Yesterday I wrote about a program run by the National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS) to pay Israeli college students $2,000 to spread hasbara – propaganda favorable to Israel – on social networking sites. This raised a further question: who pays for this and what role do Israel’s government and other organizations play in this use of students to deliver propaganda? Read more about Israel's "pretty face": How National Union of Israeli Students does government's propaganda dirty work
A new Israel propaganda video uses a Facebook motif to present Israel as the eternal victim of unremitting violence and enmity while skipping over Israel’s record of ethnic cleansing, occupation, colonization, violence and official hatred against Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims. Read more about Israel as a spurned Facebook friend: the worst propaganda video ever?
The story of the floundering “Brand Israel” advertising campaign continues. An Israeli government ministry has established a propaganda website called Hasbara.gov.il – a Hebrew word often translated as “propaganda”. A notice was recently published on the site asking for volunteer “candidates eligible to conduct public diplomacy activities abroad”. The volunteers “will not be eligible for any remuneration” apart from “costs of travel, daily expenses and insurance”.
The advert is also the latest episode in Israel’s cynical “pinkwashing” strategy. The ministry’s advert says it is looking particularly for “minority members” and “representatives of the gay community” to argue Israel’s case abroad. Read more about In new pinkwashing recruitment campaign, Israel offers free travel for propaganda services
The newly-passed boycott law is the latest in a series of ever-more draconian laws being introduced by Israel’s far right. The legislation’s goal is to intimidate those Israeli citizens, Jews and Palestinians, who have yet to bow down before the majority-rule mob. Read more about Israel's war on nonviolent protest
The Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel and Palestinian Youth Against Israeli Apartheid have issued a call to their counterparts in South Africa to boycott a forthcoming tour of several South African university campuses by dozens of Israeli students designed to burnish Israel’s image. The Palestinian students write: Read more about Palestinian students ask South African counterparts: Boycott Israeli tour on your campuses
As she exits Palestine, Dina Elmuti reflects on the oppressive apparatus that surrounds her, and on the growing global struggle to break through it with something stronger, our humanity. Read more about The most powerful weapon is our humanity