By Joyce Starr, Ph.D.

Jerusalem------April 4........The Israel Defense Forces combat commando units rank among the most highly trained, professional and dedicated soldiers on the planet. The time is long overdue, however, for the Prime Minister to forge a world-class unit of commando communicators.

The Prime Minister's Office must immediately establish an Emergency Crisis Team of highly skilled, foreign-savvy and English-speaking professional PR communicators. Israeli sound-bite speakers are hardly in short supply, although some of the most effective voices have either been underutilized or overlooked during the current crisis.
A possible peace treaty between Prime Minister Sharon and former Prime Minister Netanyahu is a positive step in forging an effective response to imbalanced news reporting and in launching an information offensive, wherever possible.

International networks, for example, defend the incessant broadcast of blatant Palestinian and Arab lies by demonstrating that they accord Israeli speakers "equal time" throughout the day. Unfortunately, precious air-time is too often dominated by Israelis who despise and condemn their own government, while the strongest Israeli response can be slotted at hours of the day when people in the US, Europe or the region are at work or asleep.

The problem, however, is long-term and extends to a much broader issue. The Government Press Office, the IDF Spokesman's Office and the new crisis Government Press Center are doing an invaluable and valiant job in responding to immediate press and electronic media needs. But they do not have the expertise or mandate to forge a proactive and long-term global media campaign. The Prime Minister is the only figure who can ensure that a vital new strategy will be put firmly in place. Israeli dependence on American or foreign public relations firms in lieu of a dedicated elite unit that reports directly to the Prime Minister is, at best, a band-aid measure.

Communications, per se, has long been considered a "soft" arena by Israeli machismo standards. Effective global communication today, however, is truly a matter of life and death. Strident falsehoods conveyed throughout the globe by the visually powerful electronic media -- no matter how unintentional -- are inflaming hatred in the region and worldwide to a dangerous and possibly uncontrollable level.

Communication public relations commandos can prove a crucial line of defense, before the nation's country's military combat commandos are forced to risk their lives defending the nation.

Joyce Starr is a Senior Fellow at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) / Lauder School of Government/Institute of Policy and Strategy: joycestarr@usa.net