By Dr. Charles Jacobs Friday - October 12, 2007

There is no let up in the rhetorical attacks on the Jewish state: Israel, which stole Palestinian land, destroyed the civilian infrastructure of Lebanon last summer, using secret new uranium bombs. Meanwhile, the Israel Lobby keeps everyone from criticizing the Jewish state. Etcetera.

As currently practiced, Israel advocacy is an endless response process to lies and distortions. Indeed, the “bible” of hasbara – “Myths and Facts” – is a handbook of factual responses to never ending waves of falsification. But after decades of using this approach, it is clear to almost everyone that it just doesn’t work. We’re losing the PR battle.

A new spate of psychological studies reviewed in the Washington Post focuses on the irrational power of false information and explains why facts don’t defeat defamation.

In one study, the Center for Disease Control tried to correct the false rumor that flu shots give you the flu by issuing a flyer to correct the falsehood. It backfired: psychologists found that people who thought flu shots were bad misremembered the flyer and when asked where they learned shots were bad, many cited the CDC’s correction flyer as the source!

Why is this? Falsehoods, if they are the first information acquired, and are repeated often, resist being cleansed with fact. Most folks flee from the “maybe I’m wrong – let me test my belief” posture of logic and science. Most stick to what first gets stuck in their craniums and “remember” things that confirm their certainties.

Israel remains for so many the “most important human rights situation in the world,” despite all the efforts of Israel advocacy groups to patiently correct misinformation in great part because the attackers were first out of the box with lies, and have repeated them often enough to create a theme resistant to fact. Indeed, the drum roll of defamation builds, escalating Israel’s supposed crimes from “massacres” and “flights of refugees” to “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.”

Defamers simply have a better grasp on what sells than most Jews do. Jewish religious culture is grounded in textual proofs. Jews are hooked on logic, words, and reason. They believe that the facts speak for themselves. They just won’t act on the evidence that victory often goes to whoever attacks first and often. Why? Because unlike their adversaries, Jews feel that attacking the other side – with truth – is somehow beneath them.

Israel advocates have been playing defense, patiently trying to fight lies with facts. The meta-conversation sounds like this: “Israel is bad.” “No, we’re not as bad as you say.” Jews never try to turn the tables by attacking – identifying the “rights” activists who falsely finger Israel while ignoring real evils in the Arab and Islamic realm – or by making those evils the center of discourse about the Middle East. In the dock, responding to attack is a formula for defeat. Ask any litigator.

Studies in psychology show that the first one out of the box often wins. Common sense dictates: the best defense is a good offense.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 22nd, 2007 and is filed under opinion. You can leave a response.