Israel & Gaza: What to say about the war.

Think before you post.

Photo by Pavel Neznanov on Unsplash

Suddenly it feels like we have all been drawn into the awful war between Israel and Hamas. Business and personal connections are urging us to speak up and not just condemn the terror attacks but to give our full throated support to Israel. Silence is siding with the enemy. 

At the same time, more than few executives have posted or re-shared comments critical of Israel and its plans for retaliation against the Hamas terror attacks of October 7.  Some groups have opted to say nothing at all.

Regardless, the backlash has been swift and forceful. Apologies have followed. 

CEOs are stepping down, executives are facing the wrath of their colleagues, students are being doxxed. Major media organizations are under intense pressure and are sometimes getting it wrong. The BBC clarified a news report which included a description of some pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the UK, “where people voiced their backing for Hamas.”  The BBC acknowledged that it was a misleading description of the protests. The New York Times applied an editor’s note to its coverage of an explosion at a Gaza hospital, saying it initially relied too heavily on Hamas’ claims.

It feels like we have collectively lost our marbles.

People I’ve spoken with are anxious about doing or saying the wrong thing at this moment. I asked crisis communications friend Michele Clarke  what advice she would give?

“If you haven’t done the hard work of exploring the impact of each of your potential actions, don’t do anything,” she said. “Yes, inaction is also a choice, and has consequences, but it’s far easier to recover from delaying an important action than it is from taking the wrong action.”

Even the Public Relations Society of America’s New York chapter is struggling though. They have issued three statements on the topic so far. The association apologized for pledging support to Israel in an email. Then it was criticized for appearing to be too anti-Israel. After a follow up, explaining its comment had been “lacking in clarity,” the association issued a third statement condemning Hamas while also warning against anti-semitism and Islamophobia. 

If there’s one brand one might expect to be able to speak to this moment it is Ben & Jerry’s. I reached out to the firm’s PR this week to see what they had to say on the Israel/Gaza war. The ice-cream company, owned by Unilever, has put social justice at the heart of its brand. The company speaks frequently on social justice issues from affirmative action to ownership of Native American lands. 

I didn’t get a response but haven’t seen anything related to the attacks on Israel on social media channels. Surprisingly, the brand appears to have opted for silence this time around. 

Ben & Jerry’s, founded by two Jewish guys Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, made headlines in 2021 when the company decided to withdraw its product from what it termed “Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The company ended up with a giant lawsuit and torrent of abuse.  The two founders explained their reasoning in a guest essay for The New York Times in 2021. 

For those deciding to weigh in, I highly recommend reading former President Barack Obama’s position statement on Medium posted yesterday. Because it is long, it really gets into a lot of the nuance of a very complex situation in ways a sentence or a photo on social media can’t. 

Meanwhile, I’d like to know your thoughts on whether brands should speak about the atrocities and what they might say and how?  It seems so many individuals want to add their voice right now regardless of the potential for career damage.

Here’s a just a few of the controversies of the past two weeks. 

• The editor-in-chief of Hearst owned women’s magazine Harper’s Bazaar, Samira Nasr posted on Instagram Stories, “Cutting off water and electricity to 2.2 million civilians…This is the most inhuman thing I’ve seen in my life.” Nasr, whose father is Lebanese, later apologized. You can read what she said in her apology here.

• Vogue contributing editor-at-large Gabriella Karefa-Johnson removed her title from her Instagram, after describing Israel as an “apartheid state,” according to the NY Post. Publisher Conde Nast shared a statement noting that Karefa-Johnson’s views don’t represent the company. 

• Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO of tech conference Web Summit, resigned his position after he attacked Western governments for rushing to support Israel’s plans for retribution on Gaza. “I’m shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders and governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when they are committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are,” he posted on X. (He had also condemned the attacks on Israel.) Cosgrave later apologized for the “profound hurt,” before stepping down from his own company after multiple companies including Google and Meta canceled appearances at an upcoming conference.  

• CAA director and agent Maha Dakhil was forced off the board and relinquished her co-head duties at the talent agency’s motion picture unit after reposting a comment about witnessing “genocide.” I wrote about this is situation here at The Ankler. CAA meanwhile shared a statement on where it stands. 

• The Writers’ Guild of America, West was slammed by their counterparts in Israel for failing to condemn the attacks, after having spoken up about other social justice issues, according to Variety. “It’s a damn shame that the professional writer’s guild decides to withhold words. To keep utterly silent. To not take a stand. Well, your silence is considered a stand, picking a side. A shame,” wrote the Screen Writers’ Guild of Israel. The WGA has said that it simply couldn’t find a consensus on the issue, though it added on Tuesday that it acknowledged the pain it has caused by staying silent, according to Deadline. 

• Singer Alicia Keys got into trouble for posting a comment about paragliding on her Instagram. The image of a paraglider is now associated with Hamas terrorists’ attack on youngsters at a music festival in Israel. She later deleted the post. 

Let me know what you are thinking. There’s so much to say. There will be more apologies in the days to come.