Tuesday, February 15, 2011

On Using the Term "Occupied"

Noted:

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour wrapped up a trip this week, courtesy of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

...“A lot of people asked for my speech to be interpreted into English,” Barbour quipped through his thick southern drawl. “This is not a south Brooklyn accent.”

...He dismissed those in America and elsewhere “who deny the fact that this is the immemorial and continuously occupied homeland of the Jewish people.”

A note to Barbour: The word “occupied” strikes a different chord in Israel.

The issue of Judea and Samaria, of Jewish residency rights in its historic homeland, of the security advantages afforded the entire state of Israel by retaining this area are being brought to the attention of centrally-positioned American politicians and potential candidates for high office.

This is a crucial element not of Hasbara, public diplomacy efforts, solely but of proper political advocacy and first-line profile.

We'll continue doing our best.

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