The Israel Advocacy Handbook Justice for Jews and Israel: Making the case for Israel An Introduction to Israel Advocacy, Activism and Information Second Edition Copyright Copyright © 2009, 2010 Ami Isseroff, Zionism-Israel.com and Zio-Web volunteers Version of 5-Oct-10 11:50 This document is on the Web at http://zionism-israel.com/israel_advocacy.pdf which has the most updated reviewed version Table of Contents Executive Summary............................................................................................................1 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 2 2 Statement Of Need ............................................................................................................ 4 3 Basic Concepts ................................................................................................................ 11 4 Basics Of Advocacy And Persuasion ............................................................................. 18 5 How People Form Opinions ........................................................................................... 34 6 The Audience .................................................................................................................. 52 7 Narratives And Issues ..................................................................................................... 56 8 Language And Persuasion ............................................................................................. 69 9 Applying The Basics ....................................................................................................... 85 10 Advocacy: Techniques and Tactics ............................................................................. 96 11 Practical Grass Roots Activism ................................................................................. 115 12 Working With Community Institutions and Organizations ........................................ 121 13 Using The Web .......................................................................................................... 125 14 Issues For Proactive Action ........................................................................................ 137 Appendix A: Anti-Israel Narratives................................................................................143 Appendix B: The Basic Zionist Narrative - What really happened................................151 Appendix C: In Depth Guide to Web Activism..............................................................155 Appendix D: Grass Roots Activism - A comprehensive guide......................................162 Appendix E: Web Resources about Israel Advocacy.....................................................182 Appendix F: Online Advocacy Training and Resources................................................191 Appendix G: Persuasion and Attitude Change Bibliography.........................................197 Israel Advocacy Handbook http://zionism-israel.com/Israel_Advocacy.pdf Executive Summary This handbook explains the principles of Zionist advocacy and how to apply them. The core issue of Israel advocacy is the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, to be a "free people in our own land." Arab denial of this right is the cause of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Resolving it is the prerequisite to peace. Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, is the target of a concerted attack. Israel advocacy is not meeting the challenge. Israel advocacy should not be confused with conventional advertising or "Jewish Education." Successful Israel advocacy should use issues opportunistically to educate the public and build an organization. It should focus on essentials. It should be based on outreach to the widest possible audience, not on partisan politics. It should emphasize shared values and universal emotional appeal. It should provide basic information. We should expose bogus 'issues' and so-called peace movements that are intent on denying the right of the Jewish people to self determination. Israel advocacy is pro-peace, because real peace will grant our fundamental rights. We need to take the fight to the streets and campuses using grass roots techniques of community organizers and social protest movements such as demonstrations, leaflets and Web sites. What it's about - Effective Israel advocacy: Stays focused on the core issue: Jewish right to self-determination; Is proactive rather than reactive; Appeals to common values; Provides basic information as a framework for understanding particular events; Is proactive for peace. How to do it - Effective advocacy: Appeals to emotions as well as intellect; Takes advantage of modern tools - especially the Internet; Reaches the widest possible audience, targeting and informing the unconvinced; Operates through grass roots efforts; Uses issues to build a movement; Builds coalitions and encourages cooperation when possible. What it is not about - Successful Israel advocacy: Never excludes or gratuitously insults groups or their respected leaders; Avoids lavish announcements about planned advocacy campaigns that have no follow-up; Is not about censoring anti-Zionist views; Does not preach to the convinced and is not "Zionist education"; Is not like "PR" that may be used to market products or political candidates. 5-Oct-10. Copyright 2009-2010 1 Israel Advocacy Handbook http://zionism-israel.com/Israel_Advocacy.pdf 1 Introduction This handbook is meant for Israel advocates, primarily volunteers. It is intended to give you better grounding and awareness of what you should be trying to accomplish, why it is worthwhile and how to accomplish it. Advocacy is best done by devoted amateurs who are convinced that their cause is right. An ideal or an ideology cannot be sold with gimmicks as if it was hand cream r breakfast cereal. If you don't believe in the ideals, you will not be able to convince anyone else, "Amateur," however, does not mean untrained or incompetent. Amateur enthusiasm must be combined with professional know-how and experience. Nobody can claim to have all the answers or an exclusive approach to advocacy. However the principles discussed in this book are accepted marketing and advocacy tenets. Most Israel advocacy groups do not follow them, and most would benefit from at least trying this approach. A brief summary of main points that characterize our approach is at the Proud Zionist1 Web page. If you do not need a detailed handbook refer to the Israel Advocacy Guide.2 If you don't believe in the ideals, you will not be able to convince anyone else. 1.1 How To Use This Handbook A handbook provides both general information and a detailed reference. Read this book once, casually, to get the general idea. Then use specific sections when you are planning a campaign, organizing a demonstration or preparing a flyer or advertisement. The PDF search feature should make it easy to find the specific information you need. 1.2 Getting More Information About Israel And Zionism This book explains the principles of advocacy. It provides examples of specific issues and events. It shows how they are used and abused in advocacy. However, the range and depth of information about the conflict, the history and the issues that you need to know are very large. Likewise, research on persuasion is a very large field. All the information could not possibly be presented in one document or learned in a few days. Don't despair. We will always be learning! For information about the conflict, use articles at http://zionism-israel.com and elsewhere, history books and other materials. Standwithus3 has a very competent introductory summary and survey of the history and issues. A larger introductory summary of the issues is in the ADL Israel Advocacy guide.4 You can find academic and practical 1 http://www.zionism-israel.com/proud_zionist.htm 2 http://www.zionism-israel.com/Israel_advocacy_guide.pdf 3 http://www.standwithus.com/images/online_booklets/israel_101/Israel%20101%20Distilled_April14,2008.pdf 4 http://www.adl.org/israel/advocacy/advocacy_guide_facts_UPDATED.PDF 5-Oct-10. Copyright 2009-2010 2 Israel Advocacy Handbook http://zionism-israel.com/Israel_Advocacy.pdf information about persuasion and advocacy in the articles and Web sites references in this handbook by searching the Web and of course, at good university libraries. A fairly balanced (not "Zionist") history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from earliest times is posted at MideastWeb.5 A summary of the history of Zionism is posted at Zionism & Israel.6 These two documents are also hyperlinked to various in-depth articles. These summaries should be supplemented by extensive study. Especially if you do not have ready access to a good library, learn how to do research using the facilities of the Web. Materials on the Web now include scientific journals available to those with university or other special accounts. It is not quite a substitute for a library yet, but the Web can provide you with a pretty fair education in the issues. Appendix E: Web Resources has a large list of resources on the Web for historical and Israel advocacy materials as well as news and views. Appendix F is devoted to online resources that teach the theory and practice of advocacy. Appendix G is a bibliography of sources related to advocacy and social change psychology. 5 http://mideastweb.org/briefhistory.htm 6 http://zionism-israel.com/zionism_history.htm 5-Oct-10. Copyright 2009-2010