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http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=18163
US Jews launch pro-Israel TV ads
By Barbara Ferguson, Arab News Correspondent
WASHINGTON, 29 August — Concerned by polls showing increasing American neutrality regarding the Israeli-Palestinian war, US Jewish organizations are launching a television advertising campaign designed to improve Israel’s image in the United States.
According to the Forward, Ha’aretz and JTA (a “Jewish global news service”), the advertisements will begin airing on US cable news stations in September.
“The campaign... will stress Israel’s affinity with the United States as a democracy and a country that is seeking peace,” writes this week’s Forward.
The ad campaign is in response to polls conducted by a United Jewish Committee team that includes Stanley Greenberg, a Democratic Party political strategist who previously worked with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak; Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, a Democratic political consultant; Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster; and Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster who worked with former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The newspapers and news service say that although specific results of the poll have not been released, they “indicate that Americans weary of violence in the Middle East increasingly blame Israel and the Palestinians equally and dismiss each side’s cause as ‘hopeless.’
“In addition, a majority (of Americans) want the Bush administration to pressure both Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate, and they overwhelmingly support a two-state solution to the conflict — even if it includes the ‘right of return’ for Palestinians refugees to Israel.”
The pro-Israeli TV ads are scheduled to run on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, and are expected to carry the message that, as Luntz told Israeli workshops he organized this summer: “The nation that is perceived as being most for peace will win this debate. Every time someone makes a plea for peace, the reaction is positive. Palestinian spokespeople use the word peace much more than Israelis — and it is working. To regain the public relations advantage, peace should be at the core of your message.”
Forward says that this approach contrasts to earlier Israeli ads, “sponsored by the hawkish Center for Security Policy, that attempted to link Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians with America’s war against terrorism.”
The pro-Israeli ads will be watched with interest, especially as just four months ago, Saudi Arabia launched a similar campaign also aimed at improving their image in the United States following the shock citizens in both countries felt when it was learned that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists were Saudis.
“The People of Saudi Arabia: Allies Against Terrorism” — was a $10 million TV campaign that used quotes from President Bush and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to drive home the Saudis’ message — but it feel flat on its face when cable channels refused to air the pair of 30-second commercials.
A&E, AMC, Bravo, History Channel, Lifetime, USA Network and the Weather Channel all turned down the spots, and as much as $400,000 in revenue for each network.
None of the stations said they doubted the aesthetics of the messages. One ‘major’ network consulted with its legal department before turning the spots down as “not appropriate.” Another network said its “standards” forbade the ads, and a third said the ads sparked a “raging debate” in-house but were turned down anyway.
“Bets are on whether any network will say that its ‘standards’ will forbid airing the pro-Israeli ads,” one Mideast analyst told Arab News.
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Arab News
Saudi Arabia's First English Language Daily
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