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| Daniel Hagari |
Speaking truth to power….Public relations enjoyed one of its finest moments on June 19 when the top spokesperson for Israel’s military outed Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal to destroy Hamas as nothing but a myth.
To say that Hamas is going to disappear “is simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” said rear admiral Daniel Hagari on Israeli TV. “Hamas is an idea. Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people. Whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong,” said the Israel Defense Forces spokeperson.
Israel has killed more than 37K Palestinians since it was invaded by Hamas terrorists.
How many more will die before Netanyahu gives up the ghost of total victory, and faces the task of rebuilding what his military destroyed in Gaza?
His back is up against the wall. The prime minister received a sharp rebuke from highly respected White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby for falsely accusing the US of withholding weapons shipments to Israel.
“Those comments were deeply disappointing and certainly vexing to us given the amount of support that we have and will continue to give,” said Kirby.
The US withheld a single shipment of 2,000-pound bombs because the Biden administration didn’t want them used to kill civilians in Israel’s attack on Raffah.
America’s former ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk is fed up with Netanyahu’s shenanigans. He wants House Speaker Mike Johnson to yank Netanyahu’s invitation to address Congress unless he apologizes for his remarks about the US holding back aid.
“Israel is at war on four fronts: with Hamas in Gaza; with Houthis in Yemen; with Hezbollah in Lebanon; and with Iran overseeing the operations. What does Netanyahu do? Attack the United States based on a lie that he made up,” said Indyk.
The US had its own “total victory” illusion during the Vietnam War, in which we assumed that we could bomb the Viet Cong back to the Stone Age. That illusion cost the lives of more than 58K US soldiers.
The most Bibi will lose when he finally faces the reality of Hamas are his job and possibly his freedom.
Florida welcomes amigos… The Sunshine State has issued an RFP for a firm to run a PR campaign in Mexico to promote Florida as good place to visit.
The effort seems a tad ironic after Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis sent national guard troops to Texas to make sure that nobody was crossing the US/Mexico border.
DeSantis, who was gearing up for a run for the Republican primary, dispatched 800 soldiers, 200 Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement officers, 101 state troopers and 20 wildlife officers to Texas. He also sent planes, drones, boats and command vehicles to the Lone Star State.
The governor assumed a tough-guy stance would be his ticket out of Tallahassee and into the Oval Office. Instead, he got thumped by Trump.
Since DeSantis is no longer running for president, he’s wooing Mexicans to swing back and spend some pesos in Florida.
What a difference a year makes.
DEI not dead yet… Companies are watering down or dropping their DEI programs in reaction to the anti-woke movement. They are making a big mistake.
Most Americans support programs to address inequalities at the workplace. They want more—not less—DEI.
A Washington Post/Ipsos poll released June 18 found that 60 percent of respondents believe DEI programs “are a good thing.”
The most popular programs are mentorships for underrepresented groups (75 percent), anti-bias trainings (75 percent) and internships for underrepresented people (70 percent).
The poll found support for DEI programs grows as they become more defined.
That is the challenge for PR people. Joelle Emerson, CEO of DEI Consultancy, said the DEI acronym does have carry a lot of baggage.
PR people need to go beyond the battered brand and educate corporate decision-makers about how DEI efforts benefit the bottom line via a more dedicated and productive workforce, as well as the common good.
The title says it all… “All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons and Politicians” by PR man Phil Elwood will be published June 25 by Henry Holt & Co.
Elwood has plenty of material to work with after working for a rogue’s gallery of no-goodniks.
He has represented Libya’s Moammar Gaddafi, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, and the Government of Qatar.
For Gaddafi, he organized a reception at Donald Trump’s Bedford (NJ) estate during the dictator’s visit to the United Nations as he tried to burnish his image and woo the West. He failed miserably.
Elwood has toiled at PR firms such as Leidar, LEVICK, Ogilvy, Brown Lloyd James, SEC Newgate and Burson-Marsteller.
He will make a promotional appearance at Politics and Prose book store in Washington on June 27, prior to the Biden-Trump debate.
Some PR people might want to skip the debate and read Elwood’s book.
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