Getting the big picture on a not-so-small country
Sexual pun goes to work for Israel
Simon Houpt
From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010 10:01PM EST
Can the prospect of oral sex deflate hardening anti-Israel sentiment?
As the Israeli government rolls out a PR offensive to combat what it believes are misperceptions, a new campaign on campuses across Canada is encouraging students to think of the Jewish state as a technologically and culturally advanced Mediterranean playground that can provide a lot of fun and excitement in a small package.
Visitors to the website sizedoesntmatter.ca are greeted with thumping dance music and a series of travel-brochure images of Israel: azure waters, hot bodies, packed clubs, and colourful open-air markets.
There’s also a 50-second commercial featuring a young man and woman talking in bed. “Don’t be mad, but it’s small … I just don’t know if I can go there,” she says, looking at his lap just off-camera.
“I consider this a spot of worship,” he replies, then adds: “It may be small, but it’s brought the driest places to life. Baby, this is paradise.”
What are they looking at? A map of Israel.
The video concludes with the tagline: “Israel. Small country, big paradise,” though the website has a different slogan: “Small country, big appetite for peace.” The site supplies facts about the country’s medical and communication-technology industries, its population, and its environmental efforts.
“Our students year-to-year on campus are so burdened by the politicization of the debate,” says Susan Davis, executive director of the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, an arm of the United Jewish Appeal, which backed the effort. “It’s the idea of hearing about Israel in the bigger picture, Israel outside the conflict, Israel as a complete country. And the students are the most excited.”
Pun intended? “Did I say that?” Ms. Davis replied.
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Canada students counter ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ with controversial campaign
A controversial pro-Israel campaign was launched in universities across Canada last week, in an attempt to counter the global pro-Palestinian campaign, “Israel Apartheid Week,” launched on Sunday.
The campaign, named “Size Doesn’t Matter,” was initiated by the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students, and is taking place in 23 universities across Canada, according the official “Size Doesn’t Matter” website.
An especially peppery video ad posted on the campaign website displays a young couple in bed, with the young woman complaining of the “size” of what turns out to be a map of Israel.
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Organizers said that the campaign was aimed at “highlighting the multitude of Israeli accomplishments and contributions,” saying it was the “result of the combined efforts by the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students (CFJS), local Hillels, Jewish Student Associations, and Israel on Campus organizations across Canada.”
The campaign website indicated that renowned speakers will be discussing Mideast-related issues, including Khaled Abu Toameh, Dr. Joel Kotek, Dr. Mohammed Wattad, and Ismael Khaldi.
“We are very excited about this campaign,” said Rebecca Cherniak, Israel Affairs Chair for the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students.
“On many Canadian campuses, Israel is often vilified by anti-Israel proponents. The “Size Doesn’t Matter” campaign will showcase an Israel that many students have never seen before,” Cherniak said
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153468.html
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For Israel, Size Doesn’t Matter
‘Don’t be mad, but it’s small,” starts a video of two sexy, half-dressed college students in bed.
The 45-second video, laden with enough double entendres and sexual innuendoes to make almost anyone blush, or at least laugh, is part of a new online pro-Israel campaign called sizedoesntmatter.ca, run by the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students and a number of other Canadian Israel advocacy organizations on campuses across the country.
While size might not matter, going viral for advocacy campaigns certainly does. In its first four days on the Web, the video got 17,000 hits on the group’s Web site and on YouTube.
The group is targeting the “more than 80% of students on a given campus who haven’t made up their minds about Israel and the Middle East,” said Noah Kochman, chair of political affairs and advocacy for CFJS, and a political science student at McGill University. “This [video] will drive people to a Web site that contains valuable facts about Israel… its culture and innovation,” he said referring to the campaign’s Web site, which is full of information about Israel, Israel-focused events on campuses and news stories about Israel.
While Kochman said that the campaign is not a direct response to the Israeli Apartheid Week, which is scheduled for March 1–7, an upcoming project by the same coalition of groups will address the event.
As for the next “Size doesn’t matter” video, will it make us blush? Probably not, Kochman says, but it might get a laugh. “The next one will be more information and fact based, but it will definitely work through humor,” he said.
