The government on Sunday appointed a team headed by Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon to submit a list of recommendations for improving Israel´s image abroad.

The matter is to be brought to the Cabinet within 45 days.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz proposed Sunday to establish an inter- ministerial public relations taskforce, which would coordinate Israeli Hasbara.

Mofaz recommended to cabinet that the team focus on topics of terror, the security fence, the humanitarian situation in the territories and the Israeli position regarding the government of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.

Mofaz raised the proposal as an alternative to a recommendation made by the foreign ministry to involve an external professional Hasbara team when making operational decisions in order to factor in how the decisions affect Israel´s public image.

Interior Minister Avraham Poraz said, "The problem is not Israel´s public relations but rather the government´s policies." According to Poraz, "When you build a fence in an erroneous way, when you destroy apartment high-rises next to [the Gaza Strip settlement] Netzarim, when you make the lives of foreign reporters difficult, when you abuse Palestinians at checkpoints it is difficult to explain the government´s policy."

The Foreign Ministry´s Deputy Director-General for Public Affairs Gideon Meir said, "Just like there is an in-house counsel who gives legal advice and military officers who give security advice, there also needs to be consideration given to the opinions of professionals who are experts of public opinion."

Meir wants to see a situation where the head of Israel´s public relations apparatus is sitting around the table when the defense minister or chief of General Staff brings a decision to demolish — for example — three buildings in Rafah. This person would evaluate such a move in terms of its impact on international public opinion.

Mofaz said, "Hasbara is an important factor in the Palestinian conflict and it has to be considered in all decision making processes." (© 1995-2003, The Jerusalem Post 12/07/03)