Only If Israel’s public relations strategy was as strong as its Iron Dome defense system could it compete with the misconceptions spread about it daily. There are organizations that exist to play defense and dispel falsehoods about the world’s only Jewish State. But a new playbook may be necessary for a long-lasting public relations defense of Israel. “Ethical Tribing: Connecting the Next Generation to Israel in the Digital Era,” aims to be that playbook.
Joanna Landau and Michael Golden, the authors of “Ethical Tribing” address the fact that there are plenty of reasons why Israel can no longer just play defense on how it is perceived in the eyes of detail-averse media and unengaged youth. In the preface, Landau writes, “Today, I truly believe that we — the Jewish People in the Diaspora, the State of Israel and the Israeli people — are not doing enough to get the message out there. To give young Jews and non-Jews a good enough reason to want to see Israel positively. To actively choose Israel. It’s up to us to claim our positive space in global attention and perception.”
Landau and Golden combine their decades of expertise to produce practical tactics for capturing the elusive attention of young Jews and non-Jews when it comes to Israel. “Ethical Tribing” lays out Israel’s messaging problems without hysterics or accusations. Some of the specific questions that the book answers include:
- How does Israel connect with audiences shopping in the Supermarket of Nations?
- How do we persuade smart young people to climb aboard the singular adventure that is Israel?
- What is the Israel story that resonates with the Next Generation?
- Who should the storyteller be?
- How can Israel’s story be shared for maximum impact?
There are many well-written books and organizations that sing Israel’s virtues, but Landau and Golden say that they are often too dry and technical for impressionable audiences. In “Ethical Tribing,” they answer the question on how to get the next generation on board with Israel.
Landau is the President and Founder of Vibe Israel, a Tel Aviv-based nonprofit that “pioneered harnessing the power of digital influencers to share Israel’s story with the world,” according to its website. Originally from England, Laudau has lived in Israel since she was five years old. While she is an expert in “country branding” and influencer marketing, she knew she needed an American voice in writing “Ethical Tribing.”
“I find the sentence I repeat all the time to myself is ‘I don’t speak American,’” Landau said. “Sometimes things are said and I don’t necessarily understand them and the way that they’re meant. So I need someone to help me see it from the Jewish-American perspective.” Golden spent years working in politics and communication strategy in his native Chicago and in Washington, D.C. He has also raised funds for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum and worked for the Anti-Defamation League, which, according to “Ethical Tribing,” would be considered “traditional advocacy.”
You can’t just play defense in a football game. That’s what [“Ethical Tribing”] is about. It is not about the same defense of Israel.” – Michael Golden
“There’s not really an effort to do what Joanna’s doing in America,” Golden told the Journal. “People who are advocates, friends of mine and people I respect, I don’t want them to stop doing their traditional advocacy. That’s not enough. You can’t just play defense in a football game. That’s what [“Ethical Tribing”] is about. It is not about the same defense of Israel. It is about Joanna’s vision to catch young people on the things they’re interested in. Adults don’t want to be lectured and young people certainly don’t want to be lectured.”
Written in the latter half of 2022, “Ethical Tribing” feels up to the minute. Still, just before it was published in January of this year, an author’s note was added: “Israel is a Jewish and democratic state and ‘Ethical Tribing’ is a strategy that will outlive any particular government or political moment in time. So as long as Israel remains a thriving democracy, the ideas presented in this book will apply.”
Landau said that they added the note to encourage readers to look at “Ethical Tribing” from a broader, longer-term perspective. “It is questionable whether Israel is going to remain a vibrant Jewish democracy,” Landau said. “If it doesn’t remain a democracy, I’m not in the business of promoting autocracies or dictatorships and what we are saying in the book won’t apply because the next generation is about liberal values and it is about connecting to things that they can relate to.” She sees “Ethical Tribing” as an analysis and breakdown of marketing and messaging that will be useful not just for Israel advocacy, but for growing an enthusiastic audience with facts and storytelling.
Here are five of the many marketing tactics discussed in “Ethical Tribing”:
1) There has been a Digital Big Bang and your target audiences are filled with digital natives who don’t know a world without connectivity. Accept that this digital world will constantly challenge you to reconsider how you approach audiences. And the competition for attention is fierce, with nearly 200 countries in the “Supermarket of Nations.”
2) If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation. “Though it may not seem self-evident, there is a universe of young people out there who are just waiting to be coaxed up The Engagement Ladder to connect with the real Israel. We must go after every single one of them.” An effective example: A New York Times photo essay declaring Tel Aviv to be “The Capital of Mediterranean Cool.”
3) The next generation craves authenticity, diversity, activism and climate justice, spirituality, and transformational experiences. “Speaking about Israel only in terms of the ‘Holy Land’ won’t cut it anymore, we need to expand the lens through which young people see Israel.”
4) The marketing “Rule of 7” developed in the 1930s (that movie-goers need to see an ad seven times to get them to buy a ticket) is now the Rule of 77. So learn what “organic reach” is, why it’s slowly dying and why paid reach matters so much more.
5) When it comes to pervasive negativity and lies about Israel, don’t engage publicly, do engage privately, and use persuasion and influence tactics. “If we starve the BDS of our response, thereby deflating the crisis rather than amplifying it, we will deplete the movement of its oxygen to keep going. It won’t go away altogether, but it will be far less impactful.”
More information about the book, “Ethical Tribing” can be found on its website, https://www.ethical-tribing.com/
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