Gov't team to blitz US, explain conflict

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The government will unleash a public diplomacy blitz in the US on Sunday aimed at nothing less than reframing the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Just a little more than a week after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu returned from London and Berlin, where he took every opportunity to say that the core of the conflict was not the settlements, but rather the failure of the Arab world to recognize the right of the Jews to a state in the region, a blue-ribbon list of government officials will be travelling coast to coast for more than a month bearing much the same message.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has said that public diplomacy needed to be made one of his ministry's top priorities, held a meeting Monday inside the ministry to discuss the new campaign.

According to a statement put out by Lieberman's office, government ministers Moshe Ya'alon, Yossi Peled, Dan Meridor and Benny Begin, as well as Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and former consul-general in New York Alon Pinkas, will begin on Sunday - in a staggered fashion - fanning out across America, meeting with political and media figures, policy-makers, campus groups and Jewish organizations, in an effort to explain the government's positions.

During the campaign, which will last until mid-October, various members of the group will be in each of the following cities: Washington, New York, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit, Las Vegas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami."

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[azurnoir]

1. OMG

Lieberman said it was important to explain that Arab aggression toward Israel began before there were any settlements, and - in fact - before the creation of the state, and that the true conflict in the region was not between Jews and Arabs, but rather between moderates and extremists.

takes one to know one I guess

And Bibi's premise completely ignores the 2002 Arab peace initiative that offered Israel recognition from numerous Arab states but was rejected out of hand by Israel. perhaps he figures after 7 years the American people have forgotten

The plan that Israel rejected is at this link

http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/league/peace02.htm

[Chemisse]

2. I bet the Palestinians wish they could afford a PR team too - nt

[oberliner]

3. Palestinian op-ed pieces appear regularly in US/Int'l media

Both in print and online, and from those in the Fatah camp as well as Hamas.

[Violet_Crumble]

5. That doesn't mean they have a PR team like Israel does...

Because they don't....

[azurnoir]

6. They'll be touring the US when? n/t

[Howardx]

4. dont change your behavior

SPIN your behavior instead!

[Donald Ian Rankin]

7. I suspect Israel is hoping to bring about regime change in the US :-s

I think it's fairly clear that Netanyahu's goal is to undermine and weaken, and if possible bring down, Obama.

I wish Obama would reciprocate.

[Howardx]

8. cough *orly taitz* cough