotypical sabra-style Israelis believe it to be a waste of time and money, a kind of fussy nicety that Israel does not need and cannot afford to pursue - but they are wrong, Israel does need sympathy and understanding from abroad! Israel and Israelis needs as much support as they can get!! Flavio , Sao Paulo, Brazil (12.31.08)' Now allow me to go a little further than the articulist, for I'd like to stress the importance of being fluent in foreign languages, not only English but also French, German, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese, to name a few. I find it hard, very hard to believe in a lack of qualified personnel in Israel, a country with abundance of skilled olim coming from the 4 corners of the world! Fluency, posture, politeness, television empathy, they are all relevant! Please, PLEASE pay attention to this very important front, ta'amulah and hasbara should not, CANNOT be neglected!!!
3. That's what Bibi is for!
jewish mother ,   jerusalem   (01.02.09)
Say what you like about his politics, but his Western charm, superb speaking voice and intelligence win debates time and time again. Livni made me curl up in shame during her Fox interview. what is it with Israelis and that long "eeer" sound. It is up to Bibi and other fluent spokespersons to win this PR battle.
4. Who cares
Victor   (01.02.09)
These experts and their never ending desire to capture the "world opinion" continue to fascinate me. Why? Who cares what the world thinks. So called "public opinion" predictably is a force for nastiness. Do what needs to be done and the "world" will swallow it just like it swallows everything else. Arguing with losers (see commenter #1) dos nothing bit dissipates valuable energy
5. Justice is on the Palestinian side Oscar?
Oscar   (01.02.09)
Israel can eliminate all the Palestinians in one strike. They don't. If the Arabs had this power, there would only be Jews in the Diaspora. EOM
6. i actually was impressed with livni
david ,   new york   (01.02.09)
her english is heavily accented, but she speaks intelligently and stays on message. she's not netanyahu, but much better than all the other recent israeli high officials. she at least gets the concept of PR, something olmert, barak (or even menachim begin) never did
7. livni doing a good job
alexi   (01.02.09)
No, you are wrong -Livni, and the communications group are doing OK. Arabs can out-talk and outbullshit any other race. That's who they are =romantic wild story tellers and complainers. Israel has to continue executing and so far so good. There is no point to any truce as hamas has to be met on the ground bearing in mind a good asymmetric plan. Its enough. If CNN was around in 1967, it is doubtful that israel would have won that war because the press condemns every israeli move and cheers on each arab move. Arabs are better at terror and communications because of their language-o-merciful and glorious allah, slit the throat of the infidels. They are winers and complainers of the first order-zionists are to blame, american imperialists, british invaders, everyone, only they are the true believers. Even with the term zionists, they refer to it like some colonial enterprise. Zion means israel and its return to the ancestral homeland. There was never any palestine, it is a roman renaming of Judea to palestina(meaning wandering people). Europe who kisses arab asses, Frabce has 6 million arabs, England has 3 millions, spain, greece have their share with their big birth rate. These countries are in severe danger. You who condemn israeli actions, you will get yours. You will end up as the muslim republic of France of Spain, of England if you doni't confront them.
8. Esti Appelbaum here is what you want to hear
simha ,   Toronto, CANADA   (01.02.09)
Esti Appelbaum's option would be for ISRAEL to die with the LARGE SYMPATHY OF THE LARGE INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC OPINON.. RIGHT ? English has nothing to do with dieing with the sympathy of the public opinion. In my humble opinion
9. This is sooo US-centered
Richard ,   Ottawa, Canada   (01.02.09)
How about French? And Spanish? And German? The hasbara must also be made in the languages of the most important EU countries (France and Germany) as well as in Spanish (for Spain and Latin America, as well as for a growing segment of the US by the way...). I CANNOT believe that Israel, a land of immigration, doesn't have anyone who can explain the situation in those languages. Get them out of their living rooms and in front of cameras NOW!
10. This is soooo US-centered
Richard ,   Ottawa, CAnada   (01.02.09)
How about French? Spanish? German? The hasbara must be made in the languages of the 2 most important and influential EU countries (France and Germany) as well as in Spanish (for Spain, Latin America AND a growing segment of the US population). I CANNOT believe that Israel, being a country of immigrants, doesn't have professionals who speak those languages. Ge them out of their living-room and in front of cameras NOW!
