Departing Diplomat Tells Students to Speak Truth to Foreign Powers

Philadelphia, PA — Perhaps nobody knows better the intricacies of U.S./Israeli relations and the need for Israel advocacy among American college students than Ron Dermer.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a founding member of Jewish Heritage Programs, Dermer was until recently Israel’s Minister for Economic Affairs, the state’s third-highest-ranking diplomat to Washington. Last month, he offered his own insights on relations between D.C. and Jerusalem before a delegation of students from the Lubavitch House at Penn.

The Florida native, who earned a master’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University, told the group gathered at the American Friends of Lubavitch headquarters in Washington that one of Israel’s greatest and most viable strengths is its status as world leader in brainpower and economic potential.

“We’ve had to be good at homeland security for 60 years,” said Dermer, who was appointed by Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2003 and whose term inside the Beltway recently ended.

Fighting a succession of wars for its very survival – within borders at points only a few miles wide – forced Israel down a path of constant innovation, explained the diplomat. As such, the Israel Defense Force has been the starting point for many of the best technology innovators and entrepreneurs. Known as the “Silicon Valley” of the world, he said, Israel has cemented itself as a haven for forward-thinking scientists.

What Would America Do?

Turning quickly to the perception of Israel in the court of public opinion, Dermer seized on the nation’s continual defense posture as a lesson that the country still desperately needs advocates abroad. He was “appalled,” he said, at the waves of international condemnation Israel suffered in the prosecution of its war last summer aimed at Hezbollah terrorists based in Lebanon, a war launched only following the capture of two IDF soldiers in a cross-border raid by Hezbollah operatives.

He warned not to defend Israel against an ideal, but instead to consider its actions in light of what any other major democracy would do in the face of a barrage of attacks. “What would America do?” he posed. Right versus wrong is a universal question to which all countries should have the same answer, and Israel should not and cannot be held to a higher standard. Furthermore, he stressed, advocates for Israel should never apologize for it’s actions: Israel’s record is fair and stands for itself.

Dermer then went on to speculate on how to recover Israel’s image in the public eye, blaming much of the problem on bad public relations. He said that Israel must have a spokesperson in America who speaks like an American, and has the same values as Americans. Americans, in general, like to root for an “underdog,” he asserted, and in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, the Jewish people must be the underdogs in order to be sympathetic to the American people.

Dermer emphasized that he “has no interest in being a victim,” but in terms of physical size, it’s a fact that Israel is much smaller than its opponents. By expanding the lens of the conflict, Israel will no longer be seen as a menacing power abusing the Palestinians, but instead a small island surrounded by a sea of hostile Arab states.

Following a brief question-and-answer session, the minister had one last message. In response to questions about a supposed Jewish control over much of the world and international politics, Dermer demurred, offering a slightly humorous take on international relations.

“If we’re controlling the world, we’re doing a pretty lousy job of it.”