Was the PHRIC widely perceived as a credible human rights organization?
Absolutely. By mid-1989, international human rights organizations routinely reproduced information developed by the PHRIC, which by then had secured funding from the Ford Foundation and had established offices in Chicago and Washington. Addressing the media in Jerusalem in November 1989, Amnesty International spokesman Richard Reoch acknowledged that his organization regarded the PLO, which works with the PHRIC, as an objective information source. “Since the PLO is not a government body,” he said, “we feel comfortable with Amnesty using them as a source.” And a U.S. embassy spokesman told me in February 1989 that the PHRIC had “impeccable” credentials. How do Palestinian P.R. professionals get their training today, and who funds it? The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) provides courses and more than thirty how-to manuals on public relations, media relations, fundraising, communications, lobbying, and public speaking. PASSIA trains Palestinian
