Much is being written about the PR war between the Israeli Defense Forces and pro-Palestinian groups involved in Monday's sea raid near Gaza. But if any advantage is seen to tip toward the Palestinians, the PR roots of one of the key players in the showdown might have helped.

The New York Times on Monday ran a story on its front page about the video face-off in the media between the two sides, choosing instead to place its more traditional article on the continued diplomatic maneuvering further back in the paper.

The PR showdown took a turn toward the absurd, as well, as a Twitter account @IsraelGlobalPR surfaced, echoing the popular BP spoof PR feed.

But one of the key players in the Free Gaza Movement group involved in the showdown with Israel last week is a former San Diego PR pro.

SignOnSanDiego.com's Logan Jenkins, who saw a strong Palestianian PR victory on Monday, shed some light on an American founder of the group -- Greta Berlin (pictured)-- noting Berlin headed GKB Associates in Escondido during the 1980s helping to media train scientists and engineers.

Jenkins writes about her "radicalization," involvement in aiding the Palestinian cause and fortuitous turn in winning the lottery with her husband:
“All of a sudden,” [Berlin] said in the interview, “the IRS was auditing my husband’s engineering firm. The FBI was questioning us. The final straw was in the early 1970s when the Jewish Defense League phoned late at night and said if any passengers were murdered in the airline hijackings that were going at the time, my children would be killed.”

The pro-Israel side of the current PR standoff is not impressed by Berlin's communications skills. A group called CAMERA, or the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, has blasted Berlin, who, the groups, says "displays extreme animus toward the Jewish state, successfully using the media to publicize her outright distortions and anti-Israel agenda."

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