The Shalit deal through foreign eyes
Foreign media also taking interest in impending release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit; tries to explain motives behind Israel’s approval of lopsided deal.
“Gilad Shalit’s expected release…owes much to a public relations campaign that turned the Israeli soldier into an icon, portraying him as the nation’s son with bumper stickers, billboards and TV ads,” the author claims.
“PR firms and communications experts working for Shalit’s parents drove a sophisticated campaign that also enlisted celebrities, musicians and an army of thousands of volunteers. It was aimed at pressuring two Israeli prime ministers to negotiate the release of Shalit, captured in a daring cross-border raid by Gaza militants in 2006.
“The PR efforts succeeded by fashioning him into the boy next door — a soldier who, in a country with mandatory military service, could be anyone’s child.”
The paper further describes the extensive campaign, saying: “TV ads plucked at heartstrings, tying Shalit’s fate to that of Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator who was captured in 1986 after his aircraft was brought down over Lebanon.
According to the AP, even Israelis are controlled by a small, media savvy, Jewish conspiracy.
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