“An image can always be more or less successfully synthesized, doctored, repaired, refurbished, and improved, quite apart from [though not entirely independent of] the spontaneous original of which the image is the public portrait.” Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America
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Using images of violence as an advertising gimmick is despicable; that is why despite the topics usually featured in this website, I seldom use such pictures. However, in this case it was unavoidable. Especially since international readers have no easy way of finding out if the disturbing picture is real.
Last year it was circulated in Israel as an ad for Subaru cars. The Palestinian Authority Government Media Center requested from Japan Auto (Subaru’s agency in Israel) to “take all necessary steps to stop the circulation of this despicable and disgraceful ad and condemn it.” Japan Auto denied its involvement in the affair.
The point is that the picture is real. It shows an October 2010 incident in which East Jerusalem resident and City of David Foundation head David Be’eri drove into two Palestinian children with his Subaru vehicle in Silwan after they hurled rocks at him; he claims it was an accident.
The use of a Subaru car in the attack was casual, on the other hand, the use of the incident’s picture in an ad was intentional and a reminder of the oddly symbiotic relation between Subaru and Israel.
“We will see who can stand up to you – Subaru”
A Late Introduction
Unsure of its legitimacy, Israel often seeks to secure services through extortion or bribery, depending on the circumstances. The most closely related such event to the topic of this article is Israel’s relationship with Random House, the world’s largest publisher. Based in the US, it was acquired in 1998 by Bertelsmann AG, a German media corporation founded in 1835.
During World War II, Bertelsmann was the biggest single publisher of Nazi propaganda. The owner, Heinrich Mohn, and his son Reinhard Mohn were members of the SS. At the end of the war, the publishing house was closed for some time, but in 1947, it was refounded by Reinhard Mohn. Reinhard Mohn wasn’t only an SS member.
After his education, he entered military service for the Third Reich with the Luftwaffe, was captured by US forces in Tunisia in 1943 and was sent to a PoW camp in Kansas. Yet, he was politically cleansed and allowed to reopen the biggest single publisher of Nazi propaganda soon after the war, with a new line of books fitting the political views of the new masters.
How come a corporation with such credentials is left unmolested by Israel?
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is the name of a book published by Dan Brown in 2003, with the kind help of Bantam Dell Pub Group, a subsidiary of Random House. The book contains an ongoing tirade against the Church, especially the Roman Catholic one.
An excellent analysis of the book was published by the Catholic Church in an article named “Cracking The Da Vinci Code.” It shows how the author manipulates historical facts in favor of a conspiracy theory apparently backed by “Old Age” people. Those—who prefer to call themselves “New Age”—propose returning to the days of horoscopes, numerology and Talmudism.
 Subaru’s Denial | Jerusalem Post |
A few years ago, while working on The Da Vinci Nazi, I performed a quick search in the Hebrew media. Reinhard Mohn didn’t exist there, except for an obituary that appeared in Haaretz on October 5, 2009. The newspaper wanted from me roughly $3 for getting a copy; however, the article’s sales page included most of its 137 words. This was enough to see the tone was neutral.
Israel—Haaretz is the informal Voice of the Shin Beth—didn’t seize the opportunity to throw mud on a former member of the SS turned into the world’s largest publisher. The online version of The Times published on October 9, 2009 an article named: “Reinhard Mohn: businessman who revived Bertelsmann,” basing it on the printed version.
For most of it, the article read as much of the other material I found about the corporation and the man. Towards the end, there was a particularly significant text. “The revelations did Mohn and the company less damage than they might have done, partly because of his links with Israel and funding of German-Jewish dialogue through a charitable foundation, the Bertelsmann Stiftung, which he founded in the 1970s and endowed with majority ownership of the company in the 1990s.”
In other words, Israel ignored his SS past in exchange for various services, like publishing hateful anti-Christian material. Moreover, Mohn’s publishing companies didn’t publish material criticizing Israel. Israel and Mohn thrived in mutual silence.
