We view PR as a tactic for corporations, nonprofits, and other entities.
But Harari argues that to- day’s most effective PR occurs on the world stage, in the form of a “Big Lie” that would make Joseph Goebbels proud – the global effort to de-legitimize Israel.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,” Goebbels said, “people will eventually … believe it.” What’s today’s version, according to Harari? That Jews stole a place called “Palestine.” That 300 million Arabs are an “underdog” to 6 million Jews in Israel. That Israel is the world’s worst violator of human rights, justifying suicide bombings.
Harari does criticize Israel, but more pointed is what he says about the campaign against it. He makes us ponder what can occur when, as the author sees it, a determined cabal uses PR techniques to blatantly lie about people and their nation – and when sympathetic governments and a lazy Western media let them get away with it. It’s a sobering read, one I recommend.
Title: A View From The Eye Of The Storm
Author: Haim Harari
Publisher: ReganBooks (April 2005), 222 pages
Reviewed by: Lawrence Haas, director of public affairs, MS&L