Dissident Veteran For Peace: Hasbara--The Zionist War on Truth

Dissident Veteran For Peace

"I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America." —Alexis de Tocquevile. Democracy in America, Book I, Chapter XV.

With a nod to the Most Rev. Dom Helder Camara: When I support Palestinians some call me an 'anti-Semite', when I try to explain why I stand in solidarity with Palestinians they call me a Nazi.

"WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." —Major General Smedley Butler, USMC (ret.)

"... no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end." —character of O'Brien in 1984, part 3, ch. 3 by George Orwell.

"Every prophet has realized that nobody loves you for being the enemy of their illusions. Every prophet has realized that most of us want peace at any price as long as the peace is ours and somebody else pays the price. That is why the prophet Jeremiah said, ' "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace,' ..." —The Rev. William Sloane Coffin. "Not to Bring Peace, But a Sword."

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Hasbara--The Zionist War on Truth

From the article, "Israel calls up media 'reserves' " by Gil Hoffman in the July 17, 2006, Jerusalem Post:

But [Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's media adviser Assaf] Shariv and [Israeli Foreign Ministry's deputy-director general for media and public affairs Gideon] Meir said that Israel was winning the international battle for public opinion.

"We take the job of explaining our position to the world very seriously and we are doing exactly what we need to do," Shariv said. "The foreign press can't complain that they don't have anyone to speak to."

Shariv said that Israelis have been interviewed by the foreign press four times as much as spokespeople for the Palestinians and Lebanese. As proof of Israel's success, he also cited a poll of Sky News viewers that found that 80 percent believe that Israel's attacks on Lebanon were justified.

"We have never had it so good," Meir said. "The hasbara effort is a well-oiled machine."

Hasbara is the Hebrew name for pro-Israel propaganda. To learn more about hasbara go to:

Hasbara - Your Resources to the Middle East conflict (Jewish Agency for Israel: Department for Jewish-Zionist Education)
Israel's Campus Concerns (Palestine Chronicle)
Israel Hasbara Committee
Hasbara: Israel Advocacy (World Union of Jewish Students)

Hasbara Handbook: Promoting Israel on Campus

Jonathan Cook has a good article on the Israeli media war, in general, and the JPost article cited above, in particular, entitled "The Human Shields of Nazareth" at antiwar.com. Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His book, Blood and Religion: The Unmasking of the Jewish and Democratic State, is published by Pluto Press.

See also: "Initiative: Talkback offensive in support of Israel" by Moran Zelikovich in the Israeli Ynetnews.com. Here's the lead paragraph:

In light of anti-Israel demonstrations worldwide, pro-Israeli organization launches international campaign titled "Take three minutes." Students, activists abroad who speak foreign languages to be called to join 'talkback war' on global websites, aimed at swaying public opinion, fighting de-legitimization of Israel's operation in Lebanon

Labels: hasbara, Israel, Lebanon, media, Palestine, Zionism