Senior staffers at Israel’s New York consulate are warning that budget cuts will critically reduce their ability to conduct advocacy work, the Jerusalem Post reports.
In a letter to the Foreign Ministry that was published in Israel’s Yediot Achronoth newspaper, three Israeli diplomats wrote:
“This is not the way to build hasbara. Every month, another substantial cut arrives at our door, while the tasks we are confronting only get bigger.”
An official in the New York consulate added:
“Cutting staff means less contact with the media, and it means reaching less communities.”
The letter listed communications challenges including Israel’s negative image on campuses, outreach efforts to ethnic communities, ties with Evangelical Christians, and the media’s tendency to ignore Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel.
This past year the New York consulate introduced new communications initiatives such as its youth-oriented Israel blog, ‘Isrealli.’
