Oslo 10 August 2014 Med Israel for fred’s work as ... · 5 local branches Budget 900.000 kroner...

Med Israel for fred’s work as inspirationfor the pro-Israel community in DenmarkLecture to Fælleskomitéen for Israel i København 30 April 2017.Conrad Myrland, Director and Editor MIFF, Vice pres. European Alliance for Israel

Oslo10 August2014

Oslo8 January2009

Oslo10 August2014

Introduction

Outline1. Why I am here 2 Seven success factors3. Seven examples of how MIFF is working 4. Ten reasons to rejoice5. Seven take aways for Denmark6. Why all this?7. Q&A

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MIFF members 1978-2000

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MIFF members 1978-2017

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MIFF’s revenue 1978-2016Blue: Annual fee, Red: Gifts and book sales

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20071.634 members5 local branchesBudget 900.000 kronerStaff: 1 fulltime from AugustWebsite visitors: 282.000

9.600 members27 local branchesBudget 7.200.000 kronerStaff: 4 full timeWebsite visitors: 757.000 (2016)

+ reaching additional hun-dreds of thousands through Facebook and other means

2017

Why I am here 4/4

Success factor #1 of 7

Focused purpose (since 1978)Share information to create more sympathy for Israel and the Jewish people.- MIFF supports the right of the Jewish people to a national homeland in Israel.- MIFF supports a solution to the refugee problems that is no threat to Israel.

- MIFF thinks the conflict should be solved in direct negotiations between the parties. - MIFF reject organizations that do not want to recognize Israel.


The climate in NorwaySurvey 2012

”Israel treats the Palestinians as bas as the Jews were treated during World War II.”Exactly correct 9Mostly correct 29Mostly incorrect 21Totally wrong 12Impossible to answer 29

”Israeli leaders have a sincere desire to have the conflict solved.”Exactly correct 4Mostly correct 17Mostly incorrect 33Totally wrong 13Impossible to answer 33


The climate in Norway IIFull boycott of IsraelFagforbundet 350.000EL og IT Forbundet 40.000Transportarbeiderf. 20.000

Boycott of settlementsFellesforbundet 142.000N. Tjenestemannsl 50.000Fellesorganisasjonen27.000Musikernes fellesorg 8.000

Trondheim and Tromsø.

Norwegian Anti-Israel organi-zations got 47 million NOK to support Palestinians.All large mainstream media highly critical of Israel.Largest party warning against goods from settlements.


Experience, young energyand skilled non-payed workersLongserving board members.

Running the risk of using young energy.

Committed and skilled local leaders.

MIFFpaper from1996.


Wise information strategy (since 1994 and 2000)Odd Myrland editor of MIFF’s newspaper since 1994:

Not focusing on his own opinions and ideas, but reporting how mainstream Israelis think.

MIFF general assembly 2000 adopted this as a formal information strategy:Give priority to the view-points of the big groups in Israeli politics, with a natural emphasis on ”the policy of the ruling Israeli government”.

MIFF-members welcoming Israel’s president Shimon Peres outside the Royal Castle of Norway in May 2014.


The result


Website (since 1996)1996: First static website, when only 10 percent of Norway’s population had access to internett. Editor Jan Sigve Særsten.

2001: Relaunched by editor Conrad Myrland.Daily news and creation of online community.

2011: Updated site.2015: App for Android and Apple.

Approx 280 articles this year.

2006/3

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2009/1 - Gaza war

2014/3 - Gaza war

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Visitors at miff.no per quartherFrom 1st quarther of 2001 to 1st quarther of 2017


Professional staff (since 2007)Director and editor Conrad Myrland (37)Fulltime since August 2007

Secretary Kjetil Ravn Hansen (39)Fulltime since October 2015

Inspirator in social media Geir Knutsen (52)Fulltime since January 2016

Journalist Bjarte Bjellås (33)Fulltime since January 2017 (preceeded by two other fulltime journalists)


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Hairy goals

MIFF has not reached the ceilingSurvey from November 2011 (published in 2012).

Statement: “The state of Israel deserves special support.”Fully agree 3 percentPartly agree 10 prosentPartly disagree 32 prosentFully disagree 29 prosentImpossible to answer 26 prosent

3 percent of the population of Norway (+15 years) 124.000 potential MIFF-members

3 percent of the population of Norway (+15 years)414.000 other potential MIFF-member


Age profile, 7250 MIFF-members. Average age 60. Median age 60.

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Age profile, 815 members registered after 10 May 2015.

