Israel’s Propaganda War

Posted by ask | Jan 6, 2009 | 18 |

Every day brings news of more terror in Gaza. The IDF’s attacks are indiscriminate, causing a large number of civilian casualties. But if you only follow the traditional media, you would barely be aware of that here in the US. The European media is much more nuanced, with graphic reports on the humanitarian crisis occurring before our eyes.

It appears that the Israeli propaganda war is quite effective in controlling the media narrative.

::
One reason is the long-term efforts of lobbying organizations, such as AIPAC.

For more than half a century, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has worked to help make Israel more secure by ensuring that American support remains strong.

For an alternate view of AIPAC, check this site.

But then there are the specific actions for the current conflict.

A little over a week ago the IDF (Israel Defense Force) launched it’s YouTube Channel.

We thank you for visiting us and will continue to update this site with documentation of the IDF’s humane action and operational success in Operation Cast Lead.
(my emphasis)

In other words, a classic propaganda effort – echoing the words of Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni who stated that “There is no humanitarian crisis in the Strip, …” as entire families were wiped out by bombing raids. The channel shows clips of attacks on tunnels and other military targets while conveniently leaving out civilian casualties and mass destruction. Since Israeli authorities deny access to Gaza for international journalists, they can maintain a strict control of the information released.

Another recent effort is Help Us Win – organizing the netroots and social site in influencing the global media.

What is this site? A site where you can ensure that the international coverage of the Campaign Against Hamas is balanced. What should I do? You can leave comments on blog posts and newspapers that tells Israel’s side of the story Is that all? Nope – you are a part of the effort. It is all about the power of the masses!

The Jerusalem Post reports:

[…]
Links to the news articles about the war are also provided, so that users can post positive talkbacks about Israel.

“This truly is Israel’s first new media war,” said Michael Dickson, director of Stand With Us International. “We’ve seen demonstrations and rallies around the world, and they have been really militant and extreme.

It was a discussion on New Year’s Eve that really alerted me to the problem. A good friend – highly educated, resourceful and politically adept – seemed to have no knowledge of the reasons for the truce not being renewed or the effects of the recent blockade of Gaza. Her arguments could have come straight off IDF talking points.

So while I will not totally follow AG’s advice of ‘News Strike’, I suggest that everyone diversify their news sources to include a variety of international channels – The Guardian, The Independent, Al-Jazeera, etc.

I am glad this site has contributors that point us to the news that was filtered out by the traditional media.

About The Author

ask

18 Comments

shergald on January 6, 2009 at 9:26 am

Thanks for this diary.

There is indeed a propaganda war going on along side the Gaza massacres of Palestinians, including civilians. Alternet had an article this morning indicating that Americans are getting upset with Israel’s invasion. Richard Silverstein also reported that the Israeli foreign services are making an effort to recruit bloggers to counteract negative publicity about the invasion. Try to get you the links later.
ask on January 6, 2009 at 9:48 am

I cross posted this on Kos, a number of comments – let’s see if the discussion remains civil…
- shergald on January 6, 2009 at 10:37 am
  
  Well received, I think, which is always a relative statement when it comes to DKos. Some IP diaries are so on target that they are actually given little attention by the right wing that stands guard over there. No defenses available. Their avoidance suggests effectiveness that could only be magnified if they engaged in a flame war.
Quentin on January 6, 2009 at 12:12 pm

At livestation.com you can watch Al Jazeera in English. Is the station available in the land of the free?
- Hurria on January 6, 2009 at 1:51 pm
  
  I can watch Al Jazeera in English OR Arabic whenever I am in the Middle East, you can only get English Al Jazeera in the Land of Freedom if you buy an Arabic satellite dish. (The dish plus installation is a few hundred dollars, and there are no monthly charges. You can get BBC in English and Arabic as well as English and Arabic Al Jazeera).
  
  Ironic, yes?
  - Quentin on January 6, 2009 at 2:24 pm
    
    You can watch it on livestation.com in Arabic too. Yes, ironic is the word! Another one is hypocritical.
    - Hurria on January 6, 2009 at 3:32 pm
      
      By the way, it is very easy to get Al Jazeera in Arabic in the USA. Dish Network offers it. I guess people who understand Arabic are already tainted so it is only non-Arabic-speakers who have to be protected from it.
      - Quentin on January 6, 2009 at 4:19 pm
        
        It’s interesting for people who don’t have TV, like me.
- Cee on January 7, 2009 at 10:01 pm
  
  Thank you. I’m watching it now.
  
  If Americans would see an EMS worker shot down in the street like I did they would think differently.
ask on January 6, 2009 at 1:05 pm

I translated some paragraphs of an interview done by Aftenposten – Norway’s paper of record. Interviewed are Prof. Erik Fosse of the Rikshospitalet University Hospital and Prof. Mads Gilbert from the University of Tromsø.

-Dette er nærmest ubeskrivelig. I formiddag har det vært angrep mot grønnsaksmarkedet. 80 ble skadet, og 20 døde momentant. Her på sykehuset strømmer det på med alvorlig skadede sivile. Mange av dem er barn, forteller Erik Fosse på telefonen fra sykehuset i Gaza.

It is almost indecribable. This morning, there were attacks agaist the vegetable market. 80 were injured, and 20 died immediately. Here at the hospital, there is a stream of seriously injured civilians arriving. Many of them are children – says Erik Fosse by phone from the hospital in Gaza.
[…]
-Er det stort sett sivile som er skadet?

