Page 3 - CUFI Update - Spring 2018

DES STARRITT
Executive Director, CUFI UK
How you spread the truth on Facebook
During the first three weeks of our “Operation Defend Israel” campaign we made 63 posts on Facebook regarding this specific issue. These included news articles, videos, pictures and analysis about the Israel- Gaza border riots.
These specific posts have been liked by more than 30,000 people, and shared by nearly 10,000 people. And because of all those shares, more than 750,000 unique individuals have viewed one of our posts and more than 106,000 people watched one of our videos.
This is just an example of how you help us share the truth.
EMAILS SENT TO MPS FROM CUFI SUPPORTERS
10,000+
2016 2017 2018
9,030
CUFI Supporters have sent more emails to MPs in the first four months of 2018 than they did for the whole of 2017. Well done and thank you!
3,576
Israel Advocacy:
I
Oleska who imparted his wisdom on how to e ectively advocate for Israel.
One of the encouraging points that David shared was how we o en perceive the wrong point of view to be the popular point of view.
David explained that there is an aspect of communication theory called the “spiral of silence” which states that if you hold a viewpoint that is “perceived” as being unpopular you will be more reluctant to express that view in public. As a result, the less it is expressed in public the less popular that viewpoint is perceived as being, so it is again spoken of less
OVER and less. That’s why it is called the spiral of
100K FOLLOWERS
/ChristiansUnitedForIsraelUK
silence, because it spirals down until eventually nobody expresses the view that they perceive as being unpopular.
Another aspect of this theory is that if a strong view-point is held by members of a sub-culture, they will feel empowered to speak out, and take that message from within their sub-culture into the larger culture. This is why we see anti-Israel attitudes pronounced within universities and certain political parties and social and racial groups.
This explains why we o en perceive that the majority of people hate Israel; because most people don’t want to argue or upset others, especially when they feel they are in the minority. However, it is possible to break the spiral of silence. When you give an individual anonymity they are able to express their views freely.
Together we are winning!
n April, CUFI UK hosted an Israel Advocacy day in Parliament. We were encouraged
to be joined by Israeli speaker, David
In 2014, before CUFI began, the opinion polls showed that support for Israel and anti-Israel sentiment within the UK were similar. Around 19% supported Israel, 20% were against Israel and 61% were indi erent on the subject.
Fast-forward four years and we see that public opinion is changing. A new poll carried out in January 2018 found that 29% of the UK public now sees Britain and Israel as “natural allies and partners”, as opposed to 22% who disagree with this. And 35% of the UK public believes “Britain should continue its support for Israel as a valuable ally in the Middle East” as opposed to 22% who disagree with this statement.
Whilst the anti-Israel group has seen a 10% increase in support, the pro-Israel group (that’s you and me) has seen an increase of 52%!
CUFI UK of course cannot take all the credit for this positive momentum, but we do know that with your help we are making a di erence.
In Christian circles, these numbers fluctuate more showing that 19% of Christians in the UK are anti-Israel whilst 39% of Christians are supportive of the Jewish state. The other 44% are placed in the “don’t know” category, and it is this group of people who we want to influence. We are prayerful that as our work continues to grow, and people like you advocate for Israel in your areas of influence, the numbers will continue to increase in Israel’s favour.
So, please don’t be dismayed by the vocal minority. Be assured that more and more people are taking the side of truth and rejecting hate. Support for Israel is growing in Britain. We are winning!
To support the work of CUFI with a donation, please visit cufi.org.uk/donate
or call 01793 862 210