It is hard for Jewish students to feel relaxed when people are constantly criticising Israel unfairly, questioning Israel's right to exist, and creating a climate of fear for Jewish students. Shaping campus opinion to prevent anti-Israel feeling, the fourth major aim of student Israel advocacy, allows Jewish students to avoid uncomfortable situations on campus, allows students to identify as Jewish on campus without fear, and strengthens Jewish life on campus.

For more on this point see Israel and Jewish Students – p. 67

Diverse Opinions
Some people in Israel believe that some policies enacted by various Israeli governments are
! damaging to Israel's real interests. They argue that sometimes the international community usefully serves to restrain Israeli governments from taking actions that might be counterproductive in the long term. There are, however, many policies - such as the opposition to terror, and the calls for responsibility from the Palestinian leadership - that Israelis are united behind.

Approaches to Israel Advocacy
There are two main approaches to Israel advocacy that allow Jewish students to achieve the aims outlined above. These approaches apply to everything Israel activists are trying to achieve in their advocacy for Israel. These approaches can be called "neutralising negativity"
and "pushing positivity".

Neutralising negativity is about attempting to counter harmful impressions and accusations.
This is the side of hasbara that is concerned with the defence of Israel.

"Israel is not bad because…."
"This action was justified because…"
This often involves arguing over sequences of events, attempting to reframe debates to focus on different issues, and placing events in a wider context, so that the difficulty of Israel's situation is understood in a more positive light.

For more on this point see Communication Styles: Point Scoring and Genuine Debate – p. 8
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The Principles of Israel Advocacy
Neutralising Negativity is usually reactive and responsive.

Pushing Positivity attempts to demonstrate the good things about Israel's case. The aim to is make people see Israel in a good light and have sympathy with her.

"Israel is a democracy"
"Israel wants peace"
This often involves setting the agenda, focusing on some of the more positive features of Israel, and taking the lead in attacking the Palestinian leadership in an effort to allow people to view Israel favourably in comparison.

For more on this point see Being Proactive and Promoting Israel – p. 6


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Hasbara Handbook: Promoting Israel on Campus
BEING PROACTIVE AND PROMOTING ISRAEL
Much of Israel advocacy concerns being reactive and defending Israel against unfair accusations. However it is important that Israel activists are proactive too. Proactivity means taking the initiative and setting the agenda. It means being on the "attack", trying to create positive impressions of Israel. Audiences who have a favourable general impression of Israel are likely to respond favourably when specific issues arise. It is a mistake to only try to promote Israel when she is being strongly criticised in the press.

WHY BE PROACTIVE?
Agenda Setting
The person who sets the agenda will usually win the debate. Reactivity forces Israel activists to be constantly on the defensive ("no, Israel is not all that bad"). However by setting the agenda Israel activists get to determine what to talk about, and can therefore discuss the things they feel help promote the pro-Israel message. Being proactive keeps the right issues in the public eye, and in the way Israel activists want them to be seen. It is much easier to get Palestinian activists defending Arafat against charges of being a corrupt terrorist than it is to explain to disinterested students that Ariel Sharon didn't kill anybody at Sabra and Chatilla (which of course he didn't). It is much easier to feed students falafel at a party than to explain why Zionism isn't racism to a student who doesn't even know what national self-determination is.