MK Hasson, behind the initiative
צילום: דודי ועקנין
MKs to get PR lessons
New program to be launched in coming months in Knesset to offer MKs lessons on improving self-confidence, public speaking, and even tips on how to dress to deal with hostile audiences
Next time Knesset members find themselves facing a hostile audience in a foreign country, there is a chance they will be able to represent Israel in a better light. MKs will soon be going back to school, in the frame of PR lessons to be given by the Knesset.
The lesson plan will include: Improving self-confidence, speaking in front of a crowd and in front of cameras, and even tips on how to dress. Israeli figures who were asked to give the classes include MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), MK Uri Orbach (Habayit Hayehudi) and experts from academia.
The new program, initiated by Chairman of the State Control Committee Yoel Hasson (Kadima), is slated to be launched in the coming months, after it was presented to Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin this week.
While attendance will not be mandatory, the Knesset plans to recommend all its members invest a few hours a day in the lessons for one week.
According to Hasson, the initiative actually arose from the MKs themselves, as many of them admitted to having difficulties in confrontations in Israel and abroad, including in debates with Palestinians.
"The MKs must be taught how to properly read the rival they are facing, how to identify their weaknesses," said MK Zion Fanian (Likud). "They should also know that not everyone was born in front of a camera, and that they should learn how to properly use the cameras to their advantage and not be startled by them," he added.
The list of teachers has yet to be finalized, but Hasson plans to approach leading media figures and ask them to give the lessons. MKs who are former journalists will also be recruited to the cause.
Potential teachers currently serving in the Knesset include Shelly Yachimovich and Daniel Ben-Simon (Labor), Anastasia Michaeli and Orli Levy – Abekasis (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Miri Regev (Likud).
'Get to know the audience, its problems'
"When facing an unfriendly audience, it is recommended to start with self-referential humor. This relieves the initial tension, lightens the hostile mood and boosts the desire to listen," said MK Uri Orbach, drawing from his own personal experience."The most effective thing is to properly study the background of the specific location and audience and the problems that occupy it," said MK Nitzan Horowitz, adding, "This way, one can compare the Israeli situation with the reality in which the target audience lives."
"The 120 members of Knesset are the State of Israel's ambassadors in their appearances around the world and in Israel," said MK Hasson. "Some of them are well acquainted with PR work, but there are quite a few that need guidance, assistance, and tools to get to know the subject better. This course can also help the more experienced, as well as the less experienced."
MK Robert Ilatov, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu faction, said that, with all due respect to the MKs' verbal abilities, emphasis should also be put on the external appearance: "We should also teach the common dress codes in different countries. I have come across cases in which MKs visited Europe or North America wearing a casual shirt, and this is perceived as disrespectful. They do not accept the explanation that the MK is from a kibbutz."
Michal Levy and Oren Rosenstein contributed to this report
