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Cory Carbone
Professor Guenzel
ENC 1102 Composition II
June 18, 2014 FINAL DRAFT
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS PAPER
Prime Minister Netanyahu Meets with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

When deciding which one of my verbal or visual texts I should use for my Rhetorical
Analysis paper, the choice was quite easy for me. There was one source in my annotated
bibliography, which stood out from the rest, and showed diplomacy literally in action. I chose the
text entitled, Prime Minister Netanyahu Meets with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-
moon, which I located using the Google search engine. This is a visual text, which shows the
opening remarks made between the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and the
Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon during the latters visit to Jerusalem,
Israel in August of 2013 to discuss the current events taking place in the Middle East region and
in Israel-Palestine.
In relation to my research, this text is quite a valuable insight into my argument posed and
question asked. The United Nations is after all one of the three perspectives on the topic I have
chosen to focus on, and the Secretary General is their highest official in power. Of equal
significance is also the fact that Israel is one half of the conflict I am writing about, and likewise
their Prime Minister is also the highest official. Aside from why this text is important for my
own devices, the background information is that when this video footage was taken, it was at the
time when peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians resumed and picked back up
again after having previously failed on several occasions. And in order to show solidarity and
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support for the ongoing peace process and talks, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wanted to
personally pay a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories representing the commitment of the
United Nations.
As is customary when a foreign delegate, ambassador, or head of state visits another country,
it is normal political protocol to have a welcoming ceremony usually at the government building
of the host Nation. Whereby photographs are taken, handshakes are given and brief remarks are
made by both leaders to sum up the purpose of the guest delegations visit as well as keynotes on
what the host nation wishes to see accomplished. In this video, all of these gestures are played
out, creating a text of eight minutes and fifty-four seconds in length where both Leaders share a
discourse with each other and their direct primary audience, the media, who in turn conveys their
messages to the general public the World over. This text technically does not have an author so
to speak, yet it does have two rhetors in the form of the two leaders speaking. Both gave
speeches of their own and these words created the rhetorical situation for the text.
Delving deeper than the background information for my selected text are the claims, which
are made by both speakers involved. Of course it goes without saying that each of the Leaders
has a specific agenda to carry forth for their government and have certain things that they are
trying to sponsor and promote with their time in front of the cameras. After initially watching the
footage myself, what was evident was certain syntax to their message. What I mean by this is
that breaking the text down, both Leaders courteously split the entire length of the writing space
almost right down the middle. The first person to speak was Prime Minister Netanyahu who
spoke for nearly four and a half minutes. Secretary General Ki-moon took up the remaining time.
With each of their four and a half minutes, what they were able to transmit to their audience was
one encompassing message, with several smaller claims as support for their intents.
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First to speak was the host, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Going along with
traditional decorum, he warmly welcomed Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to Israel and made
the normal pleasantries. Then he moved straight into his Claim that the root of the Israeli-
Palestinian problem is not in the settlements issue nor is it the borders issue that is inhibiting a
peace deal to be reached. But that rather, it is and has always been the adamant refusal of the
Palestinians and most Arab States to recognize the existence of a Jewish State in their midst.
This he claims, is the core of the long-standing conflict and is what has created passionate
resistance from the Palestinians. Prime Minister Netanyahus way of backing up his claims is by
using all three modes of persuasion in almost polished politicians form.
He maximizes his Ethos and authority by playing his political position into his argument.
After all, he represents half of the conflict. Giving off the vibe that he is a first hand expert on
what he is talking about. He uses Pathos in appealing to his audiences emotions by taking the
present context of Iran developing nuclear grade enrichment capabilities and presenting it as a
clear and present danger to not just Israeli security but to World security. Thus creating a scare
value to his message. And he ties in Logos and logic into his argument, by stating facts from his
perspective in an attempt to persuade the United Nations to begin taking more immediate action
into misuse of their funds and resources by the Palestinians. An example of this was when he
brought up the perceived Palestinian abuse of United Nations funded peace camps designated
for assisting refugees, but actually being used by them as camps used to foster animosity and
hatred towards Jews and the Israeli state instead.
In his own words, It is very hard to obituate and prepare the next generation for peace when
they say the Jewish State has no right to exist. On another note, he does not use any non-rational
appeals in his dialogue as he is trying to show a serious face on the purpose of the Secretarys
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visit to his country and in the cause of peace in the Middle East region. Instead he relies on using
rational appeals to convince people of his arguments merit. Citing the reasoning of why the
conflict between his people and the Palestinians has endured for so long, and in this he makes the
attempt to persuade those listening of his claim that what the media has portrayed as the causes
of the conflict are not the truth but a distortion of the facts.
Once the Prime Minister finished his brief remarks, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
responded to those assembled and to the Prime Minister of Israel. His claim was one of
continued support from himself and the United Nations and a renewed hope for peace between
Israelis and Palestinians as well as the Middle East region in general. He stated, I think my visit
is taking place at a crucially important timing for the Middle East peace process. The
underlying argument he presents, is that in order to achieve a lasting peace, courageous
comprises and actions must be made by both sides. Taken in the context of the political situation
at that time, his words were a re-statement of the official United Nations policy, especially to the
Israeli camp.
On the surface, his message represents what his organizations stance on the matter is. They
are meant to serve as a mediator and support system for security, diplomacy and recognition. So
it would be fairly said that his text is a carefully worded press statement for sake of gesture. Yet
to someone like myself who is looking for a position an organization like the United Nations is
taking in a conflict, this text is significant. Essentially his organizations stance on the matter is
that they highly encourage the resumption of peace talks while also acknowledging their role as
neutral peacekeepers. Yet what stood out in his speech more than anything else was when he
said, The time is now for Israel to be fully respected as a member of the international
community. Words meant to appeal to the sentiments of the location in Jerusalem where he is
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addressing mostly Israelis in the crowd. In so doing he is hoping to gain a better ethos for
himself.
Addressing the take home points for the reader, what must be said is how both people
involved in this visual and verbal text almost played the identical game of persuasion for their
argument and claim. This was mostly due to the constraints of their space because they were in a
formal ceremony where protocol and tradition takes precedence and only having about four and a
half minutes allows the speaker to say just so much. Ultimately, the text contained two World
Leaders who carry large amounts of ethos in their words and messages. Both of which also are
trying to attain the same end game of peace for the Middle East and between Israel and Palestine,
while one is trying to influence the neutral party in Ban Ki-moon. On a final note, is the larger
picture in perspective.
As the head of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon holds a largely influential role when it
comes to the peace process. He cannot intervene directly because of his neutrality in World
diplomacy. What he is capable of doing is supporting reconciliation with gestures and direct one
on one talk. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has a vested interest in achieving
peace, yielding direct impact for his people.
WORKS CITED:
PM Netanyahu meets with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. (2013, August 16). . Retrieved
June 1, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPhIOlLokNc


Ki-moon, B. (2013, August 16). Opening remarks at press encounter with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. . Retrieved June 1, 2014, from
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=1940#.U5
OERa47wI


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