The International Criminal Court (ICC) has decided to investigate the complaint against Israel for war crimes brought by the Palestinian Authority. The decision provoked fury in the Israeli government and was condemned by other countries, including The United States.
These negative reactions were provoked primarily for the following two reasons:
- The Palestinian Authority is not a state, and thus has no standing to bring cases to the ICC.
- The investigation will be one-sided, with no consideration of possible war crimes on the part of Hamas, such as firing hundreds of rockets into Israel, which was, after all, the cause of the summer war between Hamas and Israel.>
One of the problems with Israeli public diplomacy is that it is predictably reactive and generally negative. Something happens, and the Israeli government reacts.
Suppose, for once, Israel were to take a different tack, one based on the principles used by judo experts--namely, to use the opponent's own strengths and moves against him. In this case, Israel, instead of simply denouncing the ICC decision, could have said, "Okay, sure, let's have an investigation. We will cooperate fully with such an investigation and indeed welcome it. However, we will do so only under the following conditions:
- A series of war crimes allegations by us against Hamas must also be investigated. After all, this is only fair and just, right?
- The investigation must be identified clearly as examining reciprocal war crimes allegations between a state and a non-state organization. We have no problem with that, it simply must be clearly recognized.
Such a reaction would have many benefits. It would not be entirely negative and angry. It would be eminently reasonable, and based on fundamental principles of justice and fairness.
Finally, it would place the ball firmly in the ICC's court. This is another basic principle of good public relations in general and public diplomacy in particular. Make sure the other side is in a position of having to defend itself and its decisions and actions, not you.
Would there be any downside to such a reaction? I think not. Let's try it.
Norman A. Bailey, Ph.D., is Adjunct Professor of Economic Statecraft at The Institute of World Politics, Washington, DC, and teaches at the Center for National Security Studies and Geostrategy, University of Haifa.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 18, 2015
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015