Success factor #7

The way MIFF is working

The way MIFF is working #1

Nurturing the members24 pages newspaper 6 times per year

Annual fee/ Fundraising letters 5-6 times per year

E-mail 1-4 times per month

SMS 1 time per month

Two national conference weekends.

Local branches in 18 of 19 counties.

Website and social media.

MIFF’s ”internal” task”Many people are ”friends of Israel” based on a shaky ground. They feel uncertain and uncomfortable about their support when Israel is critiqi-zed. ”It is not easy to defend Is-rael,” they say. MIFF’s task is to remove this uncertainty.”President of MIFF Jan Benjamin Rødner in 1980. Photos from 1978 and 2015.


Engaging the youthSpecial free of charge week-ends for age group 16-30 in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Youth trips to Israel in 2016 and in June 2017.

Sponsored participation in national conferences.


How we do not fundraiseMIFF does not use time searching for big sponsors.

The work is generally funded by ”small” gifts from many people. In this way, MIFF is more protected from being manipulated by special interests.


The letter giving best reponseAugust 2014

Sent to 7519 addresses.Resulted in 1627 gifts (21,6 percent)Resulted in 849.261 kroner (average gift 522 kroner)Calculated cost of sending 45.114ROI 18

Normally, ROI around 10 will be very good.


Israel’s best arguments to ”every” letter box in Norway16 of 19 counties of Norway covered since 2010.

24 pages magazine.


Book series

Helt siden staten Israel så dagens lys i mai 1948 har det vært debatt om

hva som egentlig skjedde da staten ble etablert i det britiske mandatet

Palestina, og om krigshandlingene før, under og etter dette. På 1980-tallet ble tidligere lukkede israelske arkiver åpnet, og dette

ga historikerne nytt og verdifullt materiale. Av dem som har gransket

disse arkivene, regnes Benny Morris som den fremste. Morris ble kjent

da han i 1988 utga The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, en bok

som mer enn noen annen har preget forståelsen av hva som skjedde da

staten Israel ble etablert. Boken om det palestinske flyktningproblemet

ga likevel ikke et fullstendig bilde av alle sentrale forhold ved 1948-kri-

gen. Derfor så Morris behov for å skrive den boken du holder i nå.Bak denne boken ligger over 25 års forskning fra den ledende histo-

rikeren innenfor sitt felt. Morris beskriver historien i detalj, i tillegg

til å kommentere deler av debatten rundt historien. Morris, som selv

er tilhenger av en tostatsløsning, mener konflikten dypest sett skyldes

manglende arabisk anerkjennelse av en jødisk stat. I den offentlige debatten blir Israel altfor ofte utsatt for følelsesladet

agitasjon, basert på ensidig utvalg av fakta. Denne boken er et vesentlig

bidrag for en mer nyansert debatt.

bennymorris

Benny MorrIs er bla, bla, bla

dreyer

1948Den første arabisk-israelske krigen

9 788282 651257

Dreyer

dreyer

benny morris1948

Den første arabisk-

israelske

krigenbenny morris (f. 1948) er professor i historie ved avdeling for Midtøsten-studier ved Ben-Gurion-uni-versitetet i Israel. Han er den ledende av de såkalte «nye historikerne», som de siste tre tiårene har omformet forståelsen av konflikten mellom arabere og israelere. Han har tidligere utgitt blant annet bøkene The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited; Righteous Victims; Israel’s Border Wars, 1949–1956 og One State, Two States.

for- og etterord av Morten fjell rasmussen

«Den foreløpig beste boken om den arabisk-israelske krigen –

spennende, nytenkende og avslørende.»Simon Sebag Montefiore, Sunday Telegraph, Årets bøker 2008

«en overbevisende, veldokumentert og balansert studie av hendelsene

som etter Holocaust ga ett folk et hjem, og gjorde et annet hjemløst.»

David Remnick, New Yorker


SMS fundraising

Example 31 December 2015:

Happy new year! In 2016 MIFF is going to coach talented young people to defend Israel’s case. Give 300 kroner to support the work by answering using the code MIFFUNG to 2160 now.

Result: 144 transactions - income 43.200 kroner.


MIFF on FacebookThe way MIFF has used Facebook since 2008 is maybe the single most important success factor.

