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PM spokesman: Naming Gaza op 'Cast Lead' was a PR mistake
By Cnaan Liphshiz
Tags: Netanyahu, Mark Regev 

Naming Israel's incursion into Gaza Operation Cast Lead was a public relations faux pas, a top government spokesman said on Wednesday.

"I didn't like the name," Mark Regev, the prime minister's spokesman for international media, told a crowd of some 150 listeners in English. "From a public relations point of view, it was a mistake."

Regev, who immigrated to Israel from Australia in 1982, said at the Modi'in municipality, "The Israel Defense Forces chooses its names by some computer or by some system which I don't understand. And the truth is that the Hebrew name Oferet Yetzuka [referring to Hanukkah dreidels] sounds lovely. It's the translation into English which sounds inappropriate."
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Regev, 49, added that whenever he spoke to international media, he "never once said 'Cast Lead' because it has connotations in English that are problematic," opting instead for "the Gaza Operation" to describe the attack, which came in response to rocket fire from Gaza aimed at Israeli civilians.

"The English translation wasn't the most effective way to get our message out and it's an important point because if you can control the terminology of the debate, you can win the debate," he said.

The IDF Spokesperson reacted to Regev's statement by saying: "Mark Regev's opinion is legitimate."

Negative reporting abroad about Israel, Regev also said, relies on the openness of Israeli society and the self-critical nature reflected in its local media.

"This is a core value of our society. But our neighbors don't share it," he said.

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      1.   Terminology IS Important 04:44  |  David M 24/04/09
      2.   Hasbara continues while kids die 05:09  |  gly 24/04/09
      3.   gly, see and for that reason Hamas ordered to its fighters 05:46  |  Meo 24/04/09
      4.   Israel is useless at PR 06:31  |  Peter Williams 24/04/09
      5.   Oh, if only we had called it operation "Pretty Dreidel"..... 06:50  |  Hanna 24/04/09
      6.   Openness? 07:04  |  Ben 24/04/09
      7.   Question for Mark Regev (G`day mate) 07:07  |  PADDY 24/04/09
      8.   it`s more than a PR mistake 07:12  |  Capt Ahab 24/04/09
      9.   Everything Israel Says and Does is... 07:48  |  R 24/04/09
      10.   I Would Have Called It... 08:28  |  Yosemite 24/04/09
      11.   "CORE VALUES"? 09:00  |  Joe 24/04/09
      12.   Its about hearts and minds but the minds of many... 09:32  |  Edward 24/04/09
      13.   Oferet Yetzuka "sounds lovely" he said ! 09:35  |  JustMe 24/04/09
      14.   what are you complaining about 09:40  |  g. lee 24/04/09
      15.   Oh, vey, oh, vey, my Israeli friends...... 09:41  |  Swiss (Dino) 24/04/09
      16.   Israel does not understand how the west sees it 12:13  |  flyby 24/04/09
      17.   can you believe it? 17:40  |  rm 24/04/09
      18.   Naming the operation was the first mistake 20:35  |  Colin Wright 24/04/09
      19.   Abuse of language 22:08  |  Jess Ghannam 24/04/09
      20.   So Fire The Computerized Selection Process 22:37  |  Jeff Northridge 24/04/09
      21.   It could not have been more appropriate for the occassion 03:15  |  American in NY 25/04/09
      22.   Honest the worse policy? 03:44  |  Mark Lincoln 25/04/09
      23.   to #21 It`s called "Word Laundering" 05:59  |  gly 25/04/09
      24.   cast lead 09:06  |  gadot 25/04/09
      25.   Israel and the left? 10:49  |  fritz t. 25/04/09
      26.   Calling one of our major mistakes a `PR flop`... 10:58  |  Esther 25/04/09
      27.   Controling Terminology wins the debate ? 16:13  |  jim the mechanic 25/04/09
      28.   flyby,face it,you don`t speak for "the west"! 17:17  |  from the west 25/04/09
      29.   Colin Wrong,how many rockets and mortars attacks would you 17:23  |  tell me colin 25/04/09
      30.   operation cast lead 19:59  |  Asher naim 25/04/09
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