Mere Rhetoric: Memo To Israeli PR: Less Inaccurate Economic Talking Points, More Hot Israeli Chicks

The Israeli MFA just put out their summary of the weekend's cabinet meeting. Top bullet point:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert drew ministers’ attention to an article in The Economist, considered the most important economic weekly in the world, which refers to the Israeli economy as the most successful in the world. The Prime Minister said that, "We know that our economy is successful. The international perspective, when a journal like The Economist presents the Israeli economy as the most successful in the world, is not insignificant. It seems to me that we are entitled to commend Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On, and to all those involved in guiding the economy, for this achievement. I think that this is an exceptional moment. There have been many situations in the past 60 years in which the Israeli economy has been seen as improving. There have also been difficult situations. But never have the most senior, the most authoritative and the most objective international elements, that have never been known for their over-fondness for the State of Israel, crowned the Israeli economy as the most successful in the world."

Arutz 7 noted that Olmert didn't bother mentioning which issue of the Economist he was talking about. Now I'm not one to go for the random Olmert bashing - I simply don't have the enthusiasm for it - but his overeagerness here is a little much. First of all, it wasn't actually the Economist doing the crowning as much as it was ECB cheif Jean-Claude Trichet. Plus it wasn't something he actually said as much as it was Yediot's sensationalist headline-friendly interpretation of what he said. Plus it wasn't actually recent as muhc as it was from an interview from last May that was duly picked up at the time by the blogosphere. Other than that, though, he's more or less right.

Which is not to say that Israel isn't a global player in everything from physics to computer science to biotech. But it is to say that the MFA needs to focus more on spreading around pictures of hot Israeli chicks and less on whatever it is they think they're doing. Because they're really bad at whatever it is they think they're doing. And also because the hot Israeli chicks angle pretty much sells itself.

References:
* Cabinet communique 7 Sep 2008 [MFA]
* Olmert Quotes Economist: Israeli Economy Best in the World [A7]
* ECB chief: Israel's economy most successful in the world [YNet]
* ECB chief: Israel’s economy most successful in the world [Israpundit]
* Most Ambitious And Delicate Physics Experiments Ever: "It's All Israeli Development" [Video] [MR]
* Compare and Contrast - High Tech Developments [MR]
* Hey Gals, Check This Out - Israeli Biotech Industry Skyrockets As Women CEOs Lead the Way [Video] [MR]
* CNN Tries To Describe Maxim's Israeli Hottie Issue, Fails To Adequately Convey Sheer Hotness [Video] [MR]
* Confirmed: Israeli Women Love Sex [Video, Mildly NSFW] [MR]