Group Urges Pro-Israel Leaders' Silence on Iraq (fwd)

["Clement M. Henry" <chenry@mail.la.utexas.edu>]

See below: the word is that they don't people in the US to thiknk that the
war against Iraq is to protect Israel, not the United States.  What do you
think?

*****************************
Clement M. Henry
Professor of Government
University of Texas at Austin
Austin TX 78712
tel 471-5121, fax 471-1061

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 11:28:43 -0500
From: Murray Kahl <kahl1@gate.net>
Reply-To: eretz-yisrael@shamash.org
To: Middle East discussion group & Zionist news releases
    <eretz-yisrael@shamash.org>
Subject: Group Urges Pro-Israel Leaders' Silence on Iraq


Israeli & Global News

Group Urges Pro-Israel Leaders' Silence on Iraq
Memo Outlines Response If Hostilities Occur, Discourages Lecturing of
Americans on Middle East
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 27, 2002; Page A13

A group of U.S. political consultants has sent pro-Israel leaders a memo
urging them to keep quiet while the Bush administration pursues a possible
war with Iraq.

The six-page memo was sent by the Israel Project, a group funded by
American Jewish organizations and individual donors. Its authors said the
main audience was American Jewish leaders, but much of the memo's language
is directed toward Israelis, urging them to play down the likelihood Israel
would retaliate after an Iraqi attack and asking them not to lecture
Americans about the Middle East conflict.

The memo reflects a concern that involvement by Israel in a U.S.-Iraq
confrontation could hurt Israel's standing in American public opinion and
undermine international support for a hard line against Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein.

"Let American politicians fight it out on the floor of Congress and in the
media," the memo said. "Let the nations of the world argue in front of the
U.N. Your silence allows everyone to focus on Iraq rather than Israel."

The memo, meant to guide pro-Israel leaders' statements before and during
possible hostilities with Iraq, is the latest contribution to an
international public relations battle that has shadowed the diplomatic
maneuvers involving Iraq and the Middle East. The United States has
launched an "information" effort to boost the image of the United States in
the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Saudi Arabia has spent millions of dollars to improve its public image in
the United States. The kingdom has hired political consultants and
advertising specialists and charged them with reversing damage resulting
from the knowledge that 15 of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001, were Saudis.

An Israeli diplomat in Washington said the Israeli government did not
request or fund the efforts of the Israel Project and that Israeli leaders
were unlikely to follow all the advice. "These are professional public
relations people," the diplomat said. "There's also a political-diplomatic
side."

The Iraq memo was issued in the past few weeks and labeled "confidential
property of the Israel Project," which is led by Democratic consultant
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi with help from Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg
and Republican pollsters Neil Newhouse and Frank Luntz. Several of the
consultants have advised Israeli politicians, and the group aired a
pro-Israel ad earlier this year.

"If your goal is regime change, you must be much more careful with your
language because of the potential backlash," said the memo, titled "Talking
About Iraq." It added: "You do not want Americans to believe that the war
on Iraq is being waged to protect Israel rather than to protect America."

In particular, the memo urged Israelis to pipe down about the possibility
of Israel responding to an Iraqi attack. "Such certainty may be Israeli
policy, but asserting it publicly and so overtly will not sit well with a
majority of Americans because it suggests a pre-determined outcome rather
than a measured approach," it said. The memo cautioned: "There is the
feeling that Israel has NOT done all it could to bring about peace in the
Middle East so don't try to change public opinion in the middle of a war."

Luntz said the memo was written to advise pro-Israel Americans about how to
respond to Iraq-Israel hostilities. "The assumption is Iraq will bomb
Israel, and then the assumption is Israel will respond," he said.

Much of the guidance, however, appeared to have Israelis in mind.
"Demonstrate your historic willingness to compromise sacrifice on behalf of
America," it said. "This may not play well among some Israeli politicians
but it will certainly play well in the states." It advised leaders to say:
"Like America, Israel has a right to defend itself and our people."

The memo coached: "(A)s an Israeli, most certainly don't talk about why
some Arab leaders and their people dislike the United States. Americans
don't want to be told by an Israeli why we have problems in the Middle East
or why people hate us."


To subscribe to Eretz-Yisrael news group, send a post to:
listproc@shamash.org and have the message (not the subject) read: subscribe
eretz-yisrael YOURFIRSTNAME YOURLASTNAME Replace YOURFIRSTNAME YOURLASTNAME
with your complete name.)

To unsubscribe from eretz-yisrael, from the e-mail address you subscribed
to eretz-yisrael, send e-mail to listproc@shamash.org and have the message
(not the subject) read: unsubscribe eretz-yisrael

To receive the mail in one composite message which contains all the list
messages from that day? Send e-mail to listproc@shamash.org and have the
message (not the subject) read:  set eretz-yisrael mail digest-nomime