hasbara

Israel's "pretty face": How National Union of Israeli Students does government's propaganda dirty work

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? 

In new pinkwashing recruitment campaign, Israel offers free travel for propaganda services

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. 

Boycott activists to US hip-hop artist MF Doom: "Don't entertain a doomed apartheid regime!"

Boycott campaigners call on MF Doom and French singer Mireille Mathieu to cancel their upcoming performances in Tel Aviv, and activists in Ireland demand that a film forum refuse to host the Israeli embassy for a de-politicized “celebration of Israeli cinema.” 

Palestinian students ask South African counterparts: Boycott Israeli tour on your campuses

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: