Israeli diplomats and spokesmen, writes Evelyn Gordon, compromise efforts at effective diplomacy by routinely (if inadvertently) arguing the cause of the Palestinians:
Official Israeli spokesmen . . . talk constantly about the Palestinians’ “right” to establish a state in these lands, while talking only sporadically about Israel’s own legal and historical rights there. And, needless to say, Palestinians don’t return the favor: they talk constantly about their own rights and never about Israel’s rights. . . .
Thus for most of world, deciding who really owns the land becomes a no-brainer: the Palestinian claim looks much stronger. After all, both sides agree unequivocally that the Palestinians have rights there, so that must be true. In contrast, Israel asserts its own claims only half-heartedly, while Palestinians deny them outright; hence Israel’s claims seem dubious. . . .
Israel has one huge advantage . . . : all the claims it can and should be making against the Palestinians are true, whereas Palestinian claims against Israel are frequently egregious lies. But the Palestinians tell their lies consistently and wholeheartedly, never offering any support for Israel’s truths, whereas Israel tells its truths sporadically and half-heartedly, while offering frequent support to Palestinian lies. And as long as that continues, the lies will be victorious.
Read more on Evelyn Gordon: http://evelyncgordon.com/you-cant-win-a-pr-war-by-fighting-on-the-enemys-side/