Israel's PR
Last night, I struggled to understand Likud Knesset member Yuval Steinmetz as he was interviewed on a panel on one of the evening news shows - I can't remember if it was on CNN or MSNBC. Steinmetz is an intelligent man of ideas, but his English is heavily accented. Had he spoken in Hebrew, I would have understood much more of what he said. I'm not sure that non-Jewish American viewers would have understood less.
Also yesterday, former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dore Gold was on the Fox morning show and later on Lou Dobbs' CNN program. Gold, as usual, was fantastic. He made aliyah from Connecticut, so English is no problem for him. He was appearing to promote his new book about the damage the UN has caused prospects for real peace in the Middle East. He is not an official spokesman for the Israeli government.
It is simply inexcusable for Israel to keep putting those who can't speak English on American and British news programs. Binyamin Netanyahu's skills have been completely wasted because Ariel Sharon doesn't trust him. So instead we get Steinmetz and Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom, who also has a heavy accent, though not quite as heavy as Steinmetz's.
posted on 11/12/2004
