JERUSALEM – In a significant discussion held at the Knesset focusing on the role and impact of Diaspora Jewry, Terry Newman, a member of the World Jewish Congress Jewish Diplomatic Corps, articulated a powerful message on the strategic importance of international Jewish advocacy.
Addressing a panel of Israeli lawmakers and public figures, Newman underscored the strategic importance of focusing our messaging on adversaries such as Iran and Hamas. He highlighted how the global network of Jewish communities effectively defends and promotes Israel's interests through advocacy that is nuanced by local languages and cultural understanding. His speech reinforced the concept of global Jewry as a 'diplomatic Iron Dome,' adeptly navigating international arenas to enhance Israel's position.
Read his full statement below:
Hello,
Good morning,
Terry Newman from the World Jewish Congress.
Deep research proves that negative information is absorbed better and spreads faster than positive information. If we take the examples of our friends here regarding UNRWA, we understood that we won because there was something negative against them.
First of all, I think it is very important that in advocacy, we should talk more about our opponents and less about explaining our positive side. Because the moment we try to explain how good we are, we always, always, always lose. But when we talk about how bad the other side is—whether it’s UNRWA, whether it’s Iran, whether it’s Hamas, whether it’s the Muslim Brotherhood—we succeed better in conveying the message and strengthening the position of the State of Israel.
That’s one.
Second, in the World Jewish Congress, we have representatives in 104 countries. Fifteen years ago, we established the Jewish Diplomatic Corps, which is essentially the foreign ministry of the Jewish people.
As you said, Moshe, global Jewry is basically a diplomatic Iron Dome for the State of Israel. It consists of ten million Jews defending the State of Israel, not only in the local language but also within the local culture. And it is not just about words—it’s about understanding culture.
We need to be careful because today we thank President Trump, and we thank the Evangelicals and Catholics who support the State of Israel.
But nothing lasts forever. There will not always be Republicans in the White House. Therefore, we must not disconnect from the 70% of American Jews who did not vote for Donald Trump.
And one last thing, guys—almost half of the world’s population lives in India and China.
I appear frequently on Indian television—that’s in a country with 1.6 billion people. The channel I appear on has about 200 million viewers per month.
In India, we have won. In China, we are not even close.
If we look at global influence, everyone is looking westward. It is important for us to also look eastward, because that is also the future of the world, and we need to think about the coming generations.
Thank you very much.
