I suspect that many on here also have a quiet peek at a certain orange site. As the owner is probably one of the more well known bloggers and even got employed to cover the UK General Elections, I suspect it may be a somewhat higher profile site internationally and its sheer number of members give is some perceived influence. It will come as no surprise therefore that it has been the subject of an alert by a new Israel based site which is designed to improve Israel’s image.
GIYUS (for Give Israel Your United Support) aims to get 100,000 members to post pro-Israeli comments on blogs etc where Israel has been criticised. Its novety – which has caused most comments – is a desktop tool called Megaphone. This is a sort of dedicated RSS tool that pops up to alert members of a new blog to go after. From the look of the site, it was rolled out early on 17 July to fight the Lebanese war and should perhaps not cause too much concern at the moment.
Now I had the impression for quite some time that there was a group of members over there who had a special interest in promoting Israel and deflecting criticism by using diversionary tactics like getting into ratings arguments, especially as the same comments kept coming up time and time again (if some posters are to believed every pizza parlour in the country has been bombed)
So today I bring for your delight and delectation a slightly edited version of my orange diary. While it is not very likely we will see many dubious posts here, some of the talking points you will recognise and others you will find coming up in the next few days from Israeli spokespersons.
Although the proposal has been mooted before, this is a newly-organised site. It gives its operational date as July 17.
Most commentators have concentrated on the Megaphone desktop alert software that seems to function like an RSS system. The advice is not to install the program because of spyware etc issues and this seems to have got accross. They now offer an Alerts Page supposedly in advance of a version for Mac users. The bulletin board is also being used to notify users of diaries seen as negative to Israel.
It seems to me that this site is going to backfire. In the course of discussion some points they may recommend be used might be valid. Once the “script” is revealed, a comment from it will be viewed as devalued even if the author actually believes a statement or has independently come up with that argument.
My real concern is that the Israeli Defence Force and their Foreign Mnistry will continue to issue black propaganda like the story of the building in Qana collapsing 7 hours after it was bombed, with the inference that the deaths were caused by Hizbollah munitions or perverse mothers taking their children into unsafe buildings so their deaths would make the Israelis look bad. This has already been spread by some posters on Kos. We are all familiar with the trick from Iraq. First make an unsubstantiated statement that you are investigating, that gets reported, then further reports remove the attribution and caveats you put in. Once it has been published, there is your link to prove the assertion. You may have already been referred to an undated video on Utube of a long distance shot of rockets apparently being fired with the headline “Watch Hezbollah terrorists using Qana’s residents as human shields while firing rockets at Haifa’s residents”. That is the subject of a Giyus alert.
The Alerts headlines so far are:
Hizbollah exposes its tactics
Hezbollah terrorists admit hiding among civilians, threatening elected politicians, and becoming a state within a state.
Talkback where it counts
Voice your opinion where and when it counts. Comment at major blogs that covered Israel in the last 48 hours.
Eretz Nehedert
Israel’s top satirical TV program is drafted. Watch an interview with Nasaralleh and see our new secret weapon.
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Show Support in Congress
American supporters, use this site to encourage your members of Congress to vote in resolutions favoring Israel.
Contact Congress
This first written and last last on list is interesting as it is one government sponsored body in its home country directly trying to influence voters to lobby in another.
The paucity of content is perhaps an indicator of the newness of the site. Obviously it has been cranked out earlier than at first intended to counter the criticism during the Lebanon attacks. The bulletin board has a special section The moderators identifiable so far ar WUJS (World Union of Jewish Students??) and giyus (one post is signed “The Giyus Team”). They have started posts suggesting talking points which I will extensively but not fully quote as they presumably are toeing the “official line”.
giyus suggested these responses to comments on July 23
If somebody “accuses” Israel of trying to escalate the situation in the region into a war:
answer:This attack was unprovoked against Israel in its sovereign territory. The attack was carried out by the Hezbollah, a terrorist organization which is an active party in Lebanon’s politics. The attack was carried out against Israelis citizens – civilians and soldiers – while on sovereign Israeli soil. Israel has the right to defend its citizens and take action to insure their safety and security. This is an act of war and will do what is necessary to ensure that Hezbollah does not have the capabilities to launch these trips of attacks in the future.
If somebody suggest that the International community should send forces to the middle east
answer: Israel supports full implementation of UN Security Council 1559, which calls for Lebanon to extend its sovereignty over all its territory, deploy the Lebanese army southward to the border, and disarm Hezbollah. Sending International forces is not a good idea as it will only serve to help the Hezbollah terrorists rearm and prepare for their next offensive against Israel.
If anybody claims Israel “is overusing it forces in Lebanon and might face war crimes due the high rate of civilian victims”
answer: The Hezbollah – a terrorist organization dedicated to Israel’s destruction which controls southern Lebanon – has thousand of missiles aimed at Israel and has launched hundreds of them in the past week. Any other country would not of shown so much restraint in the light of a unproved attack on its sovereign soil. This is a war situation and Israel has the right to protect its citizens. War crimes should enacted against the criminal and terrorists of Hezbollah.
