When will they learn? In PR terms, it is the equivalent of a defender receiving the ball in his own penalty box, having a rush of blood to the head, turning to face his own goalkeeper, slipping, falling on his backside and prodding the ball into his own net.
No, I am not talking about Israel's football team. I am talking about Israel's response to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement . If I was the BDS PR head, I would be worried for my job. It is surely a redundant role as all they need to do is sit back and watch the Israeli establishment do their PR job for them.
We are giving far too much credibility and respect to the BDS movement. Some of the rhetoric in recent weeks is completely out of proportion to the size of the threat. It is both misguided in PR terms and wrong-headed strategically.
Only the other week, we had Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, trigger a prominent article in the FT showcasing the fantastic success of the BDS Movement. That was not her intention of course, but by talking up the strategic threat and calling it antisemitism, she gave them a story where none existed.
Then there was a half-page piece in the Wall Street Journal reporting on Israeli companies talking about the issue, and on top of that you have major Israeli government officials going on record as saying that the strategic threat of BDS is on a par with Iran. Iran? Nuclear armed Iran? Give me a break. We even had former chief rabbi, Lord Sacks, speaking at the Herzlia conference and writing in the Jerusalem Post, arguing that the fight against BDS was essential for the survival of Israel, the safety of the Jewish people and the world!
The BDS PR team could only dream of generating such coverage on their own without our help.
What is going on here? I believe that a dangerous conflation is taking place between defending Israel against BDS - a specific movement with a clear mandate - and against the wider, often antisemitic, de-legitimisation of Israel. BDS is abhorrent, but is not really making a material dent. The wider antisemitic de-legitimisation needs to be defended robustly, through facts, compelling arguments, smart PR and effective lobbying. Confusing the two serves to support the BDS movement, while doing nothing to tackle the underlying issues. I am not naive or dismissive of the threat of BDS, but as someone who spends his days advising companies, governments and NGOs on their PR and communications, I believe firmly that Israel is going about this all wrong.
The statistics simply do not back up the rhetoric. Without the hyperbole, BDS would be a fringe group of extremists; with our help they are getting more confident and more credible. The Financial Times, in a prominent spread in its Friday edition, reported on the subject, stating that "BDS has not been nearly as successful as its supporters claim, nor its opponents fear".
A cursory look at the facts shows that BDS is making no serious impact on the Israeli economy. According to the latest figures by Israel's Central Bureau for Statistics, trade between the UK and Israel is at a record high. Total bilateral trade amounted to £3.9 billion in 2014, an increase of more than seven per cent from the previous year. The figures revealed a 4.8 per cent increase in imports to the UK from Israel and a 12.9 per cent increase in exports from the UK to Israel.
The UK Trade and Industry website has a detailed section on doing business in Israel, including the challenges for each country trading with the UK. Nowhere is BDS mentioned as a challenge to trade, either inbound our outbound.
Moreover, the website states that "Israel does not present major challenges to UK companies wishing to do business". We have UK companies, from Ocado and easyJet to Shop Direct, falling over themselves to do business with Israel, plus support for Israeli business at the highest level of Government.
What about the EU, I hear the BDS scare-mongers scream. According to data by Eurostat Comext, bilateral trade between Israel and the EU has remained consistent at EUR 17 billion per annum for every year between 2011 and 2015. The EU remains one of Israel's biggest trade partners, and vice versa.
In today's media climate, facts are often irrelevant. Perception is what matters and we are creating the perception that BDS is far stronger than it is in reality. The BDS movement lives or dies by the perception that it is working. This perception galvanises supporters, encourages them, emboldens them and helps to win political supporters.
By giving BDS so much attention, Israel is acting against its own interests and contrary to the economic facts.
