Courting New Amigos

The Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles is reaching
out to the Latino community — but not with ordinary diplomacy. In addition to
usual programs it uses to rally communal support for Israel, the consulate last
week unveiled its new strategy for community relations. This being Los Angeles,
that strategy is, of course, connected with Hollywood.

Mark Paredes, the press attaché and community outreach
liaison for the Israel Consulate has become a series regular on “El Tribunal
del Pueblo,” the prime-time Spanish version of “The People’s Court,” which is
broadcast on Telemundo. Paredes plays the district attorney on the show. For
the most part, the show is unscripted, and Paredes, who in addition to his
consular duties is pursuing a career as a screenwriter and actor, gets a
considerable amount of screen time. The consulate is so eager for Paredes to
appear on the show — which they see as a good way to reach out to the Hispanic
community — that they have given him one a day a week off work so that he can
attend the tapings.

“Hispanics are a powerful political presence in California,”
Paredes said. “They are the majority in the state, a lot of them are
Christians, but they don’t know much about Israel, and we have not really
courted their support. It’s a virgin mind that we can dig into. This show is
part of our Hispanic outreach — getting out into that community.”

Paredes, a former U.S. diplomat who speaks seven languages,
including Hebrew, is starting to get something of a reputation in the Latino
community. Other actors who come in to tape the show all want to know “Which
one is the guy from the Israeli Consulate?”

But don’t think that this job is causing Paredes to slack
off from his myriad consulate duties.

“With all the speeches that I give around town,” he said. “I
more than make up for the time off in overtime.”

“El Tribunal del Pueblo” airs Monday through Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Telemundo.