Forecast Highs

UPDATE: Netanyahu joins Israel’s PR war effort, appearing on FOX News.

Just heard that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met today with opposition leader Likud MK Binyamin Netanyahu and updated him on the security situation, as is required by law. The Prime Minister’s Office also reports that Olmert asked Netanyahu to step up and help in Israel’s public diplomacy efforts during this round of fighting with Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu, a fluent English-speaker with a Harvard degree, is considered the top public speaker in Israel, especially on foreign networks. While Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog and President Shimon Peres are no slouches, nobody comes close to Bibi’s clarity and force of argument, regardless of whether one agrees with him or not.

During the Second Lebanon War Netanyahu appeared frequently on foreign TV stations, and spent some time in London meeting with journalists. Without a doubt the addition of Netanyahu, the the head of the opposition, to Israel’s hasbarah efforts will give those efforts a serious boost.

It will be interesting to see what Netanyahu does: If he agrees to Olmert’s request he will be defending the Israeli government’s actions – a government he has been spending years trying to topple. If he refuses, Olmert’s Kadima [under the direction of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's strategists] will slam his refusal to step up to the plate and fight for Israel in the court of world opinion. Either way, Netanyahu could lose domestic points, some 40 days before the general elections.

Was Olmert trying to corner Bibi with this maneuver, or was he truly thinking that Netanyahu’s assistance could help Israel get her message out? Either way, a brilliant move by Olmert.

Netanyahu may want to avoid this catch-22 and come up with a way to appear on foreign TV for Israel and still criticize [though in a somewhat subdued tone] the current government. For instance, his message could be that Israel is doing what it should have done years ago [jabbing at the Olmert - Livni government], but that now is better late than never and the strikes on Gaza are essential [defending Israel], while adding that this is not the time for politicking [coming off as the respectable Leader of the Opposition].

And if it works, Bibi can use it to his credit in his political campaign, saying: “See, I put politics aside and supported the army’s action.”