The Language of Lobbying - US/Australia
The Language of Lobbying - US/Australia
Defending the indefensible
Summary
This article gives insights into the art of persuasion used by lobbyists referencing documents intended as internal guides or speaking notes to give insights into the techniques of manipulation used in the process.
Credit: The second part of this article on AIJAC Chair Mark Leibler leverages an article written by Michael West Media 15 Nov 2023 “Israel, Gaza and Australian politics: master lobbyist Mark Leibler reveals how power really works“ also credited in the body of this article.
Contents
Introduction
Lobbying - the skill of political persuasion - is an artform in itself taking in psychology, history, rhetoric and good old fashioned veiled threats.
There’s the public lobby - either on record, or to someone’s face - and the backdoor lobby, private discussions.
There’s also the identification of the best person to target likely to achieve the most influence, and not normally the top dog (Sales 101 - targeting your economic buyer; the decision-maker).
However it is done - there’s a particular skill to the language, phrasing and the selection of facts utilised.
US - The Secret PR Bible
An article from 2014 by The Independent details the leaked ‘PR bible’ used by Israeli spokespeople to use particular wording to defend the indefensible and drive the narrative effectively - “The Secret Report that helps Israel hide facts“1.
The report was first leaked to NewsWeek in 2009 immediately after being written, marked "not for distribution" - “How to Sell Americans on Israeli Settlements”2.
Frank Luntz a Republican Political Consultant was commissioned to write the report by lobby group The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington (The Israel Project)3.
The Israel Project's Mandate: "devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel ... provides journalists with fact sheets, backgrounders and sources"
A lesson in PR and shaping opinion - "words to use" / "words not to use". You'd have to assume the updated version of this exists and is in use today by spokespeople and consumed by sympathetic or just lazy media.
Though clearly this is intended to discuss high level Israeli policy and the detail of various accusations and issues throughout the years at an international level, it can also be used to reinforce talking points at the regional level - stressing “words that work”, “areas to emphasise”, “facts to have” etc. and also what NOT to say.
This can of course be used by domestic political speech writers to craft messages in national parliament to influence policy.
To Download The Document:
📃 The full 122 page text of the report was archived on archive.org but clearly trying to remove copies - “The item is not available due to issues with the item's content.”4 but a copy can be downloaded here 🔗👉⬇️ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-4kDx-ZoUR5qqpFqcNfbLcJxTdUrkBM_/view?usp=share_link
Australian - The AIJAC lobbyist speech notes
Michael West Media found on the company website of the AIJAC Chairman a copy of one of his speeches with revealing and frank insights into the methods used to lobby politicians5.
The document appears to be notes from a presentation on July 24 2018 to the Jewish Community Council of Western Australia, but makes comments going back throughout lobbying over the decades. According to Leibler:
“Apart from the US, Australia is the best friend Israel has”
Noting AIJAC’s lobbyist targets MPs and Journalists based on Israeli Government policy:
Some quotes from the speech below.
1980s - On off the record discussion with MP to shut down Palestinian art exhibition:
2018 - On silencing pro-Palestine ABC Journalist coverage of the Middle East:
Indeed AIJAC had been after ABC Sophie MacNeill for years publishing a critique article on its website in 20166 with The Guardian reporting on ongoing targeting of her and other journalists in 20177.
In his own words (from speech notes):
2017 - Labor Party Conference: lobbying against recognition of Palestine
1986 - on lobbying to rescind 10 November 1975 UN General Assembly Resolution 3379
UN GA Resolution 3379 - "This resolution decided that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.“8
Resolution 3379 was rescinded 16 years later in 1991, but not from lobbying, from a desire to have Israel cemented as a strong ally in the Middle East post the 1991 Gulf War.
Israel only agreeing to enter peace negotiations IF the Resolution was rescinded.
President Bush personally introduced the rescind motion to the UN General Assembly before it was rescinded.
