In August of 2008, the Israeli Foreign Ministryembarked on an ambitious PR campaign to re-brand Israel. Toronto’s status as a multicultural centre made it a perfect test site for the “Brand Israel” initiative, which will be launched internationally in the coming years. According to Israeli Consul General Amir Gissin, the marketing mission is to “make Israel relevant and attractive to Canadians and to refocus attention away from the conflict.” By purposely omitting politics from the re-branding agenda, the hope is to shine a positive light on some other aspects of Israel’s identity, such as its role as a medical and technological innovator.
Unfortunately for those involved in the re-branding effort, Israel just doesn’t seem to want to cooperate. Five months into the campaign, and Israel goes and has a war with Gaza. So much for trying to avoid the political conflict.
The thing is, Israel’s image problems are nothing but political. It was created as a response to an attempted genocide of the Jewish people. It is surrounded by hostile neighbours, most of whom regularly express their desire to see it destroyed. As a result, Israel’s military is fierce and its 60 year occupation of the Palestinians has been brutal. The current war in Gaza is a tragic outcome of the reality of Israel’s very existence. Until Israel is able to come up with a tenable solution for the Palestinian problem, it will be continually forced to bare its military might. No amount of positive PR will ever change this sad fact.
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