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Last update - 04:09 13/11/2009
IDF vs. Goldstone: PR 'commando' explains war against Hamas to Americans
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: IDF, Goldstone Gaza report 

When it comes to public relations for Israel, Col. (res.) Ben Tzion Gruber is a one-man self-appointed PR commando unit. Deputy commander of the reserve division that served in Operation Cast Lead, Gruber has crisscrossed the United States - even before the Gaza campaign - explaining the unique way the Israel Defense Forces conducts itself in its war against Hamas terror.

Gruber, from Efrat, is a businessman who serves an average of 100 days a year of reserve duty. Over the past 20 years, during which he also served as a reserve brigade commander during the second intifada, he frequently lectured to IDF units, in schools and abroad. The pay he receives for his foreign lectures "more or less covers expenses," he says.

Gruber returned from the Gaza campaign with a deep awareness of the complexities of fighting terrorists operating among civilians. He bases his lectures on his own experiences, and uses films and data to illustrate the difficulty of making decisions under such circumstances. He received some of the films (particularly those showing cases where the IDF chose not to attack, so as to avoid harming civilians), from the IDF Spokesman's Office.
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Gruber says he wants to deliver a message to those who don't get all the facts.

"The problem is when they are bombarded all the time with Goldstone, Goldstone, Goldstone. Without hearing anything from the other side, they begin to believe the report," he says.

Only some of Gruber's lectures are for Jewish audiences. He also speaks on college campuses, at think tanks, in Congress and in courses for Western military forces. Foreign journalists here also consider him a good source of information about the nature of fighting in the territories.

On campuses he has encountered organized, vocal opposition from Palestinian students and anti-Israeli leftist groups, in which Jews feature prominently.

"They interrupt every lecture, and shout 'Liar.' Some bring their laptops and quote the Goldstone report from the Internet. It's become their bible," he says.

At Brown University in Rhode Island, his picture was distributed with the caption: "Wanted for war crimes in Gaza."

Still, he feels he has made an impact. "When people hear what warnings we give before we bomb the house of a terrorist, their perception changes," Gruber says. Other than the films, Gruber receives no state assistance. At least five government bodies deal with PR, but it's doubtful that any of them have managed to wage a campaign as extensive as Gruber's.

For now, Gruber is limiting his activities to the United States.

"I know that if I try to do the same thing in Western European countries, pro-Palestinian groups may try to have me arrested for participating in the Gaza operation," he says.

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