On The Appearance of Lobbying:
To Download A copy of the Speech:
Download available here 📃🔗👉⬇️
In Action: Israeli Government Spokesperson Eylon Levy
Israeli Government spokesperson Eylon Levy was suspended and then sacked for boasting about Israel not blocking aid to Gaza in an arrogant tweet to the UK Foreign Secretary9.
In addition to his clipped language to date - these assertions of course have laterally been proven months later to be completely untrue, contributing towards the starvation of Gazans.
Eylon was invited to speak online in Australia at a fundraiser for Israel in December entitled “Representing Israel on the World Stage”. Two days after he spoke - Israel killed 3 of its own citizens, hostages waving a white flag, which Eylon again tried to defend.
The style of Israeli Government official and pro-Israeli lobbyist became so formulaic that an editorial letter written by a member of Cardiff Stop the War Coalition went viral as a checklist for the approach. Tongue in cheek - but actually quite accurate.
See article below detailing Eylon’s talk in Australia in December, in the context of an article about another Israeli visitor in December, this time physically in the country, a serving IDF Major, which was incredibly inappropriate.
Conclusion
Political lobbying is a dark art, smoke and mirrors.
In addition to holding positions of authority with access to powerful individuals, the language used and people targeted are clearly critical in maximising the lobbying outcome.
In Australia due to the NFP status of the lobby groups and current laws exempting them from lobby registration, the influence is very opaque.
It needs to be more visible so the cause and effect are clear.
Related Articles
SubStack:
Other:
20 Nov “On Israeli crafted PR and language - defending the indefensible“- (Original Sleekit Scotsman Facebook Post) - https://www.facebook.com/sleekit.scotsman2/posts/pfbid036PBnFbqEHUXfUKkYzdAyZGgq7ZEFKDWVxzBiiGpQjJyztpSig7d8mv3BLffQhhQql
IDF Major Brought to Australia December 2023 whilst Israeli Government spokesperson Eylon Levy addresses an Israeli fundraising event.
The Independent 29 July 2014 - “The secret report that helps Israel hide facts“ - https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/israelgaza-conflict-the-secret-report-that-helps-israelis-to-hide-facts-9630765.html
NewsWeek July 9 2009 - “How to Sell Americans on Israeli Settlements“- https://www.newsweek.com/how-sell-americans-israeli-settlements-81783?fbclid=IwAR0u4Wz4TedVMWh4AoJH3kkGut-bzLP4fLjnBTqKOITOpsPsjgYa2Y8_Hxw
Jewish Federation of Washington (JConnect) website - https://www.jconnect.org/department/the-israel-project/
Original Luntz Report location public on archive.org - https://ia800908.us.archive.org/6/items/LuntzReport/The%20Luntz%20report%20-%20The%20Israel%20Projects%202009%20Global%20Language%20Dictionary.pdf
Michael West Media 15 Nov 2023 - “Israel, Gaza and Australian politics: master lobbyist Mark Leibler reveals how power really works“ - https://michaelwest.com.au/israel-gaza-and-australian-politics-master-lobbyist-mark-leibler-reveals-how-power-really-works/
AIJAC Website Sep 26 2016- “ABC’s McNeill vowed to be an advocacy journo, and she delivered“ - https://aijac.org.au/update/abc-s-mcneill-vowed-to-be-an-advocacy-journo-and/
The Guardian 29 Jul 2017 - “Pro-Israel advocates in Australia targeted three journalists, new book claims“ - https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jul/29/pro-israel-advocates-in-australia-targeted-three-journalists-new-book-claims
United Nations Archive A/RES/3379 - “This resolution decided that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.“ - https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/document/ip-a-res-3379.php
The Guardian Friday 22 Mar 2024 “David Cameron accuses Israel of blocking key aid crossing in Gaza“ - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/21/david-cameron-accuses-israel-of-blocking-key-aid-crossing-in-gaza