Is it mainly civilians that are wounded?

-Ja, det er det. De har ikke noen steder de kan gjemme seg. Soldatene er jo trenet i dette, og de vet hvor de kan gå. Det er noe av det som gjør aller mest inntrykk på oss – at det stort sett er sivile som skades. Det er mange barn, og det er familier. Og vi snakker om store, alvorlige skader og svært tidkrevende operasjoner. Vi står blant annet mye og syr sammen blodårer, forteller Fosse.

Yes, it is. They have nowhere they can hide. The soldiers are trained in this and know where to go. This is among what makes the greatest impression on us – that it is mainly the civilians that are injured. There are many children and there are families. And we are talking about major, serious injuries and time consuming surgeries. We are – i.e. – busy sowing blood vessels together – says Fosse.

Da Aftenposten snakket med ham på telefonen i går, hadde han akkurat fått inn to søsken i 10-12-årsalderen.

De hadde ikke fått lov av foreldrene å gå ut, og lekte i stedet på taket av huset, men også det gikk fatalt.

-Det ene barnet kunne vi ikke redde. Det andre mistet et ben. Det er denne type skjebner vi møter hele tiden, sier Fosse.

When Aftenposten spoke with him by phone yesterday, he had just received two siblings of around 10-12 years of age.

They had not been allowed outside by their parents, and instead played on the roof of the house, but even this ended fatally.

-We could not save one of the children. The other one lost a leg. This is the kind of cruel fates we meet all the time, says Fosse.

-Hva med din egen sikkerhet?

What about your own security?

-Vi tenker ikke så mye på det. Vi er leger og er her for å forsøke å bidra. Vårt fokus er på alle de skadede. Dessuten vet israelerne godt hvem vi er og hvor vi er. Kommer det et angrep mot dette sykehuset nå, så er det med overlegg, sier Fosse.

We don’t think much about it. We are doctors and here to try to contribute. Our focus is on all the injured. In any case, the Israelis know very well who we are and where we are. If there is an attack against this hospital now, then it is deliberate, says Fosse.
ask on January 6, 2009 at 1:32 pm

Interview with Prof. Mads Gilbert:

From: CBS, January 05, 2009

Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor in Gaza, tells Sky News that the number of civilians injured and killed in Gaza proves that Israel is deliberately attacking the population.
- shergald on January 6, 2009 at 2:39 pm
  
  The American press seems to keep playing down the number of civilians killed, includng children, then repeating Israeli claims that militants hide among civilians, even in schools.
  
  No wonder they will not allow reporters into Gaza.
chocolate ink on January 6, 2009 at 5:19 pm

I don’t know if this link will work but I found this site to be very good with many many good links to other sites or blogs from Gaza/Palestine, including one video blog from there.

Ok the link didn’t work after trying it dozen different ways but the site is http://www.desertpeace.wordpress.com.
Hurria on January 6, 2009 at 6:15 pm

Check this out. <Electronic Intifada punks Israel collaborator recruiter.

The English transcript is good, but if you can understand the Arabic it is even better. The punker sounds like and probably is `Ali Abu Ni`ma – same vocal and speech patterns.
ask on January 6, 2009 at 8:41 pm

State sponsored terrorism, indeed.

Israel strike kills up to 60 members of one family

Wael, 39, another survivor, said as many as 100 members of the clan crowded into his single-storey home with strict orders from the Israeli soldiers not to move.

Three teenage members of the family – Walid, Moussa and Imad – were taken away for questioning by the Israeli army while the remainder waited anxiously without adequate food or water until night fell and fighting intensified outside.

They thought they had survived the night when at 6.35am on Monday the house was suddenly hit by a shell that brought the roof down. It was then hit again and again.
[…]
Another survivor, Hilmi al Samouni, 26, said that when the Israeli soldiers ordered the 100 or so family members into one place they confiscated their mobile phones.

A source at the UN said the Samouni family killings could be the bloodiest single attack for civilians since Israel launched operation Cast Lead eleven days ago.

An inquiry about the incident was made to the press office of the Israeli army but by last night no answer had been received.

H/T to zannie for the link.

This happened yesterday morning, has anyone seen it reported here?
JanetT in MD on January 7, 2009 at 8:50 am

Watching Countdown/Rachel Maddow last night, there was a paid ad supporting Israel’s actions as necessary self-defense — heavy on photos of badly injured Israelis due to “indiscriminate” Hamas rockets (and presumably suicide bombers?).

No word at all about what happens when Israel sends bombs into one of the most densely populated stretches of land in the Middle East. No acknowledgment of the human cost on the Palestinian side of the border.

So the image and public opinion war is definitely on.

Heartbreaking — for the victims of violence on both sides — and knowing that the Palestinian casualties are just as graphic and far, far more numerous.
- Cee on January 7, 2009 at 11:13 am
  
  I heard Martin Indyk on Morning Joe say that Hamas gained power in Gaza via a coup and NOT ONE person called him on that LIE!!
  
  No wonder Americans are uninformed.
  - Hurria on January 7, 2009 at 1:44 pm
    
    That’s because 99% of people in the United States – including people who should know better – actually believe that tripe.
    
    Repeat something enough times, and it becomes the truth.

Israel’s Propaganda War

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