Report Says Israel’s Image-Improving Attempts Reach 'Point of Surrealism'

The study of Israel's response to international criticism of its summer 2014 Operation Protective Edge shows that Tel-Aviv bent every effort to save its image. Israel's lobby in EU countries was especially active.

MOSCOW, January 20 (Sputnik) — Organizations lobbying interests of Israel in the European Union are trying "to the point of surrealism" to improve the country's image and not let it be defined solely by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, suggests a report by the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) published on Tuesday.

The report titled "Spin doctors to the autocrats: how European PR firms whitewash repressive regimes" examines how "repressive regimes" worldwide use PR and lobbying to improve their international image. In the chapter devoted to Israel, the study looks at how the country is responding to international criticism of its summer 2014 Operation Protective Edge that lead to death of more than 2,100 people, mainly Palestinians.

"EFI [the European Friends of Israel lobby group] has been keen to reframe the image of the country as not just being defined by conflict, sometimes to the point of surrealism," the report said, referring to the organization's press release on Operation Protective Edge.

.@CorporateEurope report: Spin Dr. to the autocrats: how EU PR firms whitewash repressive regimes. p.43: #Israel #BDS http://t.co/ZciN08D0ct

— ronnie barkan (@ronnie_barkan) 20 января 2015

"Whilst thousands of rockets rained down on the country during the latest conflict, Israelis have – between running to bomb shelters – been creating technologies and devising strategies to make the world a better place," the EFI press release says as quoted by CEO report.

According to the report, the Israeli lobby is among the most well-funded in the EU. The US-based Israel Allies Foundation (IAF), which has an office in Brussels, lists its annual budget at 1.5 billion euro (more than $1.7 billion) and EFI spends approximately 400,000 euro (more than $460,000) annually.

Despite this spending, Israel still has to resort to the help of western PR professionals. The report states that in 2011 Israel was looking for PR agencies in ten countries to improve how the world and especially Europe perceives the country. "The unprecedented PR move came amidst an increasingly vocal movement to boycott Israeli products, particularly strong in Europe, and a Palestinian campaign for UN recognition of statehood," the study said, estimating the campaign's budget at some $3.3 million a year.