Failing standards noticed

Israel has a serious international image problem:

Israel ranked bottom in the Q3 2006 Anholt Nation Brands Index (NBI). Authored by government advisor Simon Anholt and powered by global market intelligence solutions provider GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.), the Index surveyed 25,903 online consumers across 35 countries about their perceptions of those countries across six areas of national competence: Investment and Immigration, Exports, Culture and Heritage, People, Governance and Tourism. The NBI is the first analytical ranking of the world’s nation brands.

“Israel’s brand is by a considerable margin the most negative we have ever measured in the NBI, and comes bottom of the ranking on almost every question,” states report author Simon Anholt.

Anholt believes that the politics of a nation can affect every single aspect of a person’s perception about a country. In the light of the recent announcement that a team has been tasked with re-branding Israel, he comments that to succeed in permanently changing the country’s image, the country has to be prepared to change its behavior. He reiterates his strong belief that a reputation cannot be constructed: it has to be earned. He concludes: “If Israel’s intention is to promote itself as a desirable place to live and invest in, the challenge appears to be a steep one.”

Nation Brands Index Israel highlights

* Israel came last in each area – by a long margin
* Americans ranked Israel just slightly above China in terms of its conduct in the areas of international peace and security
* Of the 36 countries ranked, there is nowhere that respondents would like to visit less than Israel
* Israel’s people were also voted the most unwelcoming in the world

These results are unsurprising (and refreshing). Despite the best efforts of Zionist lobby groups and many Western nations, Israel’s behaviour in the occupied territories and Lebanon is rightly seen by the global population as immoral and a threat to world security. Even with the constant media insistence of publishing blindly pro-Zionist propaganda, it’s encouraging to read that such efforts are failing miserably.

When complete US support starts to falter, Israel may actually have to become a responsible world citizen.

UPDATE: So how, you may ask, will Israel attempt to counter its woeful international image? Yes, with more bombastic propaganda.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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