Standing up to the BDS bogey man

Prepare your community with Israel advocacy skills

We are rightly outraged by the lies told about Israel. Some of these are easily refuted (like the teenaged terrorist allegedly “executed” by Israel, who nonetheless lived and admitted to his crime). Others require more time and effort (like the allegation that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is illegal). But we shouldn’t let our outrage fool us into thinking that the liars are winning. Despite their “best” efforts,

1. Cultural boycotts have had little impact.
2. Attempts at academic boycotts seem to backfire.
3. Economic and political ostracism has little or no impact.

If that’s the case, if the BDS campaign has had such little effect on Israel they have had to invent victories, why do we pay so much attention to them?

Bullies at work

The BDS movement is one manifestation of the campaign to delegitimatize the Jewish State and its supporters. They have two immediate goals:

1. Just as Holocaust deniers deem it a victory when they make the reality of the Final Solution the subject of debate, so too do the new anti-Semites claim victory when they call the national rights of the Jews into question.
2. Since the BDSers can’t harm Israel directly, they seek to intimidate and bully Israel’s supporters abroad. The worst examples of this appear on campus but the problem isn’t limited to students.

Skills

When Israel’s supporters work skillfully and consistently they can effectively stem the tide of BDS. But to do so our advocates need to be informed and, even more importantly, have the skills to use that information effectively.

North America in November 2016

With more than three decades of experience teaching Israel advocacy skills to supporters of Israel around the world, I can be an important resource to your community.

I will be in North America in November, presenting Israel advocacy skills training workshops to campus and community groups who want to upgrade their abilities to advocate for Israel. Among those who have profited from my workshops are Israel’s diplomats and emissaries, the staff of major Jewish organizations, Jewish Federations and JCRCs, as well as student and community activists 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.

Dates and details

I’ll be in North America from November 6 through 16, 2016. If you would like me to visit your school, community or organization, please be in touch regarding fees, available dates and logistics.

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
POB 2534 · Jerusalem 91024 · Israel
Tel. +972-2-651-2610 · Fax +972-77-470-2844
e-mail: jccat@iname.com · Website · About.me · LinkedIn · Facebook

David’s workshop brings a new and thoughtful perspective to advocacy. His presentation on having the information to advocate, techniques to convey the information, and a forum to advocate in, equips communities with the tools they need to become effective Israel advocates.

In my 25 years of work with media, communications, education and training within the Jewish community, I have met no one who does what David does even half as well.

Of the plethora of Jewish- and Israel-oriented educational programming I have implemented in forty states and a dozen other countries, David Olesker’s programs were the ones students most told me they found to have fundamentally changed and enhanced their understanding.