WUJS suggested the following talking points on July 24.
On why Israel started military operations against Lebanon.
A: “An unprovoked act of war was carried out against Israel from Lebanon. Israel must protect its population.” Israel has suffered an unprovoked cross-border attack from Lebanese territory. The attack was carried out by the Hizbullah, which is a party to the Government of Lebanon. The attack was carried out against Israelis citizens – civilians and soldiers – while on sovereign Israeli soil. In these circumstances, Israel has no alternative but to defend itself and its citizens. For this reason, Israel is now reacting to an act of war by a neighboring sovereign state. The purpose of the Israeli operation is two-fold – to free its abducted soldiers, and to remove the terrorist threat from its northern border. Israel views Lebanon as responsible for the present situation, and it shall bear the consequences.
On what is Israel doing to help the foreign nationals stranded in Lebanon after Canadians died on 24 July?
A: Israel has expressed its profound sorrow and regret at the deaths of any foreign nationals in Lebanon who are uninvolved in the violence. Israel is doing everything it can to coordinate, through discreet channels, the evacuation of all foreign nationals who wish to leave Lebanon.
On what Israel is doing in order to help address the humanitarian needs of the Lebanese population.
A: “Israel is working with the UN in order to provide humanitarian aid to Lebanese civilians”
In spite of the very difficult security situation on the ground, Israel is acutely aware of the humanitarian situation as well. Israel has therefore established, through contacts with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a humanitarian corridor in order to meet the needs of those affected on the Lebanese side. This corridor is designed for the shipment of humanitarian supplies and the evacuation of civilians in need of medical care, as well as foreign nationals wishing to evacuate. At present, the route enters Lebanon through the sea port in Beirut and Israel is working with the international community with a view to expand the corridor to include other points of entry as well.
What Israel’s view of the 16 July G-8 statement on the situation is.
A: “Israel and the international community see eye-to-eye on the elements of a solution”A: Israel welcomes the recognition of the G-8 nations that Hizbullah and Hamas are responsible for initiating the current violence by their unprovoked attacks on Israel’s civilians and abductions of Israeli soldiers within Israel’s sovereign borders. The G-8 statement attests to the fact that Israel and the international community share common values and are facing a common problem – the grave threat posed by extreme Jihadist terrorist organizations, such as Hizbullah and Hamas. Like the G-8, Israel believes that the way to a solution lies with the release of the abducted soldiers, the cessation of rocket fire on Israel, and Lebanon’s full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 requiring the disarming of Hizbullah.
On whether Israel supports the initiative put forward by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi for a cease-fire and the initiative to establish a multi-national peace-keeping force
A: Israel will support all international efforts meant to promote the return of the abducted soldiers and to enforce the international consensus already accepted by the UN Security Council with regard to Lebanon, namely, to press the Lebanese government to implement Resolution 1559, deploy its army southward, impose its sovereignty on the region bordering Israel and disarm Hizbullah. In this regard, Israel would agree to consider stationing a militarily capable and battle-tested force composed of soldiers from European Union member states, subsequent to the formulation of a mandate which would have to include control of the crossings between Lebanon and Syria, deployment in southern Lebanon and assistance to the Lebanese Army, all this within the context of a full implementation of Resolution 1559, as mentioned above.
I can rememeber seeing many of these arguments rehearsed on Kos but, as I said, they could be a result of listening to the same sources as are obviously feeding Giyus. This is not the first site to provide talking points for supporters of Israel but it does appear to be the first which is directly sponsored by the Israeli government. A rather more organised one is Beyond Images which has extensive briefing papers on responses. The latest, presumably in response to the UN Security Council call for a ceasefire, is to provide quotes (how selectively cut I have not investigated) in which Jan Engeland, the UN head of humanitarian relief and Kofi Annan “accusing Hizbollah of being responsible for bringing disaster upon so many in Lebanon” and a “stinging condemnation of Hizbollah by Fouad Ajami, one of the world’s leading scholars of the Middle East” which quotes from a Wall Stree Journal of July 21.
Beyond Images also has extensive briefing papers and the page rather endearing entitled “Israel Accused: 50 concise responses”. The current edition was written in August 2004 – presumably the update due for June 2006 got delayed by events. It’s summary of responses to whether israel has over-reacted has a very familiar ring about it for those who watch Israeli spokespeople or read some commentators on here:
Critics who claim Israel ‘s policies are an”over-reaction” should be reminded of the background to Israel ‘s actions. What would other governments do, faced with the intense terrorism launched by Palestinian groups which reject Israel ‘s right to exist?
Please note, in reproducing them, I do endorse any comment suggested. I have not had the time to check which claims are false, which distorted and which correct. Because of the nature of the GIYUS site, you must automatically adopt a questioning atitude and remember that this is an unashamedly propaganda site.
