دور العلاقات العامة في في تعزيز مقاطعة المنتجات الإسرائيلية في الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة رسالة ماجستير

Abstract

The dissertation at hand examines the role of Public Relations practitioners (PRPs) in relation to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement working to advance boycotting of Israeli products. To do so, the study analyzes the messages PRPs use in shaping Palestinians’ positions on boycott based on the Cognitive Dissonance Theory, the Media Frame Analysis Theory, and the Social Cognitive Theory. Later on, the study analyzes the social, psychological, and environmental factors that transform positions into behaviors compatible with the goals of boycott and factors and justifications that hinder that. The researcher used the descriptive analytical approach, which suits the nature of the study and achieves its objectives, in terms of the adopted methodology, data collection, description and identification of the study’s population, tools, and the statistical methods that the analysis relied on. The researcher used two methods for data collection; the first was examining the content of all BDS posts on its Facebook page, reaching 304, to identify the frameworks adopted by the BDS movement in its Israeli products boycott campaign; the second method was designing a questionnaire based on the study’s theories, to assess the beliefs of Palestinian citizens boycott-related behaviors, and to analyze the role PRPs play in forming these beliefs and behaviors, in addition to understanding the social and demographic variables that affect their formation. Collaborating with a specialized center, the researcher collected the answers of a representative sample of the Palestinian people of 1516 respondents from all the Palestinian governorates. 101 The results of the study showed that the BDS public relations managed to create a consensus among consumers regarding boycotting Israeli products through their campaigns. They also indicated that the results of the framework analysis in the content of the BDS posts and those of the questionnaires on consumers’ opinions are compatible. The results also showed that the national framework adopted by the boycott campaigns is the most important component of the boycott operations; that these campaigns were able to influence boycott-related beliefs and behaviors of Palestinian consumers; and that the health factor is the most important reason why consumers did not boycott Israeli products. Additionally, the results showed that social variables alone explain more than 98.9% of the behavioral variation of Palestinian consumers. According to the Social Cognitive Theory, these are the product of the dynamic interactions between consumers' perceptions, behaviors, and the surrounding social environment, all of which reflect the message of the BDS movement in all its communications. Based on the above, the study recommended that boycott campaigns adopt a three-pillar plan of action to combat the spread of Israeli products in the Palestinian market. The first pillar, which is related to the nature of work carried by the boycott campaigns, called for the need to intensify its media campaigns to expand its public base; frame its campaigns, especially national campaigns that have the greatest drive; intensify campaigns targeting areas where the boycott rate is dropping, like in Hebron, Jericho and Salfit. The second pillar, which is related to the Palestinian pubic institutions, called for encouraging the 102 participation of the government’s opinion leaders in the boycott operations and the implementation of campaigns in cooperation with BDS in the ministries and public institutions; and working to raise the level of the specifications and standards of Palestinian products to become more competitive. The third and final pillar focused on the Palestinian private sector which is responsible for developing its products and improving its quality. The study results showed that the health factor is one of the most important factors why Palestinian citizens refrain from boycotting Israeli products. Based on this finding, the study called on the private sector to implement campaigns to influence Palestinian consumers' beliefs and motives not to boycott Israeli products, similar to the health or quality motives.