Hasbara

A woman in Jerusalem watches Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak at a press conference on her TV, September 28, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The ‘pact of silence’ between Israelis and their media

Israel’s long-subservient media has spent the past year imbuing the public with a sense of righteousness over the Gaza war. Reversing this indoctrination, says media observer Oren Persico, could take decades.

By Edo Konrad October 16, 2024

A mural in the Jenin refugee camp, West Bank, October 10, 2006. (Anne Paq/Activestills)

Dispelling the myths about Palestinian refugees — in Jenin and beyond

With Israel's Jenin invasion sparking a new round of misinformation, here are the truths behind five hasbara tropes on Palestinian refugees.

By Anne Irfan July 9, 2023

Far-right Israeli activists from the Im Tirzu movement at Tel Aviv University hold book showing Palestinian leader Amin al-Husseini with a swastika, during a protest against the annual Nakba ceremony, May 11, 2014. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The Israeli right’s most dangerous anti-Palestinian smear

The Jewish far right has been calling Palestinians 'Nazis' for almost 80 years, casting them as an irredeemable enemy in an eternal war.

By Natasha Roth-Rowland April 20, 2023

Latest

Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in the Bronx, New York City, May 31, 2021. (Luke Tress/Flash90)

An academic cover for demonizing Palestine solidarity

The Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism misrepresents its scholarly bona fides while conflating Palestine solidarity activism with anti-Jewish bigotry.

By Dan Weissmann February 14, 2023

Israelis protest against the current Israeli government and its planned judicial reform, Tel Aviv, January 28, 2023. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Is Israel’s hasbara bubble about to burst?

For decades, Israel's Western allies have nodded along as it professes to be 'the only democracy in the Middle East.' What happens if they stop?

By Meron Rapoport February 13, 2023

Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin addressees Jewish leaders at the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations at the Shoreham American Hotel, April 17, 1980. (Moshe Milner/GPO).

The war that canonized America’s hasbara playbook

The defensive line taken by the American-Jewish establishment during the 1982 Lebanon invasion solidified many of the methods that are deployed when Israeli violence makes headlines today.

By Natasha Roth-Rowland October 28, 2022

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman poses for a portrait in Jerusalem, November 10, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

An American sledgehammer in Jerusalem

In his new memoir, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman describes how he spent four years gift-wrapping anti-Palestinian violence in the language of Jewish salvation.

By Natasha Roth-Rowland July 19, 2022

Israel's antisemitism envoy Noa Tishby (left) and 14-year-old Athal al-Azzeh (right). (Instagram screenshot/Courtesy of the al-Azzeh family)

Why is Israel’s antisemitism envoy sharing investigation files against a Palestinian child?

Israeli advocate and influencer Noa Tishby shared unpublished photos from an army investigation to justify the arrest of a 14-year-old Palestinian.

By Oren Ziv April 26, 2022

A float marking the launch of Act.IL, a pro-Israel app, New York, June 4, 2017. (Screenshot: Act.IL YouTube)

Mission failed: How Israel’s anti-BDS app went belly-up

Canadian academic and activist Michael Bueckert spent years tracking Israel’s online ‘troll army.’ From the sinister to the cringeworthy, he tells all to +972.

By Natasha Roth-Rowland April 25, 2022

Young Jews from around the world celebrate 10 years of the Birthright program at an event held at the International Conference Center in Jerusalem, May 12, 2010. (Dudi Vaknin/Flash90)

The new hasbara campaign Israel doesn’t want you to know about

Losing the war for public opinion abroad, Israel is relaunching a heavily-funded plan to disguise its own propaganda behind the façade of 'foreign agents.'

By Itamar Benzaquen and The Seventh Eye January 25, 2022

Israeli journalist Ben-Dror Yemini speaks at a conference in Airport City, outside Tel Aviv on September 3, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Unpacking Ben-Dror Yemini’s industry of lies

The journalist's book, which tries to justify Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians, is nothing but a concentrated dose of disproven propaganda.

By Shmuel Lederman August 24, 2020

A man takes a selfie in front of the Tel Aviv Municipality on Rabin Square, which was lit up with the flag of United Arab Emirates after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE, on August 13, 2020. (Oren Ziv)

Bibi’s digital warriors take on Arabia: How Israel won over the Gulf states

Israel has been using a web of social media accounts to produce a more favorable image among Arabs in the Gulf. With the UAE agreement, it seems these efforts are bearing fruit.

By Katie Wachsberger August 14, 2020

Illustrative photo of American Jews taking part in New York City's annual 'Celebrate Israel Parade.' (GIli Getz)

Mizrahi-washing: The new face of Israeli propaganda

A new brand of pro-Israel activism is exploiting the oppression of Mizrahi Jews in order to justify the subjugation of Palestinians.

By Lihi Yona June 25, 2020