| HAITI: AN ISRAELI PUBLIC RELATIONS MOMENT? | |
Critics accuse Israel of exploiting the disaster in Haiti for public diplomacy. It's been a tough year for Israeli public diplomacy. In the aftermath of the Gaza war, for over 12 months the Jewish state has been slammed by international media, think tanks, rights organizations and the United Nations. Ambassadors have been recalled from Tel Aviv, arrest warrants have been issued for senior Israeli politicians and leaders, a Holocaust survivor led a fast for Gaza, dozens of human rights reports on Israel's conduct in the war have been widely distributed and the international campaigns to launch boycotts and sanctions against Israel have seen measured success. Israel has without question been in dire need of an image makeover. They got it: for better or worse, Israel has received its public relations knight in shining armor in the form of an earthquake in Haiti. Israel sent more than 200 Israeli doctors, nurses, soldiers and volunteers to Haiti soon after the gravity of the damage in Haiti became apparent. Within two days of arriving, the Israeli delegation had set up a field hospital, administered emergency medical aid from the Port-au-Prince stadium and rescued over a dozen living survivors from collapsed buildings. MORE: http://www.themedia |
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