THE Israeli government, deeply worried about the country's declining international image, has begun a campaign to turn every Israeli - and ultimately every Jew - into a travelling public relations agent.

With a website backed by an advertising blitz, the Information and Diaspora Affairs Ministry on Wednesday started issuing pamphlets to passengers on Israeli airlines and offering coaching courses to groups heading abroad. The message: ''Are you fed up with the way we are portrayed around the world? You can change the picture.''

Information Minister Yuli Edelstein said in a statement that a poll he had commissioned found that 91 per cent of Israelis believed their country had a poor image and that the vast majority wanted to play a role in improving it.

''To counter the big money invested by Arab states in propaganda against Israel, we have to mobilise our human capital, meaning the residents of Israel,'' Mr Edelstein said.

On the website, fake news clips show a British television journalist asserting that in Israel the camel is the main means of transport and a Spanish reporter claiming Israelis grill meat outdoors because they lack kitchens. A spoof French news anchor is seen saying life here is a series of explosions.

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''The campaign stems from a genuine fear that Israel is misrepresented,'' observed Shlomo Avineri, who teaches political science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. ''But I think it is puerile. Some of the information is ridiculous, and behind it I find a Bolshevik mentality.''

NEW YORK TIMES