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No One Belongs Here More Than You
It may be apparent to constant readers of my posts, or listeners to my radio show, that I've avoided satirizing, opinionizing, or otherwise making public noise about the Middle East. Something about the intractability of the situation, the sad downward spiral of events, the dire tendency of both sides to retreat to their most militant leaders has tended to discourage me from even treading on this bloody turf.
So this is not an opinion, or a satire. Just a question. There is a serious media buy this week to encourage American tourism to Israel. I've seen both the national spots and the local ones, purchased by a Los Angeles-area travel agency. They're pretty much standard look-at-the ocean-and-the culture spots, easily comprehended as an attempted antidote to possible consumer feelings of "honey, let's take a vacation where they're not shooting."
But what to make of the slogan at the end? "No one belongs here more than you."
Please tell me what you think it means.
"No one belongs here more than you."
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um, it's aimed at zionists? isn't that a no brainer?
brilliant though because it's also subtle enough to get the eye of average americans who think they actually belong everywhere and who know nothing about or just don't care about the history or what is currently happening in Palestine.
I've always appreciated the fine line you walk with regards to this situation, Mr. Shearer. While admittedly I would be happier if you were a little bit more outspoken, I applaud your sensitivity and what you are willing to say about the situation shows that your heart is (as it always seems to be to me, as an avid listener of your radio show) in the right place.
Your capacity for satire is brilliant but the true test of your skill as a political commentator is the fact that you know when it's important to just quote things as they stand and let people reach their own conclusions. Thank you.
It's got to be aimed at Jewish-Americans. Christians never have the sense that there's anywhere they don't "belong." Americans of all kinds have a sense of entitlement about going wherever they damn well please -- don't we invade sovereign countries at the drop of a hat? The only people who would resonate to language about who "belongs" in Israel are Jews and Palestinians, and I doubt the ad was aimed at the latter.
I have seen the same advertisements and got the same (I think) message. It's another signal to Christianity. It is very creepy.
I saw this ad on TV for the first time the other day and nearly fell of my chair laughing. What's next, "Come visit Iraq: It's Exploding With Excitement?" . NOBODY at the ad agency realized that maybe this slogan could be interpreted the wrong way? Unless this is exactly how they DID want us to interpret it.
As someone who spent many years in the ad trenches, I find this a very clever slogan. It got you to think, didn't it -- and to form a mental picture of Israel with yourself "belonging" there?
Free-associating, much as the person who came up with the slogan must have done to arrive at it, I get this sequence of ideas:
We're talking to Americans, wanting them to know that they'll feel comfortable and welcome here. This isn't true everywhere. Some places are too exotic and present a major language barrier. Some are hostile to Americans. But here they'll fit right in, without any awkwardness. English is widely spoken and our society is very much like theirs. Many of us came from America or have studied and done business there. And, if they're religious, we've got that covered for Jews and every Christian denomination. So how do we say all that fast? On top of jet lag, who needs culture shock? It's like visiting family? You'll feel like you belong? Hm, close, but that's a little flat -- and what about those who think only Jews could really belong? Christians are part of the place, too; it's also their history. So everybody belongs in Israel? No, the audience needs to feel special. So nobody belongs more than THEY do.
And the people who rever the Mosque on the Temple Mount? Do THEY belong?
LOL, very clever post.
It would be funny to have a Jeopardy question "People who belong to this land" with an unmarked map of Isreal and west bank and gaza shown as a solid mass (what used to be The ottaman and later british province of Palestine)
And then see the battle over the "correct" answer.
I think you are making something dark or insidious about a simple tourism ad. I think it is another way of saying to the tourist that you deserve a vacation to Israel. That's all. This isn't police shooting crazed chimps.
It's an emotional appeal to American Christians to visit the Holy Land. The only sufficient motive to visit Israel currently is religion.
It's aimed at Jewish Americans and is code for "God gave this land to us."
Wonder if they are airing this ad in Gaza - ?!
Nooo I don't think so.
"No One Belongs Here More Than You"
i agree, let's hear it for No One.
No One deseves that land.
No One has been there longer than anybody.
No One has the solution to all the problems there.
I thought it was aimed at American Jews. That is how I interpreted it at first glance.
I could be wrong; it would not be the first or last time.
"No one belongs here more than you."
Ah...an appeal to those in the West -- predominately people of Western European descent -- to come to Israel, because they belong there more than anybody...even more so than the "indigenous" population of Arabic people. Wasn't that the general attitude among Westerners regarding the Middle East during the Crusades? Of course, with George Bush 43 referring to our "War on Terror" as a "Crusade" -- implying that Westerners should dominate the Middle East -- this ad is little more than a natural progression in the evolution of that disturbing mindset. We should therefore not be surprised at the continuation of this false assertion.
This notion of "only a certain, privileged people belong here" -- and those "certain, privileged people" don't include the very indigenous people of whom the land actually belongs -- has played out in its many ugly forms the world over throughout history. Here in America, we saw it out West, where shops and saloons had signs stating "No dogs, n*****s or Indians allowed", even though the land upon which that shop was built, by all rights, belonged to the Indians. In Texas, their "sundown towns" prohibited people of color (particularly blacks) from being in town after the sun goes down. Coventries often forbade Jews and other minorities from purchasing homes in suburban neighborhoods.
This arrogant attitude needs to go, because it only inflames hatred -- like we need more of that in the 21st century.
Sorry, Arabs aren't indigenous to the region either.
Sounds like an appeal to Christians, a reference to sharing a common history and religious tradition, as in israel and USA are one. Reminds me of the slogan from a few years ago inviting people to visit "jer USA lem" as in USA and Jerusalem are united. The theme being, Israel is defending the lands of common heritage from the dirty brown people by killing them, and they're doing it for USA too. "This land is your land, this land is my land..."
how enlightened. Jesus would most certainly approve.
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