News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) A Hebrew University study showed that Israel's image in American and British media got worse after the pullout from Gaza and the destruction of the Jewish communities there in 2005(the Disengagement). The researchers followed the way the mainstream American and British media reported on Israel and the formal announcements made by the governments of both countries. The study dealt with a nine-month period, beginning three months before the Disengagement and ending with the elections in the Palestinian Authority.

Israel's image was at its positive peak during the month of the Disengagement. During that period, the Foreign Ministry's messages managed to resonate with the U.S. and U.K.'s media and their governments. However, immediately afterwards, the PA's messages took the prominent lead once more.

Dr. Raanan Gissin, who was Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's strategic and media advisor during the Disengagement, told Ma'ariv/NRG: "The failure was not in the Disengagement itself but in the way it was presented in the media. The Palestinians always knew how to pull out the 'Muhammad a-Durah camera' at the right moment, whereas we had a problem getting the messages across."