Justin_stacy
01/17/05, 12:29 AM
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Diplomacy/4450.htm
Reality TV show reveals the challenges of being an Israeli "Ambassador"
By Associated Press November 24, 2004
Mindful of Israel's poor international image, a local television station has come up with a unique idea for a reality show -- get 14 contestants to represent the country before hostile foreign audiences, and choose the best to spread pro-Israel messages throughout the world.
"Hashagrir," or "The Ambassador," which debuts Wednesday, plays into a classic Israeli pet peeve: that the country's diplomats invariably fail to convince foreign audiences that Israel is in the right in its dispute with the Arabs.
Though government professionals reject the charges, criticism of Israel's official information efforts are almost an obsession among Israelis -- reflecting a widely held belief that Israel's policies are unassailable, and if they were just explained correctly, the world would support them.
The format of "Hashagrir" is similar to American reality TV programs like "The Apprentice," with an expert panel giving a designated loser his marching orders at the end of each episode.
The Associated Press obtained an advance copy of the first of the 12 episodes.
A news release from the producers said the TV program and prize -- a position with a U.S. Jewish organization -- would be nonpolitical, but the first episode concentrated on the touchiest of the Mideast's political conflicts.
The 14 contestants, picked for their potential to be attractive envoys, are young adults, including a lawyer, a communications student, a graduate student in chemistry, and immigrants from Holland, Ethiopia and the United States.
The first program pit the seven male contestants against their seven female counterparts at the Cambridge University Union in England. Speaking before a skeptical audience, each side presented Israel's case in a short speech before answering questions from the floor.
Appearing for the men, Tzvika Deutsch asked the audience how it would feel if a soccer game in the English city of Manchester had to be canceled because the stadium came under the threat of rocket fire from militants.
"For the people of Manchester this would be a very bad joke," he said. "But for the people of the Israeli city of Sderot" -- a frequent target of homemade rockets fired by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip -- "this is the reality."
Women's representative Ravit Shemtov said Israel has offered Palestinians many peace solutions, but to no avail.
"Unfortunately the Palestinian Authority has declined to every opportunity the Israeli government offered them," she said, butchering English grammar.
Audience questions showed that many believed Israel was wrong in its conflict with the Palestinians, provoking women's team member Ofra Bin Nun to say that Israeli policies were defensive, aimed only at saving lives.
"Let me make it very clear that Israel has not taken anything from anyone," she said.
Bin Nun's comment elicited loud groans from the audience, where the consensus was that Israel is occupying Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza.
Because of that answer, the panel of experts made Bin Nun the first contestant to be dropped from the program. The judges -- former Shin Bet security chief Yaacov Peri, ex-army spokesman Nachman Shai and Channel Two political reporter Rina Mazliah -- said her answer further alienated the audience.
In other episodes, the contestants will face similar audiences in Brussels and Paris as well as a group of foreign correspondents in Jerusalem.
"Hashagrir" is the brainchild of the Keshet Production Company, a leading supplier of programs to Channel Two, one of two Israeli commercial channels.
Keshet spokeswoman Tali Goren said the program had no connection to the Israeli government, but that in emphasizing Israel's poor international image, it was dealing with the country's "foremost policy challenge."
"What we're doing here is working to change the reputation of Israel abroad," she said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev would not say what the Israeli government thought about the idea that a group of amateurs might do a better job than official representatives in presenting Israel's case abroad.
"The spokesman at the foreign ministry has many functions, but none of them include being a television critic," he said.
Goren said Hashagrir's winner would spend a year working for a New York-based Jewish organization explaining Israel's policies in Europe and the United States.
"We mean to pick the best person we can for the job," Goren said. "It's very important work."
"Hashagrir" taps into an already well established market for reality shows on Israeli television.
Other Israeli reality TV programs have largely mirrored U.S. shows, with local versions of "Idol," "The Bachelorette," "Big Brother" and "The Last Comic Standing," all of them turning participants into local celebrities.
The most unusual show so far was "The Steve Show," where hidden cameras followed a hapless, wannabe actor who thought he had landed a role in a local soap opera, but actually became the unwitting star of his own reality show.
