Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Elder of Ziyon
Every now and then, it’s nice to pull back from the combat
zone to take a look at some of the tools and weapons used in our battles with
Israel’s enemies. And, given that we’re
primarily fighting against a propaganda war, Martin Luther King Day gives us
the chance to learn about an important verbal jousting technique known as the “Halo Effect.”
Like many persuasive tools, the Halo Effect takes advantage
of the fact that the human mind is extremely gifted at making associations, but
that many of those associations are formed in the absence of full
knowledge. Some uninformed associations
(like associating a rustle in the bushes with danger, even if it’s just the
wind) have obvious evolutionary benefit.
But uninformed associations can have a dark side (prejudice, for
example, falls into this category), and the mind’s tendency to associate first
and ask questions later (if ever) leaves us vulnerable to manipulation.
It is the propagandist’s job to create uniformed
associations to the benefit of their cause.
For example, the BDSers’ incessant incantation of “Israel=Apartheid” is
meant to cement an association in the mind of an audience that Israel
represents the kind of racist society associated with the “Apartheid”
term. The boycotters must pitch this
message to those who have no idea what Israel is like, since such factual
knowledge would instantly expose the Apartheid accusation as a lie. But they also prefer their audience to know nothing
(or next to nothing) about South Africa’s actual experience with the Apartheid
system, which leaves the term serving simply as a marker for a bigoted society
worthy of dismantlement.
In general, the Halo Effect is used to associate your own
cause with a person, image or movement with positive connotations. Invocation of Gandhi, for example, gives your
cause a halo of spirit-driven, non-violent resistance to power, just as
invoking Reagan or Kennedy associates you with the perception of uncompromised
conservative or liberal principles (regardless of the complex lives and
political beliefs of all three icons).
In the Arab-Israeli propaganda, no icon is the subject of
more dispute than Martin Luther King, which is why quotes of his support of
Zionism show up on so many pro-Israel web sites every Martin Luther King
Day. Anti-Israel propagandists,
desperate to claim the mantle of the Civil Rights movement for themselves, ignore,
deny or dispute King’s support for the Jewish state, and thus the ongoing
war over King’s legacy.
Keep in mind that the Halo Effect does not require in-depth
education of the public on the facts of the matter. In fact, diving deeply into the complex real
lives and beliefs of any icon (the ones already mentioned, or additional ones
like Nelson Mandela or Albert Einstein) are as likely to lead to confusion over
where they ultimately stood. And for
purposes of generating a halo to stand inside, a simple story will always trump
a complex one.
So how to best use this technique, both to cement our own
causes to worthy individuals and messages and prevent our enemies from doing
the same?
I’ve already mentioned the importance of keeping your story
simple. But while simplification of
complex stories is acceptable in political argumentation, such simplicity
should never stray into inaccuracy. For
example, it’s fair to highlight that Nelson Mandela never advocated for BDS or
point out his positive
experiences with the Jewish state.
But using that to claim Mandela as an ardent Zionist would be a stretch
into self-delusion or deception that could damage the credibility of anyone
making such statements.
Identifying the line between telling an easily digestible
tale and telling fibs is the key to using the Halo Effect to maximum advantage,
as well as limiting its effectiveness for opponents. For example, years ago a memo in which Nelson
Mandela condemned Israel as an Apartheid state was exposed as a
fraud, a hoax that has limited the BDSers ability to invoke his name ever
since. And while similarly inaccurate
quotes from Martin Luther King condemning anti-Zionism were also exposed as
incorrect, our side benefited from exposing this
inaccuracy ourselves, rather than waiting for our opponents to do so.
So what’s the bottom line for activists whose main weapon is
language? First off, understand human
psychology and the tools of persuasive communication (like the Halo Effect)
well enough to put them to use for a worthy cause, and (2) always hitch these
techniques to the truth (which is not that hard, given that the truth is on our side).
