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World Jewish News
Why Israel Is Ignoring the CIS in Information War
12.01.2009
As suggested by the Knesset Speaker, twenty Israeli deputies are heading abroad for explanatory work. But none of them are going to the CIS or speaks Russian. The Foreign Office departments which deal with CIS countries were not informed about this initiative.
Within the current and next weeks, Israel will send around twenty deputies to Western European countries for explanatory work in connection with the current operation in the Gaza Strip. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom has already left for England. This initiative belongs to the Parliament Speaker Dalia Itzik (she herself will go to Spain). The decision was taken together with the representatives of Foreign Office.
On discovering this information, the officials from one of the state institutions asked whether deputies will be going to the CIS republics. Especially since local Muslim priests and Islamists have been making statements against the Israeli operation in Gaza, often inspired by Iran, and distributed by the local media. But Jerusalem is not planning to send Knesset deputies there, although 14 Israeli parliamentarians come from the FSU, some of them have connections there, both with colleagues and major mass media, in particular in Muslim countries. Moreover, among the twenty deputies delegated to Europe, no one speaks Russian. And only three of them "have heard something" at the end of the previous week, on Dalia Itzik's initiative.
Last Friday, on January 9, Press Secretary of the Israeli MFA Lior Hayat told the IzRus portal, that "originally it had been planned to send Juliy Edelstein." But later the Speaker’s office reported that this Russian-speaking parliamentarian is not on the list. He added: "Nobody addressed me with such suggestions, but I know that Dalia Itzik’s office has asked other deputies to go."
Most amazingly, the heads of core departments of the diplomatic agency who deal with the CIS countries were not informed about the deputies' trip aimed at activization of explanatory work abroad. They learned about this only when the IzRus portal asked questions concerning the initiative. However, a high-ranking official from the Speaker’s office (who asked not to mention his name) said: "The MFA believes it unnecessary to send deputies to Russia of other FSU countries." He also noted that the decision to send deputies to Western Europe was taken only because "it is possible to influence the public opinion there." Concerning the activities of Iran in the CIS countries, Israeli parliamentarians cannot help with this, while all the issues are discussed directly on the highest level. "There is no point to send the deputies," stressed the official from the Speaker's office. Lior Hayat added: "the deputies are going to those European countries where special effort should be taken in the explanatory work area. They are going as a reinforcement," for making contacts with their colleagues in local parliaments. As Hayat mentions, "by the end of this week everybody will be resting in Russia after New Year celebrations, which is why nobody is going there."
"In the FSU republics there are no free media. There is no one to talk to in order to increase the influence. The situation cannot be changed by sending deputies," believes a high-ranking MFA official who deals with post-Soviet territory. But the same diplomat, when asked about the necessity of sending a group o Russian-speaking parliamentarians to CIS capitals for talking with major media, said: "If the employees of our department that is responsible for explanatory work decided it was necessary to send somebody there, we would have arranged everything. And had the Russian-speaking deputies themselves volunteered to go, we would naturally have arranged this visit."
The official occupying one of the leading positions in another state institution said in this connection, that "Israel is traditionally paying the most attention to the US and Western Europe. This approach is to a considerable extent well-grounded," thinks the source. "But under the conditions of globalization it is impossible to define precisely which regions are involved in our conflict with Iran and Islamic elements, and which are not. The more so that Israel’s opponents do not make any limitations, trying to use their influence everywhere possible, especially in the countries with some Muslim population." It would seem the anti-Israeli demonstrations in Azerbaijan, attacks on Israel by Islamic leaders in Russia, Ukraine, Tadjikistan and Kyrgyzstan prove this opinion.
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