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July 13, 2007
Maxim sparks controversy
Army women are photographed as promotional tool for Israel.
FREEMAN PORITZ
There are only five photos in the "Women of the IDF"
feature in the July 2007 issue of Maxim magazine, but the
idea of marketing tourism to Israel based on scantily clad women
has some groups up in arms.
Colette Avital, a Labor member of the Knesset, demanded an explanation
for what she called a "pornographic campaign." In a statement,
Avital said, "I don't think the best way to promote tourism
to Israel is through a deliberate campaign focusing on 'sex tourism.'
"
Another MK, Zahava Gal-On, suggested that the photo spread was "the
wrong image" for Israel to be projecting.
However, David Saranga, the Israeli consul for media and public
affairs in New York, said in a phone interview with the Independent
that, "Israel is a democracy and people are entitled to different
opinions about different things. I respect what [Avital and Gal-On]
say, but it is a really good project. This is a project dedicated
to a certain demographic – young people."
"I thought it turned out pretty well," Maxim online
editor Gene Newman told the JI. "The fact that people
got so nuts over it was probably expected. People know that a lot
of the stuff we do isn't really with malice or as planned out to
piss people off, as some might expect. A lot of the stuff we do
is just in good fun. People get a hold of this and take it anywhere
they want to, but for us it was like, they just turned out to be
awesome photos. We've got to get our [the United States] military
looking like that."
"When we are talking about PR in general, it is very hard to
measure a success," Saranga added. "It is easier to speak
about exposure. And, as you can see, it [the photo shoot] has had
a lot of exposure. We want the media to report also about normality
in Israel. Usually, the international community focuses on the conflict,
and Israel is much more than conflict."
Freeman Poritz is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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