‘Flotilla incident proves Foreign Ministry should run all PR’
A new report critical of the government’s handling of the Gaza flotilla incident in 2010 shows only one official body should be in charge of Israel’s media relations, foreign minister says
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The state comptroller’s critical report on the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010 shows that only one government body, the Foreign Ministry, should be in charge of Israel’s media relations, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said after the report’s publication Wednesday.
“Only the Foreign Ministry, because of the skill and deployment that allow it to respond in real time and deal with the false versions being put out by hostile parties, can take on these kinds of public relations missions to media worldwide,” Liberman told reporters in Jerusalem.
At the time of the Marmara incident several different official bodies — including the military spokesperson, the National Information Directorate and the Ministry for Hasbara and Diaspora Affairs — were responsible for public relations, creating what Liberman called “disorganization and problems.”
The critical report released Wednesday by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss focused on government decision-making but also devoted a lengthy section to the National Information Directorate, which was established to run the country’s public relations. The public relations response to the bloodshed aboard the Marmara was widely criticized as slow and ineffective.
In a response Wednesday, the National Information Directorate said some of the flaws pointed out in the report had already been fixed and the rest would be taken seriously and dealt with quickly.
The Times of Israel Community.