And they spread an evil report

Bamidbar 13:
30 And Caleb stilled the people toward Moses, and said: 'We should go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.'
31 But the men that went up with him said: 'We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.'
32 And they spread an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying: 'The land, through which we have passed to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.
33 And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.'

Kudos to Lt. Col. (Res.) David Benjamin, Advocate, Israel Defense Forces, and International Law Consultant, for his literate presentation and clear explanations on BBC Have your say in defending Israeli conduct regarding the boarding of an aid ship early this morning. He is truly a Joshua or a Caleb of our times.
It is interesting that the Parshat Hashavua this week details the sins of the ten spies in producing a bad report about the Land of Israel. Today, the spies are not the ones denigrating Israel, but rather, the international community.
(Incidentally, BBC has reported that at least 12 people died in a Pakistani hospital when gunmen opened fire a short while ago. Some of the patients were being treated there after Friday's attack at a mosque. Will Foreign Secretary William Hague deplore the loss of life of those patients? Will the attack be called a massacre?)
Israel's public relations can well be improved with articulate speakers such as Mr. Benjamen. But, ultimately, we would do well to listen to Moshe Rabbeinu.
Bamidbar 14:41 And Moses said: 'Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD, seeing it shall not prosper?

This evening the headlines read, "President Barack Obama's Memorial Day observance was stepped in its tracks on Monday by a torrential downpour accompanied by bolts of lightning and booming thunder."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64U3R720100531?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Human beings, no matter what powerful position they occupy, can have their plans disrupted through nature and the like. It is better to place our faith in Hashem and heed His words.