Israel’s image issues

In the weeks since the infamous flotilla incident, Israel has been at the center of a public relations nightmare.

Most countries’ reputations are important for tourism and diplomatic relations; Israel’s national image is important for the stability of the Middle East.

Israel has been trying to “rebrand” itself since 2001, and its efforts have been less than effective. In 2006, Simon Anholt, a Nobel Laureate and the father of nation-branding research, ranked Israel dead last in his yearly list of national brands.

In response, Israel launched an aggressive campaign to show North Americans another side of life in Israel. There was a photo spread of Women of the Israeli Defense Forces in Maxim magazine, a mock Tel Aviv beach in Central Park and a month-long ad campaign in Toronto.

All three of those campaigns failed, and the campaign in Toronto erupted into a massive debate about Israel’s conflict in Gaza because of the inclusion of a spotlight on Tel Aviv at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The campaign in Toronto did more to draw attention to the problems in Gaza than it did to change the public’s attitude about Israel.

We believe Israel has a right to defend itself and its people.

We also believe Israel has the right to try to show people another side of itself that rarely appears in the media, but it’s hard to buy into an exotic, progressive version of Israel when its most visible aspect is the IDF.

If Israel is going to be a place of gorgeous beaches, nightlife and technological advancement, it cannot also be the tough and combative Israel the world has come to see.