Beyond Dodging Bullets
Jews – and many others – awoke on the morning of Thursday 12 December 2019 – if not “dancing in the streets” – then at least relieved that a government under the leadership of an antisemitic party did not rule over them. And that feeling of relief was entirely justified. But, would anyone have predicted, before 2015, that one in three votes cast in a General Election would go to an institutionally antisemitic party? We might want to reassure ourselves that by noting that very few voted Labour because it was antisemitic, but is the fact that they chose to do so despite it being antisemitic really much of a comfort?
The battle against antisemitism isn’t over, it’s only just begun.
The last half decade has seen a normalization and mainstreaming of antisemitic tropes and rhetoric that would have been unimaginable just a short time ago. And of course, it all revolves around the Jewish state, which is today attacked in the same way as the individual Jew was 80 years ago.
Where do we go from here?
Can the antisemitic genie be forced back into the bottle? I don’t think it’s too late, and if you are reading this message, the chances are that you don’t either. My name is David Olesker, I’m originally from the UK and for more than thirty years I’ve been training advocates for Israel in the skills they need to be effective. In 2017, I ran a series of workshops in Britain for grass roots groups to help them hone their skills. I’m returning this spring and there are a few slots still open in my schedule if you would like to organize a workshop for your group. Among those who have already profited from my workshops are:
- Israel’s diplomats and emissaries
- the staff of major Jewish organizations
- Jewish Federations and JCRCs in North America
- secondary school and university students
- community activists from around the world
Subjects covered include:
- Why is it so hard to get people to accept our messages? How can we make them compelling? Learn about CENTRAL versus PERIPHERAL PROCESSING OF INFORMATION, and ANALYTICS versus HEURISTICS.
- CONCEPTUAL FRAMING: How to go off the defensive and seize the initiative.
- CAMPAIGNING: How to move from events to sustained campaigns.
Details
I will be in the UK from May 11 to 19 and, thanks to some generous donations, I will be charging a nominal fee of £100 per session. Please be in touch with me directly if you are interested in having me run a training session for your group while I am in Britain.
David Olesker
Director
J·C·C·A·T
Jerusalem Center for Communication and Advocacy Training
Training advocates for Israel and public speakers for over three decades
14/3 Agassi St. · Jerusalem 9387714 · Israel
Tel. +972-2-651-2610 · WhatsApp +972-58-748-0451· Fax +972-77-470-2844
e-mail: jccat@iname.com · Website: https://jccat.org · About.me · LinkedIn · Facebook
