THE ISRAELI COMMUNICATION FORCES

By Rommey Hassman

Until the Prime Minister understands that the modern battlefield

comprises two parallel fronts, we will continue to garner losses in
the field of communications, on the way to losing the entire war.
Therefore we must immediately establish a real campaign to run a
communication war this is also the most economic solution for
us.
What has the State of Israel done in the international media when
confronted with the message put out by moderate Arab leaders,
against their cry that the Palestinian suicide bomber/terrorists
must be understood? Not a lot. Weve made a little progress
recently, but not a lot.
In September of 2000, during the Barak administration and 10
days following the commencement of the present intifada, I wrote
an article that was published in the Israeli advertising journal,
Otot, under the headline: Fiasco 2: In 1973 They Forgot To Oil
The Tanks, In 2000 Theyre Blocking The Frame.
In this article I attacked the failure of the Israeli communication
effort abroad. Since then, hundreds of articles on this issue have
been written and published in the Israeli media, and several
discussions and workshops have taken place. The entire Israeli
nation has understood that we are losing in the campaign on
global communications, in the battle on public opinion. Public
criticism of our government, and on the Prime Ministers office, the
Foreign Ministry and the IDF in particular, has begun to penetrate.
The Foreign Ministry has shown the first signs of reconsideration.
They have invited Lillian Wilder, Bibi Netanyahus teacher and one
of the worlds leading experts on television appearance, to Israel
and they have trained their office spokespeople. The IDF
spokesperson has engaged the services of a number of
consultants, all of whom work in the local media.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has understood that salvation will
come neither from Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, nor from the
team in his office. Therefore, Sharon has appointed Tsipi Livni as
Minister of Information. Sharon has also inducted former prime

minister Benjamin Netanyahu into the communication war in the

USA. Netanyahu was and remains one of the all-time most
successful spokespeople for Israel in the world except during his
own administration.
And there have been results: Spokesman for the Prime Minister,
Raanan Gisin, has improved his television appearances in English.
Under the framework of Operation Protecting Wall, the IDF has
engaged a female officer from the Intelligence Corps for the
communication campaign, fluent in English and well-versed in
details, articulate, sure of herself, and with an impressive television
presence. She appeared recently on CNN and gave a most
convincing performance.
Despite all of this, it would be expedient to ask if this is not merely
cosmetics. Arafat and the Palestinians are still winning on the
communications battlefield. We have been pressured into a
situation where the entire world stands against us, and the US is
trying to extricate itself somehow in order to defend us. Is it only
because we are stronger and the Palestinians are depicted as
being weaker? This may be the case, but it is definitely not the
only reason.
War is fought on two battlefields
War is fought today in both the Real World and the Virtual world.
Victory in the real world and failure in the virtual world will lead in
the end to complete failure in the campaign.
Moreover: theoretically, one can fail in the real world and win in
the virtual world, and in the end, win the entire campaign. It may
sound a bit absurd, but it is indeed possible. As things have been
run in the present campaign between the Palestinians and us, that
apparently is what is going to happen, and we (the victors) will be
compelled to comply with the dictates of the international
community, and to concede much more than we had planned to.
Arafat gives central weight to the virtual world, and fights us using
the world media. His war is structured, its principles determined by
the rules of the game and the usual results in the virtual world.
There is a well-known saying in the field of advertising: If you
havent advertised, youve accomplished nothing.

The trouble is that we, as a nation, have not succeeded in

connecting to the virtual world. We, the Israelis, have our feet on
the ground and loathe air. And the virtual world is, after all, air.
Weve always scorned luft geschift (castles in the air).
The average Israeli is like a farmer returning from work in the
fields, who must appear on television and doesnt understand why
he must be clean and nicely dressed. Let them see me as I am,
why do I have to play games and dress up?, says the Israeli. This
approach does not work in the virtual world.
State Minister Meir Shitrit
So what do we do? The correct and ideal solution involves an
entire change in concept in the running of the Foreign office. The
times when the central role of the office was to send ambassadors
and consuls around the world to take part in cocktail parties, is
over. The Foreign Office must take on management of the
campaign in the virtual world, develop skills, engage professionals,
specialize in and develop the appropriate working tools for the
virtual world.
However, what can we dowe have a problem: First of all, a
changeover of this type cannot take place overnight, and we are in
need of an immediate solution. Second, looking back on Peres
recent media appearances, the man looks broken, exhausted, and
incapable of action.
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, the solution can only be
found in the hands of Prime Minister Sharon. As mentioned, he
already understands that we are losing on the communications
battlefield, and he has even taken some steps in this regard, but it
is far from sufficient. The problem is constitutional and at the
conceptual level.
Arafat is a rival who knows how to direct manipulate the world
media and lead it with cunning and insight. Against a rival like
Arafat, Sharon must understand that it isnt enough to engage
former prime ministers in the campaign. The virtual world must be
taken with utter seriousness and the campaign must be controlled.
First, Sharon must decide that from now on the virtual world will
carry at least as much weight as the real world, in regards to