Reality TV show reveals the challenges of being an Israeli "Ambassador"
By Associated Press November 24, 2004
Mindful of Israel's poor international image, a local television station has come up with a unique idea for a reality show -- get 14 contestants to represent the country before hostile foreign audiences, and choose the best to spread pro-Israel messages throughout the world.
"Hashagrir," or "The Ambassador," which debuts Wednesday, plays into a classic Israeli pet peeve: that the country's diplomats invariably fail to convince foreign audiences that Israel is in the right in its dispute with the Arabs.
Though government professionals reject the charges, criticism of Israel's official information efforts are almost an obsession among Israelis -- reflecting a widely held belief that Israel's policies are unassailable, and if they were just explained correctly, the world would support them.
The format of "Hashagrir" is similar to American reality TV programs like "The Apprentice," with an expert panel giving a designated loser his marching orders at the end of each episode.
The Associated Press obtained an advance copy of the first of the 12 episodes.
A news release from the producers said the TV program and prize -- a position with a U.S. Jewish organization -- would be nonpolitical, but the first episode concentrated on the touchiest of the Mideast's political conflicts.
The 14 contestants, picked for their potential to be attractive envoys, are young adults, including a lawyer, a communications student, a graduate student in chemistry, and immigrants from Holland, Ethiopia and the United States.
The first program pit the seven male contestants against their seven female counterparts at the Cambridge University Union in England. Speaking before a skeptical audience, each side presented Israel's case in a short speech before answering questions from the floor.
Appearing for the men, Tzvika Deutsch asked the audience how it would feel if a soccer game in the English city of Manchester had to be canceled because the stadium came under the threat of rocket fire from militants.
"For the people of Manchester this would be a very bad joke," he said. "But for the people of the Israeli city of Sderot" -- a frequent target of homemade rockets fired by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip -- "this is the reality."
Women's representative Ravit Shemtov said Israel has offered Palestinians many peace solutions, but to no avail.
"Unfortunately the Palestinian Authority has declined to every opportunity the Israeli government offered them," she said, butchering English grammar.
Audience questions showed that many believed Israel was wrong in its conflict with the Palestinians, provoking women's team member Ofra Bin Nun to say that Israeli policies were defensive, aimed only at saving lives.
"Let me make it very clear that Israel has not taken anything from anyone," she said.
Bin Nun's comment elicited loud groans from the audience, where the consensus was that Israel is occupying Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza.
Because of that answer, the panel of experts made Bin Nun the first contestant to be dropped from the program. The judges -- former Shin Bet security chief Yaacov Peri, ex-army spokesman Nachman Shai and Channel Two political reporter Rina Mazliah -- said her answer further alienated the audience.
In other episodes, the contestants will face similar audiences in Brussels and Paris as well as a group of foreign correspondents in Jerusalem.
"Hashagrir" is the brainchild of the Keshet Production Company, a leading supplier of programs to Channel Two, one of two Israeli commercial channels.
Keshet spokeswoman Tali Goren said the program had no connection to the Israeli government, but that in emphasizing Israel's poor international image, it was dealing with the country's "foremost policy challenge."
"What we're doing here is working to change the reputation of Israel abroad," she said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev would not say what the Israeli government thought about the idea that a group of amateurs might do a better job than official representatives in presenting Israel's case abroad.
"The spokesman at the foreign ministry has many functions, but none of them include being a television critic," he said.
Goren said Hashagrir's winner would spend a year working for a New York-based Jewish organization explaining Israel's policies in Europe and the United States.
"We mean to pick the best person we can for the job," Goren said. "It's very important work."
"Hashagrir" taps into an already well established market for reality shows on Israeli television.
Other Israeli reality TV programs have largely mirrored U.S. shows, with local versions of "Idol," "The Bachelorette," "Big Brother" and "The Last Comic Standing," all of them turning participants into local celebrities.
The most unusual show so far was "The Steve Show," where hidden cameras followed a hapless, wannabe actor who thought he had landed a role in a local soap opera, but actually became the unwitting star of his own reality show.