Widen the lens By Ron Dermer (August 2) For what its worth, here are two observations that might be of some use for politicians, diplomats and laymen who would like to improve Israel's global image. First, when it comes to public relations, always remember that perception is reality. Second, in nearly any conflict, unbiased observers will invariably support and/or sympathize with the side they perceive to be the underdog and/or victim. Unfortunately for Jews, CNN was not much of a player during a 2,000-year exile chock full of the meat-and-potatoes fare that today's viewers crave - you know, the mass expulsion, wanton destruction and wholesale genocide that wins big ratings and Pulitzer Prizes. Though such media coverage would have done little to prevent any of the tragedies that befell our powerless nation throughout the centuries, at least we would have had the comfort of knowing that the "international community" supported us during our plight. But in our age of mass communication, a strong Israel has made the idea of Jewish victimization obsolete, while the brief honeymoon that followed the murder of one-third of our people came to an end long ago. Now the Jews can defend themselves, and sympathy, it would seem, is a little harder to come by. David Bar-Illan, whose watchful eye and piercing pen have for decades put many of Israel's foremost adversaries in the media on the defensive, understood this when he wrote that a gasmask-wearing, Scud-missile absorbing Israeli public would endear itself to the world, but a Jewish state assertively defending itself would not. That being the case, the central question facing our public relations people is relatively simple: How can Israel present itself as a victim without increasing the already considerable peril that confronts it? Of course, Israel cannot resort to the conventional, regional approach toward improving public relations, better known in the rest of the world as lying. We do not have the luxury of simply spinning tales of victimization that have absolutely no basis in reality, such as the stories of poisoned water, infected chewing gum and Zionist Pokemons that are told around these parts with impunity, even in front of an American First Lady. No, our victimization must be as genuine as the riddled bodies of 21 youngsters lying outside a Tel Aviv disco, the crushed skulls of two 14-year-olds out for an afternoon hike, and the angelic face of a toddler caught in a terrorist's gun sights. To be sure, the victimization of a state that has throughout its history been held responsible for successfully repelling the aggression launched against it is very real. But that victimization will be exposed only by widening the lens through which the world views the Middle East and our role within it. As long as the focus remains on the Israelis and Palestinians alone, we will be Goliath and they will be David; we will be the "oppressor" and they will be the "oppressed"; we will have a state and they will be stateless. Recently, an American PR firm advised Israel to paint its rubber-bullet-shooting guns bright orange or purple in order to present a kinder, gentler, face to the world. (Perhaps next they will suggest that residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza dress up like endangered species so that a few compassionate souls might care whether or not they got shot). But what is needed to improve Israel's image are not such childish measures, but rather a complete overhaul of the framework guiding an Israeli public- relations effort which mistakenly assumes that broadening the media war will escalate the real war that we are facing. The truth, however, is quite different. By widening the lens of the conflict, Israel will reveal an island of freedom floating in a sea of tyranny. In so doing, we can contrast the vibrant life of a free, Jewish state with the stagnant repression of Arab autocracy and Islamic fundamentalism, and present a picture in which both Jews and Arabs are the victims of regimes that threaten us and subjugate them. Donning the mantle of victim once again is something that may not sit well with a Zionism that had long hoped to escape the fears of the Diaspora. But this victimization will not endanger one Jewish community, nor will it sacrifice one Jewish life. Rather, it will serve to justify to the world the force that Israel must now use to defend itself from the barbarians that are sitting at our gates - barbarians that have set their sights well beyond the Mediterranean.