By Jeanette Friedman
NEW YORK–The e-mail came from a news source in Europe, who got it from a guy in New York, who got it from a couple in Los Angeles, who got it from a guy who “just received this from my friend in Israel, who moves in high circles, who heard it from a consultant to the United States who meets once a month with the President in the White House. He is in the know. This is what actually has happened with the relationship with Israel and the U.S.A. and it is not pretty.”
What followed was a litany of “crimes” by the U.S. administration against Israel. Some of them were based on kernels of truth that had been convoluted into “reports” designed to galvanize people into action by injecting them with the fear factor. One accusation was exaggerated truth. Others were patently ridiculous, and some of them were oversimplifications of complicated diplomatic matters that are not controlled by anyone in the U.S. Some were outright lies.
How does one find out the truth behind these viral e-mails? One way is to check with Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (COP). As a fellow who spends most of his time getting his news first hand from newsmakers and reporters, he is a human aggregator who has to have his finger on the facts (or his nose in the news), day in and day out.
It’s no surprise, then, that he gets lots of inquiries about e-mails from the left and the right that are politically charged, and it’s not news to him that the Internet has fundamentally changed the way the COP and most Jewish organizations communicate and should communicate.
“Jewish organizations,” he told this reporter, “by and large have still not learned to use the new media effectively, but it’s changed how we do our work in many ways, because there is no longer a news cycle. [A news cycle is how long it takes for information to be spread through media.]
Information is now transmitted instantly to huge numbers of people, and disinformation needs to be responded to immediately—because the more sensational the disinformation is, the faster it goes viral. Then, before you can correct it, in a matter of moments, people are on to the next issue.
“When I started in organizational life, there was a 24-hour news cycle for newspapers. Then cable TV changed that to a 12-hour and then an 8-hour cycle, and now, because of the Net, we are down to a matter of minutes. It also becomes increasingly difficult to discern what is true and what is not, and there’s no time to adequately check allegations and reports before they have been widely circulated.”
How do these viral e-mails affect the American Jewish community’s relationships with other communities, politicians and administrations?
“I see lots of energy and time wasted when false allegations are made about Israel, about the U.S. and the relationship between them, as well as myriad other subjects that affect what people think and do. Sometimes these reports are ludicrous. For example, before Passover, someone sent out a fake press release to say President Obama asked PM Netanyahu to ask the Jewish people not to say ‘Next year in Jerusalem’ at the Seder, but to say ‘Next year in Israel or elsewhere.’
“It was an attempt at humor, and when I got it, I told our chairman, ‘Wait a few days, and you will see this transformed into a news story that people believe.’ Three days later we started getting emails asking us how we could let this happen.
“There are other examples as well. Reports that new policies have been instituted that deny Israeli scientists access to the U.S. or that Israeli access to U.S. bases has been restricted, or that 20,000 people are coming from Gaza to the U.S., or that the Obama administration does not oppose Syria rearming Hezbollah, are just not the case.
“The problem is compounded when the ‘authors’ ascribe these allegations to a legitimate source that is close to the situation and knows what’s going on. This gives pernicious people the ability to write whatever they want and make charges without any accountability, while they hide behind the anonymity of the Internet.
“For example, the accusation about arms transfers from Syria to Hezbollah detracts from our serious discussions about American policy toward Syria. The same is true of allegations leveled against Israel and its government for harvesting Palestinian organs or poisoning water provided to the Palestinians. Spending time responding to reactions to this disinformation interferes with our ability to respond to real challenges and concerns that we need to address.
“And as far as Iran and terrorism are concerned, Jews should be prepared for anything, whether or not Israel attacks Iran. Jews and Jewish institutions should always take precautions to protect our constituents and our communities. There have been numerous attacks on Jewish communities, including the shootings in Seattle and in Los Angeles. These and other attempted assaults should raise our awareness and keep us on constant alert. But you don’t need viral e-mails to tell you that.”
Will the spam problem get worse as time goes on?
“The closer we get to the mid-term elections this year, the hotter it will get, and the more intense it will become. As we move toward 2012, it will get even worse. The community should not allow itself to be dragged into the excesses of the political silly seasons—which will be exceptionally tense this year, considering the charged atmosphere of fiercely contested races.”
A participant who attended a closed meeting of COP leadership last Monday, May 10—where 50 heads of Jewish organizations were present—said that Hoenlein expressed his concerns about these very things.
Was there a reaction?
“I think leaders are aware and beginning to focus on the problem. I could see that they were well aware of the specific e-mails I mentioned and also the general problem.”
Was a solution discussed?
“We are working to establish mechanisms to obtain the correct information quickly from reliable sources and get it to our members through the Daily Alert and other means, as fast as we are able to, so they in turn can pass it on to their constituents. This is not to cover up or dismiss legitimate concerns; quite the opposite. I believe these things have to be taken seriously because people will not know what to believe and what not to believe. My concern is that we will see much more of this in the future as the medium becomes more sophisticated and people learn how to manipulate it to greater effect.”
So is the Internet a good thing or a bad thing?
“I think the Internet can be a tremendous force for good and will allow us to reach a broader audience if we learn how to use it correctly. We are working on that right now. We have tried to work with officials in Israel and the Obama administration to get us responses to these reports as quickly as possible so we can then get the information out in a timely manner.
“Where there are real issues, they should be confronted and addressed with siechel (smarts). It’s not always what you do, but also how you do it that determines the effectiveness of your efforts.”
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Friedman is the New York bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World