Shrink Spade
Shrink Spade GIRLS, What would you SAY and what would you DO... ? If you saw the New Jersey Ballkicker asking his usual repertoire of question? And what how would this differ if you saw the abusi...
Shrink Spade
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Israel's 4-front War
WAR: a conflict carried on by force of arms; a state or period of armed hostility or active military operations: active hostility or contention; conflict; contest: a struggle: armed fighting; methods or principles of waging armed conflict.
According to the above definition, Israel is currently in a constant state of war. Yet these days, defining the war in itself is a non-starter. Red herrings such as guerrilla combat, armed resistance, freedom fighters, security forces and security zones deny the simple truth of any given situation in the Middle East on a daily basis. Not calling a spade a spade is in itself a cause for conflict, since without common definition, a conflict surely cannot be resolved.
Definitions aside, the face of Israel’s war in the 21st century is multifaceted. Today we are in the midst of a full-blown four-front war. Palestinian terror, Hizbollah and Lebanon, Syria and Iran await in the wings. This time, not only do we face four growing crises, we must fight them on four different fronts. Military, Diplomatic, Media and Internet. A simple analysis of how Israel is currently faring on each front gives a startling insight into our future prognosis if Israel continues on the same path.
The Second Lebanon War offered a serious, if not entire, picture of where Israel stands militarily today. Shrinking funds, disorganisation, broken chain of command, insufficient training, equipment shortages, lack of long-term strategic planning and creative analysis and lack of inter-agency intelligence coordination are a few of the long list of shortcomings for which Israel paid dearly in the war with Hizbollah. It is clear that the saving grace of the Israeli army today is its most basic and necessary component: the soldiers. Without their bravery and dedication, which put others to shame, the outcome could have been far more devastating. Indeed, with the Winograd Committee report findings leaking daily, that dedication is at risk and should not be taken for granted, as the recent Golani Brigade protests illustrated.
On the Diplomatic front, things are looking decidedly rosy. That is, if you are a Palestinian. For Israel, however, the future is looking bleak. On the one hand, we have a Hamas/Fatah terrorist unity government which has managed to successfully bring Israel’s right to exist back to the forefront of negotations and pre-conditions. On the other hand, we have the Arab League proposal, which is offering a one-time-only package-deal of peace with all our Arab neighbours. The only problem is that Israel is expected to self-destruct, either by drowning our demographics with returning “refugees”, or by drowning ourselves via receding borders. Predictably, this offer has been internationally received with a frenzied ecstasy not seen since the first Palestinian “democratic” election. And with an Islamic genocidal president threatening nuclear havoc, the diplomatic track is mysteriously considered to be the fast track.
A daily look at the major media news networks is a futile exercise in sado-masochism for those who consider themselves pro-Israel. Semantics, mis-information, lack of context, unrelated imagery and deceptive editing all prevail to create a stunning bias against Israel. Exascerbating this infuriating trend is Israel’s lack of both a coherent government policy and an aggressive long-term strategy that will successfully broadcast our case. Bibi Netanyahu aside, there are not enough articulate, charismatic and knowledgeable spokespeople representing Israel on a daily basis, full-time. Where is our Hanan Ashrawi? It certainly wasn’t army spokeswoman Miri Regev. And it most definitely isn’t Tzippi Livni, Israel’s most uncharismatic Foreign Minister since David Levy.
Nowadays you can connect to the war via Internet. Random Google searches on the most common keywords such as Israel, Palestine, or the Middle East will reveal a landslide of anti-Israel, anti-semitic, pro-Arab reading that is shocking in its vicious content and supposedly educated views. The ratio of anti-zionist/semitic views to pro-Israel content is probably 50:1 at best. The disproportionate lack of concise, confident and educated Jewish, pro-Israel views on the Internet is serious cause for concern. One may argue that the low ratio is due to sheer numbers, yet since the Jews have disproportionately historically influenced the world in every other field, that is no excuse. Although there is a dedicated mass of well-informed pro Israel blogs and websites, Israel's presence on the internet needs to increase.
There is clearly alot of work to be done. Yet when we look at all four fronts, it is clear where our focus should lie. Militarily, Israel has the economic strength, talent and strategic vision to get back on track with a clear strategy in place. The warning sirens last summer have woken the sleeping giant from its slumber. The Media is an open arena in which any player worth his words will make his mark, and since truth and history are on our side, a conscientious effort to debunk the myths and an agressive pro-Israel marketing strategy can jumpstart the long road towards successful damage control, finally changing the media lexicon in our favour. On a personal level, connecting to the internet and becoming pro-active in the war of the words is as vital as a strong presence in the media, since they work hand in hand. Any Israeli government should today create a department for internet strategy, relying on statistics and experts to analyse and activate the most effective methods to gain maximum internet exposure.
And then we come to the diplomatic arena. Since for Israel diplomacy traditionally relies precariously on the goodwill of others, we sorely lack much needed influence or power. Whilst anyone and everyone from the Arab League, to the Quartet, to the White House has conjured up some sort of diplomatic road map, proposal or initiative for the Middle East, it is truly shameful that Israel has yet to come up with our own counter-proposal, complete with highly quotable media-friendly title, such as “The Israel Agenda”. This is vital for our image and respect amongst the power-brokers in the diplomatic circles.
If Israel is to win the war, or more optimistically, bring peace, we must start focusing on our storehouse of strengths. Let this be the year that Israel regains her rightful place in all four fronts of the constant struggle for our survival.
About the Author
Jodi Levy is a copywriter, designer and mother of three who is deeply concerned about the current situation in the Middle East