 Subaru Legacy | Winds of Change for Subaru |
A country needs more than a publishing house…
Soon after the Six-Day War, a violent period known as the Attrition War begun. It was a guerrilla war, which became the prototype to the Intifadas. During this period, Israel changed rapidly. The basis for its actual road network was constructed; the industry expanded rapidly.
After failing to create a car industry, Israel needed a source of vehicles in order to continue its growth. The Arab Boycott intensified after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, making it almost impossible for the country to buy cars.
The boycott was imposed with the establishment of the Arab League in 1945. Japan was its most strict follower due to its oil dependence. In 1968, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—the three largest Japanese automobile manufacturers—were explicitly warned by boycott officials not to sell in Israel. Mitsubishi and Mazda dutifully followed their lead.
In contrast to these industrial mastodons, back then, Subaru didn’t export cars. This situation created an overlap in interests between Subaru and Israel. In 1969, Subaru selected Israel as its first export market; soon afterwards, “Subaru” became a synonym for “car” in Hebrew.
Even nowadays, this secondary player in the Japanese automobile industry accounts for a large percentage of the vehicles crowding Israeli roads.
Only in the 1980s that other Japanese producers entered the Israeli market. Daihatsu in 1983, Suzuki in 1985, Mitsubishi in 1988, and the giant Toyota only in 1991.
On Image and Public Relations
As a minor player, Subaru favored the niche of quirky cars, cheap boxes aimed at the lowest segments of the market. This fitted the Israeli market well; both the state and the car company developed strong relations along the years.
Yet, once the other Japanese companies penetrated the Israeli market, Subaru couldn’t expect to keep its strong position. At this point, in an act of gratitude, Subaru apparently got some image counselling and, for sure, help in its public relations.
Months after the introduction of Mitsubishi in Israel—which soon became highly popular—Subaru introduced the Legacy in 1989. It was its first departure from the quirky-cars industry; Subaru began looking upmarket.
In 1993 came the Impreza and that sealed the change. Since then, the company’s image has been on the rise, and apparently in the coming years, it will be a main player in all upscale segments.
Yet, none of its new models is essentially better than the models they are competing against. This is a formidable change, and includes implicit help from the outside.
Simply, a company cannot manipulate its image and public appearance by itself; the result is invariably awkward and considered troubling and on the verge of fraudulent.
Subaru got massive help from outside players in the publishing industry, which along the years has made an impossible transformation in Subaru’s image. This can be illustrated by an Indian carmaker named Tata.
Despite thorough efforts of this huge company, it is as quirky as it was in the 1960s. Even its shiny Nano car, see picture below, failed to change its image. Simply, Tata doesn’t have external help.
Tata Nano – shiny but quirky
Connecting the dots formally is impossible in this case. All relevant players will keep quiet. Yet, Israel’s involvement in the publishing industry is remarkable. It is hard to imagine that the abovementioned Random House would deny small favors to Subaru if asked politely by Israel.
Subaru is often featured by car magazines, far beyond the relative size of its niche markets. The same is true for Hollywood; on October 12, 2012, it was announced that a Subaru BRZ will be featured in Fast and Furious 6.
The Cannonball Run, another popular car movie-also features a Subaru. This media popularity cannot be justified by the car’s quality. Somebody is pushing Subaru upmarket; maybe in a thank you for past collaboration and a compensation for the loss of market share. “Conjectures, conspiracy theories,” will Israeli officials explain at this point.
Yet, oddly enough, Subaru seemed to have collaborated—to the extent that the Palestinian Authority officially protested—when Israel asked for a little media favour with the publication of the picture at the top of this page.
Make no mistake; the ad was an ad, but not for cars. It wasn’t promoting Subaru as a strong car; it was projecting fear of the Israelis. this is a goal systematically promoted by the Israeli Administration. Subaru, Random House and Israel have created an odd, and semi-secret, symbiosis.
As often stated here, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Goebbels, would have been proud of the propaganda advances implemented by his former followers and Israel.