11. another fact-contorter who confounds committer with victim
Michael ,   vienna   (01.02.09)
the hamas and all the other radical islamists are the poison for all palestinian people
12. Just an example: Holland
David ,   Jerusalem   (01.02.09)
Try to find one person at the Israeli embassy in the Netherlands - just an example of a small but influential Western country where Israel has a huge PR problem - who is fluent in both Hebrew and Dutch, and who understands both the Israeli and the Dutch reality. Don't bother, you won't find such a person. At the same time there are some excellent Dutch-born potential spokespersons in Israel who do very important and quite influential hasbara work on a voluntary basis ( weblogs etc. ) but who are ignored by the 'professionals', mainly because the Israeli diplomats and the professional hasbara-people think that they should pay attention only to the Arab, French and English speaking public.
13. anglit...
Not English ,   somewhere, europe   (01.02.09)
What about the english skills for French people, or japanese, spanish, indian.. Nearly every country has it's own english pronounciation...
14. But Israelis Think Their English Is Good
Lawrence ,   Safed Israel   (01.02.09)
To solve a problem ,first you need to recognise there's a problem.And what kind of english is "Dignifiedly?"
15. #1 In A World Where Might = Right
Lawrence ,   Safed Israel   (01.02.09)
Justice counts for little...
16. Mark Regev Is A Decent Enough
Lawrence ,   Safed Israel   (01.02.09)
Spokesman,at least he can speak proper English like wot I does...
17. Abba Ibn, Chaim Hertzog, Danny Gillerman.
Tahl ,   Ashdod, Israel   (01.02.09)
These three were definitely our best foreign ambassadors ever. It is a shame we get only one like that, per generation.
18. THIS IS TRUE ESTI BUT THE ISRAELIS
..............DACON9   (01.02.09)
IN THE CHAT ROOMS ARE ABUSIVE TO AMERICAN OPINIONS OF WIN THE WAR AT ALL COSTS AND THOUGHTS LIKE THAT. AS LONG AS ISRAELIS REMAIN WITH THIS SOCIALIST COMMUNIST GHETTO MENTALITY..YOU HAVE A LOST CAUSE. YOU HAVE TO USE PROPER TERMINOLOGY TO DESCRIBE THE EVENTS...THE ARABS ARE NOT PALISITINIAN,THE ARE ARABS OCCUPYING ISRAELI LAND BY THE GRACIOUSNESS OF THE PATHETIC ISRAELI PEOPLE. LISTEN TO TZAFRIR RONEN TALKS. TAKE HIS THINKING AND THATS YOUR STARTING POINT.. THEN IT WOULDNT MATTER WHAT LANGUAGE YOU SPEAK. THE WORLD WILL GET THE MESSEGE, LOUD AND CLEAR, DACON9 jewswithviews@gmail.,com
19. Mark Regev and Bibi
Ari ,   Tel Aviv, Israel   (01.02.09)
Mark Regev is an amazing spokesperson. We just need more of him. Bibi is also an amazing orator, but his leadership and politics suck. If we could get Bibi as a fulltime spokesperson, I'd be the happiest guy in the world. Leave his politics aside. Stick with what he's good at, speaking English eloquently to the west. Honeslty, if Bibi was more towards the center, i'd vote for him in a second- because I know he could best explain and represent israel's true nature in English to the rest of the world. D
20. Anyone with a brain knows that a man or
Steven Wilson ,   Anchorage, Alaska   (01.02.09)
woman who is restrained with a drop of water hitting their forehead will go absolutely insane. The water drop hitting your forehead might not hurt in the least.....but the constant irritant drives you over the edge anyways, Kassams and mortar rounds achieve the same purpose. They don't necessarilly hurt anyone most of the time. It's the fact that they are always their every minute and second of the day that puts one over the edge. They will kill you in a direct hit, and that is why dropping them every day is so effective. The world is screaming after six days of Israel dropping the largest version of explosives on the Palestinians. The Palestinians can't wait for calm again? Hell,,,,,the Israeli's have been waiting for calm for half a century. Maybe Israel ought to start producing Grad missiles for the public at large to shoot back whenever they feel the urge. Maybe the problem is that Israel doesn't use the smaller rockets which don't cause much damage or news coverage. This in turn drives the citizens absolutely bonkers....but gets ignored by the worlds media. Only when Israel uses its larger weapons does anyone even notice. I'd go to a smaller version of a rocket that can land anywhere in Gaza. If the world won't act against Arab aggression.....then use the same tactics. Make them run every day of the week for a bomb shelter. Make them wonder when and where the next bomb will go off. Until they experience this every day........and have to come to grips with the same reality that Jews face every day,,,,,,they won't stop. Misery can be shared. And Israeli police can turn a blind eye to a civilian shooting off fireworks just as well as Hamas.
