Shalhevet Tehiya Pass (AP/HO/Hebron Jewish Community)

Murdered baby's photo to feature in information campaign
By Herb Keinon

JERUSALEM (March 28) - The Foreign Ministry has instructed its emissaries abroad to extensively use the photograph of 10-month-old Shalhevet Tehiya Pass, killed by a sniper in Hebron on Monday, to illustrate to the world what Israel is up against.

[Click here to continue]

[Video footage of the attempted resuscitation of Shalhevet minutes after the attack (Israel TV)]

[Fatal attack on family in Hebron (Audio)]

[Hebron Jews react to child slaying (Audio)]

[Click here to see the Foreign Ministry's memorial ]

[Click here to express your view...]

"Now the job of our information efforts is to unveil the real face of the Palestinian Authority," said Gideon Meir, deputy director-general for public affairs.

The use of this murder in the country's information efforts inevitably leads to comparisons with the photographed death of Mohammed Aldura in Gaza at the start of the intifada, which shocked the world. Meir said that the difference is that while Aldura was killed in a crossfire, and to this day there is still no proof that he was killed by IDF fire, "here you have a situation in which someone targeted the baby, put the poor baby directly in the crosshairs."

Meir said that since many networks did not prominently show a picture of the baby on their news shows, Minister without Portfolio Dan Naveh, who the Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister's Office designated as spokesman to the international media because of his command of English and understanding of the issues, went on news programs and displayed the picture himself.

"Most of the networks did not cover the story," Meir said. "If it was a Palestinian boy or girl, they would have shown it every hour on the hour, with promos every five minutes. This time some of them did not even show the picture."

Meir rejected charges that using the picture for propaganda purposes is a cynical use of a tragedy, saying that this type of propaganda war was forced upon Israel by the Palestinians.

"We have to use this picture so the world sees what they are doing," he said, adding that the Palestinian use of violent television images to score points forces Israel to go "places where we would rather not go."

Meir said that the picture of the baby was placed on a Hebron Web site and provided by the family.

Israel's representatives abroad were also instructed to contrast to the press the government's restraint, despite internal pressure to take harsh action, with the Palestinian decision to step up the violence.

[Click here to continue]