Wikipedia

Hasbara

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Hasbara (הסברה) (or hasbarah) is the Hebrew noun for the action of "explaining" in the narrow sense of the word.

Introduction

The term has been used by both the State of Israel and private groups to describe their efforts at explaining official Israeli government policies and promoting Israel advocacy to the world at large. It is viewed positively and actively encouraged by almost all Jewish, Zionist, and Israeli organizations and instititutions. Hasbara bears similarities to some programming on the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and the BBC World Service.

Critics maintain that Israel's hasbara efforts are propaganda. Israel's supporters contend that Israel's efforts are no different from any governmental or corporate effort to positively advertise their unique views, functions, and achievements in hopes of winning over the hearts and minds of the undecided, opponents and skeptics. Others state that hasbara is not propaganda, because "while propaganda strives to highlight the positive aspects of one side of a conflict, hasbara seeks to explain actions, whether or not they are justified." [1]

In the words of one such hasbara group, the Israel Citizens Information Council (ICIC): "The purpose of the ICIC is to assist efforts to explain Israeli life from the vantage point of the average Israeli citizen. Towards that end, the ICIC enlists Israelis from all walks of life to participate in its various projects...One of our major activities is the production of special Powerpoint presentations which we post on our website. These presentations review specific aspects and issues related to Israel and the Middle East..." [2].

There are a number of active hasbara websites on the Internet, and some of them devote themselves to world Jewish affairs, not just those relating to Israeli governmental policy. See external links below.

Israel's Hasbara

Several Israel government ministries and agencies deal with hasbara:

  • The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs [3] deals with issues such as Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust [4]; Terrorism [5]; Jerusalem [6] and many more.
  • The Israel Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport, with sections devoted to living with terrorism and its meaning for children [7]; Gender equality [8] and more.
  • The Jewish Agency For Israel promotes "Jewish Zionist Education and Identity" [9] such as J.U.I.C.E. (Jewish University in Cyberspace)[10] and "University Programs for Overseas Students" [11]
  • The Ministry for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs presently headed by Natan Sharansky former Refusenik who states that: "No one can convey the thoughts, emotions, and opinions of Israeli society today better than a person living in the country. And no Israeli can relate to the thoughts, emotions, and opinions of citizens in other countries better than the people who once lived in those countries. The Hasbara Program of ICIC combines these two truths into one powerful program. In my position as the representative of the government and people of Israel to the Jewish world, I believe that through initiatives such as the ICIC volunteer hasbara program and this website, we will be able to bridge the "information gap" between Israel and the outside world, and I welcome this addition to the field..." [12].
  • The Israel Prime Minister's Office [13] releasing press releases, speeches, "Government Press Office" [14], and the Israel President's Office [15].

Misrepresentations

Attempts have been made by anti-Israel propagandists to in equate Hasbara with propaganda through the fabriction and deliberate editing of Hasbara documents that teach people how to counter propaganda. As an example, an edited version of one organization's Hasbara effort at Seven Basic Propaganda Devices which according to that organization: "explains how each of these devices is used by Palestinian activists... to manipulate their audience....the article...gives ideas for countering these propaganda techniques, as well as a few more positive suggestions" becomes transformed by anti-Israel propagandists (who have edited out the parts about dealing with Palestinian propaganda) so that it looks like Hasbara is promoting the very propaganda it is in fact countering. The fabricated edit has been posted on indymedia websites Vancouver Indymedia Resist.ca UK Indymedia around the world. Many paragraphs are combined from separate pages on separate topics that have been edited down to make it look like Hasbara encourages propaganda. The editors admit that the posted fabrication is edited, but do not reveal that they make it look like Hasbara encourages propaganda, when in fact, the full article makes it clear that they are countering the propaganda techniques used by Palestinian activists.

Hasbara Organizations

Articles Critical of Hasbara

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