MIFF communicates on Facebook througha page 28742 likes +3.500 last yeara group 8926 members + 500 Conrad’s profile 5416 friends and followers +1500

local groups + profiles of other staff, additional thousands

Number of likes on Facebook 28 April 2017

Sosialistisk Venstreparti 36273 (leftist party in Parliament)Dagsavisen 31959 (national newspaper, left wing)Med Israel for fred 28745Fagforbundet 28413 (largest worker org., 350’ members)Dagen 17986 (second largest Christian daily)Vårt Land 17156 (largest Christian daily)Palestinakomiteen 10930 (largest pro-Palestinian org.)


Compared to others

Statistikk fra Facebook for uken 14.-20. juli 2014.


Changing the debate

5 January 2017

False claim by NTB at NRK:

”They build like never before in the illegal settlements Israel has established in the Westbank.”


Use of Facebook for activism


1 Proving it is false


2 Making everybody know, shaming


3 NRK changed after one week12 January 2017, after one week

Corrected text:

”There is widespread building activity...”


7 Facebook-posts with biggest reach Spring 2017

Total reach 617.000Organic reach 424.000Payed reach 193.000

Price 11.720 NOKReaching 16 persons per 1 NOK

Clicks 45.5003,88 clicks per 1 NOK

Reactions (likes), comments, sharing 23.7002,02 reactions per 1 NOK


Stepping up defence in time of pressureNewspaper adds and increa-sed online marketing during times of war and strong diplomatic pressure on Israel.Big Pro-Israel rallies in Oslo 2009, 2012, 2014.

Other things MIFF doMeetings in local branches, two national conference per year.Weekly radio comments, broadcasted on local radio stations.YouTube-channel. 667.000 views since 2007.Facebook-videos/ live streaming.Lectures, debates, trips to Israel. Lobbying.Twitter, Snapchat, InstagramAnswering requests from members, students, journalists etc.Member of European Alliance for Israel, cooperation with Palestinian Media Watch and Stand With Us.

The way MIFF is working, in closing

Reasons to rejoice 1

Letter to editor april 2017

Rally 2014

New member 23 April 201723 April 2017

”For a long time I have been a member of EL og IT Forbundet. I now leave the organization. Thanks for informative articles.”Electrician, in his 30s, signing up as a new member of MIFF.


The question you did not expect16 April 2017

NRK’s journalist to the leader of the Labour Youth (AUF):

Why will the situation become better if Norway recognizes Palestine?


FrP strengthening supportMay 2017

Fremskrittspartiet (most rightist in parliament):

”We support the Jewish people’s right til a national homeland in Israel.”

New sentences suggest for party plattform:”FrP is concerned over increase in antisemitism and wants to work for increased cooperation and trade with Israel. FrP thinks the Norwegian embassy in Is-rael should be in the country’s capital Jerusalem.”


”Apartheidwall” removed in SVMarch 2017

Sosialistisk Venstreparti(most leftist in parliament):

Wording against the ”apar-theidwall” and support for ”right of return” is removed in the new party platform.

Support for ”Palestinians fight” and ”economic sanc-tions” remain.


NTB from fake news to the truth


State visit by president Shimon Peres 2014


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Import growing to new records


Israeli library system in all publich colleges and universities


Stortinget rejected recognitionof ”Palestine”May 2015Only 8 of 169 Members of Parliament supported a move to ask the government recognize ”Palestine”.

We won’t recognize Palestine before Palestine recognizes Israel.

Liv Signe Navarsete, Senterpartiet


Change in tone from Broadcasting Council (NRK)April 2011”Broadcasting Council (BC) gives praise to NRK for a balanced news reporting of the conflict.”Against 3 votes.

August 2014”Too little critical focus on the role of Hamas.(...)”Did not succeed good enough in separating the waring par-ties’ propaganda from docu-mented information.”Unanimous.

Norway and Israel R&D agreement


12 January 2017

Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende and PM Benjamin Netanyahu signed agreement regarding Research and Development.

Seven takeaways for Denmark1. Agree about the basics.

2. Apart from that, communi-cate differing Israeli perspec-tives, not your own ideas.

3. Build one central membership database.

4. Do not be afraid to ask for funding. People are giving thankfully to a good cause.

5. Hire professional staff with a heart of a journalist.

6. Help the local branches succeed.

7. MIFF is more than willing to be a partner to see a similar work grow in Denmark. Stay in touch.

Almost finished

Why?We work for pro-Israel organizations not to get growth and nice graphs.

We do support Israel because the state has restored the hope and secured the life and future for the Jewish people after they experienced their history’s greatest tragedy.

Foto: isRealli

Finally

Oslo 10 August 2014 Med Israel for fred’s work as ... · 5 local branches Budget 900.000 kroner...

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