...shift focus to modes of action on the ground in the occupied territories that have had measurable success since the “peace process” began coming apart. These are mainly led by watchdog groups and human-rights organizations, such as Physicians for Human Rights, Bimkom, B’Tselem, Settlement Watch and many others.
Their common denominator is a belief that continuous and incremental policy change leads eventually to political change and that policy change can be achieved through media discourse. Their advantage is that they are not dependent on specific political conjectures, on variable diplomatic outcomes and on the political performance of the other side. In addition, they are extremely cost-effective, relying on precision PR, litigation and lobby.
...Faulty planning and decision-making mechanisms have created a culture of government which deals with only the most pressing problems, as they occur. The media is often the arbiter of which problems are the most pressing, and effective watchdog projects have used the media to place Israeli-Palestinian policy issues on top of the public agenda...
...Policy-oriented projects have an ability to manipulate the media to a degree currently unattainable by “peace” campaigns. The Israeli press does not have the investigative capacity (or will) for first-hand research into the intricacies of complex Israeli-Palestinian issues such as the separation barrier, Jerusalem and settlement policy. Therefore, it “eats from the hand” of any credible provider of information...In addition, through sophisticated use of exclusivity, they often use packaged information to actually shape the agenda.
...political change can only be brought about by a sustained struggle for positions of strength in the power structure. Given the current political environment and inter-relationship between the Israeli, government, media, and public, it may be time to consider focusing our efforts and resources on using the media not to convince Israelis of “the need for peace” or the existence of a “partner for peace,” but to directly tackle the policies which have enabled the occupation to exist for so long.
And those of us on the nationalist right are doing...what?
(k/t = J)
^
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