allocation of time and resources. Every action in the real world

must be seen through the eyes of an observer in the virtual world.
Afterwards, we will need central control. Just like the army has
one Chief of Staff, and the government has one Prime Minister and
one Defense Minister, the new battle arena is the same. The
virtual world needs a Chief of Staff, in charge of all the forces
operating in the communications arena. Above him we need a
Communications and Defense Minister, in charge of the
communications campaign. And both will be directly subject to the
Prime Minister, and to his rules and guidance.
The two battlefields must be run using one warhead. The Prime
Minister must run the real world campaign (the military campaign)
and the virtual world campaign (the communications campaign) in
complete connection with each other. All of the unprofessional
spokespeople who run the Israeli international communication
effort must be controlled. How? By the appointment of one
minister who will be in charge of everything the Foreign Office,
the Information Office, the Government Press Office and the IDF
spokesperson.
In this case it isnt enough to go through the motions. We tried
that: Former Prime Minister Barak appointed Nachman Shai to be
in charge of Israeli information at the time, and even furnished him
with an office, a secretary, a car and a driver. But Barak forgot to
give Shai either authority or a budget.
Sharon is also guilty of resorting to a fig leaf. For example, the
appointment of Livni, intended to provide an address for all critics
of the Israeli information system, in an attempt to remove some of
the authority for the communication effort from the Foreign
Ministry. In the end, Sharon folded to pressure from Foreign
Minister Peres, and turned the Ministry of Information, with Livni at
its head, to an office lacking substance or any real authority.
Sharon must learn from his mistakes. He has to take control,
immediately, of the communications campaign, by appointing a
senior minister of his choice. The ideal candidate for this role is
Netanyahu, but a step like this certainly wouldnt take place under
the State of Israels present political circumstances. Therefore, the
impression is that the most appropriate candidate seems to be the
Minister of Justice, Meir Shitrit. He understands the media, and is

dependent on the Prime Minister. There is only one problem:

Shitrits command of English is lacking.
With no better alternative possible, Shitrit is the solution. And what
will his position be called? Minister of Information? Sounds
unauthoritative. Foreign Minister? That position has already been
taken. Minister of Communications? Irrelevant to the nature of his
duties. Minister of Communications Security? That will sound
very bad in the world media. The solution the Minister of State, a
free translation of the American position of Foreign Minister, that of
Secretary of State.
The Prime Minister will make it clear to the Foreign Minister that he
has no intention of interfering with his political authority, and is
simply removing the responsibility of Israeli communication from
him. To the world media we will explain that Israel has a new
minister, in charge of all communications activities for the
government of Israel. I see this as an intermediate solution, until
the Foreign Office is capable of making the changeover and taking
upon itself the professional management of the battlefield in the
virtual world.
Structure of the new office and its authority
Following the appointment of the State Minister, Sharon must
cancel the appointment of the Minister of Information and transfer
all the communication teams in the Prime Ministers office
(Government Press Office, Government Advertising Agency and
the Center for Dissemination of Information) to the new State
Office. In addition, all professional teams in the Foreign Ministry in
charge of communication activities overseas must also be
transferred to the authority of the new office. From that day
onwards, the IDF spokesperson will also work in full cooperation
with the State Office.
Under the new State Minister, a new Chief of Staff must be
appointed to head the campaign on the communication battlefield.
A professional is required, one who understands management, the
media and the operation of combined battlefields. Not an exjournalist, and not a copywriter.
The solution may be to bring in an ex-military person, who is
familiar with the media. Who might be a candidate for the position?

Perhaps (ret.) General Eitan Ben-Eliyahu, former Commander of

the Airforce. He has access to the media, is articulate in both
Hebrew and English, and one can assume that he is also a good
commander and a successful manager.
District commanders, military commanders and commanding
generals would be appointed under the Communications Chief of
Staff. The following is a list of positions: District Commander, in
charge of The Communication Center in Israel; District
Commander, in charge the Foreign Ministry communications
departments overseas; District Manager, in charge of the
Government Press Office; District Commander, in charge of the
IDF spokesperson; Military Commander for television networks;
Military Commander for radio stations; Military Commander for the
press; Military Commander for the Internet; General, Head of
Command for North America; General, Head of Command for
Europe; General, Head of Command for Asia, Africa and South
America; General, Head of Command for the Arab and Islamic
countries.
True, these positions are numerous, but we must be wellorganized and learn from strategic military experience. Even in
marketing warfare we learn from great generals in history:
General Sun Tzu, who lived in China 2300 years ago and wrote his
book The Art of War; and the Prussion General fon Clausewitz
who fought Napoleans armies at the beginning of the 19th century.
Two generals, two of the leading strategic experts of all time.
And perhaps, if Prime Minister Sharon understands that the
campaign on the communications battlefield can be run by military
means and concepts, hell begin to enjoy it, and will take the
communications business at least as seriously as Arafat does.
Where will the money come from?
After appointing a Minister of State, a Communications Chief of
Staff, district and military commanders and commanding generals,
the topic of money must be discussed. One cannot run a
communications campaign without a budget. Everything costs
with a capital C. The budget for global advertising for a company
like Coca-Cola stands today at about $600 million per year.

A much larger sum must be invested in Israels global

communications campaign than is the present budget for cellular
telephone companies local advertising, for instance. Each one of
these companies spends close to $ 30 million a year.
What is the opening offer? In order to be able to get the show on
the road, it is recommended to set a preliminary budget for the
communications campaign of $ 150 million, which is approximately
NIS 700 million. And this is just the beginning.
There is no doubt that the Treasury Ministry will be furious with this
decision, particularly in the present situation, when we are heading
towards severe cutbacks in the state budget. The question is
which is preferable: to pay NIS 700 now or fail on the
communications battlefield and cope with market paralysis,
intifada, unemployment, the crumbling of international commerce
agreements, a deep recession with no end in sight, and continued
military fighting at the cost of billions.
The bottom line is that a new information campaign and new state
offices appear to be not only the preferred solution from a political
point of view, but also the most economic solution that exists
today.

The author is a marketing strategist. He is a former lecturer

and department head of advertising studies at the Tel Aviv
College of Management. Served as Chairman of the Board of
Directors on the Israel Aids Task Force, and as director of the
Strategic Planning and Research Department at the
advertising agency Gitam/BBDO. These days the author is
engaged in the writing of his book An Introduction to the Art
of Strategy; The Path of the Strategic Warrior.