By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
In the war of propaganda between Israel and the Palestinians, the Palestinians have a decisive advantage. Now an Israeli policy institute, with help from local sources, wants to try to even the playing field.
Professor Yoav Gelber, chair of Haifa University’s School of History, but working with the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, came to Seattle last week to drum up support for a new Internet project. The project, called “Al Israel,” or “About Israel,” is still in its infancy, but that hasn’t stopped Gelber and his colleagues Dr. Uzi Arad and Hana Ziv from seeking help on these shores.
Seattle was Gelber’s first stop.
He said there will be six Web sites that revolve around a hub site — alisrael.com — and will be targeted at several demographic groups, from university- and journalistic-levels to children. All content is held to the rigors of academic standards, he said. Content on the sites will examine the widespread Palestinian-based Internet propaganda — according to Al Israel documents, over 1,200 anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sites currently exist — as well as disseminate credible and accurate information about Israel.
Gelber said the sites will offer mostly contextual and historical data, and not focus on ever-changing current events. The day-to-day issues are the job of the Israeli foreign minister, he said.
Al Israel has already received some positive press, although it came on the heels of the death of astronaut Ilan Ramon in January. The site received more than 200,000 hits from Internet users who typed “Ilan Ramon” into search engines. They were led to a page on the site about Ramon’s mission to destroy the almost-completed nuclear facility in Iraq.
The image on the Web page, which was picked up by news agencies, showed Saddam Hussein in a nuclear plant standing next to current French President Jacques Chirac.
The Israeli government supports the idea of Al Israel, but does not contribute any money or organizational assistance to the project.
However, Gelber said he has been in touch with at least 10 Seattle-area Jewish and private high schools to ask for assistance in building the technology.
The project’s first outside donor, though anonymous, is from Seattle. Gelber’s three presentations during his visit, including one at Congregation Herzl-Ner Tamid, sought to increase that support.
Seattle Friends of Al Israel business manager Carolyn Hathaway said Al Israel seeks volunteers and donations to help Israel move forward in the propaganda war. She can be contacted at [email protected] for more information.