21. Israeli PR needs work but improved a lot
Dan ,   DC USA   (01.02.09)
Israeli PR has long lagged behind. Although with this operation there have been significant improvements. I think more resources need to be invested in this area. No country would tolerate rockets launched into its cities as much as Israel does. Israeli law makers should be ashamed it took so long to respond but better late than never. For the love of G-d please finish the job this time. PS Thank you IDF!
22. THE ONLY ONE
FAD EGYPT   (01.02.09)
WHO CAN SPEAK ENGLISH GREATLY IS BIBI BIBI HAS GIVEN MORE THAN 20 INTERVIEW SINCE THE START OF THE OPERATION TO JUSTIFY IT SO VOTE LIKUD AND BIBI SHALOM
23. Actions speak for themselves
John ,   Barbados   (01.02.09)
Well said. The actions of Hamas speak for themselves. Israel is a vibrant country whilst the Palestinians live in squalor and degradation at the hands of the so-called leaders, Hamas. The world needs to hear and see the Israeli side and the truth!
24. Learning English Makes no Difference
Ezra ,   san diego   (01.02.09)
The Jews will always be look upon as different and therefore attacked. Learning English to appease the the gentile nations is a fool's errand.
25. WRONG - THE "BATTLE" IS AGAINST THIS WORD "OCCUPIED"
Andrew Leidner ,   West Palm Beach, FL   (01.02.09)
THE BATTLE IS ABOUT THE WORD "OCCUPIED" - NOTHING IS OCCUPIED... JEWS ASSUME THAT EVERYONE KNOWS OUR HISTORY - THEY DONT - INCLUDING FAR TOO MANY JEWS AGAIN - THE BATTLE IS AGAINST THE WORD "OCCUPIED"
26. PR in English
Robert Weiss ,   Hicksville, New York   (01.02.09)
I was wondering for a very long time, when will this issue appear in public. May I say, that almost none of the present top Israeli politicians speak fluent English (Except Netanyahu). When Ehud Barak is interviewed on the TV, his hands experessions helping him with the lack of decent vocabulary.... Where is Aba Eban ? Some of the people of this national selected team is harming Israel more than doing any good.
27. Case in point: Tzipi Livni
Raymond in DC ,   Washington, DC USA   (01.02.09)
Livni was on one of the US network news programs yesterday. Heavy accent, stumbling to find the right words. Bibi makes a much better spokesman. The fact that he's in the opposition could be used to make the case that the country is united in this struggle. Yes, it's a serious problem that so many overseas Israeli scholars are anti-Israel. Understandable given that they internalized the post-Zionist narrative. But why does Israel not take advantage of the many immigrants from many lands to make the case to their old homeland? They obviously believe in Israel enough to have moved there, and they can relate to the culture of their old country.
28. A little more passion is needed
Sam ,   Canada   (01.02.09)
Israel faces over 20 Arab countries and over 50 Muslem ones yet the Palestinians are seen as the underdog. Palestinians want to destroy Israel while Israel is ready to give a Palestinian state but Palestinians portray themselves as the unfortunates without a state.It's not enough for Israeli spokespeople to present their case. They need to show some passion for their cause.
29. English
steviet ,   usa   (01.02.09)
Duh? That is why Livni is so good. She is hard to dislike.
30. Not to mention anglo olim
Yael ,   Tel Aviv   (01.02.09)
We've got loads of highly educated, fluent and personable olim living in this country who hail from the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia. Many of them are already skilled in PR areas. Why not use this rich resource? A nice spokeswoman with a native British accent to deal with the British and European media, one with an American accent for the States and so forth.
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