The Foreign Ministry has taken down a video promotion for Israel that used sexual innuendo after the Arutz-7 Hebrew site exposed the campaign on Tuesday. The film was sponsored by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA).
The video shows a young couple in bed and uses sexual terms in comparison with Israel. The exposé noted that the video was vulgar and could also be used by anti-Semites in their campaign to discredit Jews and Israel.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levi told Israel National News that the government workers involved in the promo are located in Toronto. “The idea did not come from Jerusalem,” he said.
The tourism campaign promoted on the website continues a government policy to change or broaden Israel’s image and try to appeal to population groups that it feels would be attracted by a portrayal of the Jewish state as a Western society. They have been using half-clothed models and beach scenes to get the point across. Religion, heritage sites and culture are rarely mentioned, if at all.