Hasbara

[moono]

Israelis have a word for it: "hasbara". It is often
misleadingly translated as "advocacy for Israel". But
what the word signifies more deeply for Israel's
supporters is the duty, when the truth would be
damaging, to dissemble or to disseminate
misinformation to protect the interests of Israel as a
Jewish state -- that is, a state with an unassailable
Jewish majority. If hasbara is expected of the
lowliest members of Israel's international fan club,
it is a duty of the first order for the country's
prime minister.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article4758.shtml

Interesting article in itself but I was struck by the interpretation of 'hasbara'.

To disseminate misinformation.

That's 'lying' isn't it ? Lol.

 

[Lock&Light]

To disseminate misinformation.

No-one is innocent of that particular crime.

 

[astronaut]

Interesting article in itself but I was struck by the interpretation of 'hasbara'.

To disseminate misinformation.

That's 'lying' isn't it ? Lol.

Hasbara means "explaining" from le'hasbir (to explain), or hesber, (explanation).

Hasbara is used most often in yeshiva environments to describe the process of explaining the tora, misnah, gemora, etc.

I don't think you should use electronicintifada for your hebrew translation.

 

[tangentlama]

Hasbara means "explaining" from le'hasbir (to explain), or hesber, (explanation).

Hasbara is used most often in yeshiva environments to describe the process of explaining the tora, misnah, gemora, etc.

I don't think you should use electronicintifada for your hebrew translation.

I think you ought to stop using wikipedia for yours

 

[moono]

'... but
what the word signifies more deeply... '

I've been trying to find an English equivalent. 'Propaganda' never seems to quite cut it and there are so few words equating to 'patriotism' and that's only half the expression anyway.

Any advance on 'bullshit' ?

 

[tangentlama]

It's more dependent on who is doing the explaining, and what they're explaining, and how they're explaining it Moono, than the word 'hasbara' itself.

I'll try to find you an example.

Example 1: Hasbara: Hijacking Hasbara

Hasbara, which means "explanation" in Hebrew, is the new user-friendly term for Israeli propaganda, even though it is not really propaganda. 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.

A brief look into our recent history shows the Jewish people must not trust the good will of any other nation. After 2,000 bitter years of exile, we have returned to rule over our land once more. Through the open miracles of 1948 and 1967, the people and Land of Israel where reunited. We swore that never again would we be subject to gentile rule, and that never again would we leave our precious land.

Less than 60 years into the new Jewish commonwealth, we find ourselves explaining our actions and bowing to pressure from other nations. Why should this be so?

As the famous Zionist thinker Zeev Jabotinsky once said, "You can take the Jew out of the exile, but you can't take the exile out of the Jew." We have become so used to explaining ourselves to our oppressors that we have forgotten that we now have our own sovereign state and that we can stand on our own two feet.

In my opinion, hasbara has hijacked "pro-Israel" activism, putting justification for outrageous policies, like the new ghetto fence and the plan for a Jewish-free Gaza, before Jewish continuity and pride.

Instead of educating our brothers and sisters about what it means to be part of our great nation, thereby curtailing assimilation and promoting their return to our homeland, we make them into parrots that justify our government's madness to the world.

But just in case you thought that betar.co.uk were changing their tack...

Hasbara, in place of real Jewish education, not only robs our youth of their birthright, it also gives them good reason to stay and "represent Israel" in their respective host countries. This bankrupts the very concept of Zionism, the Jews' right of return to Zion, and replaces it with a new form of prolonged exile.

Example 2: Online but off-message

Dissenting Jews are finding a direct way to broadcast their views without being censored. Clifford Singer reports from the Jewish blogosphere

he Jewish and Israel Blog Awards announced its winners on 7th February. Despite promising to 'showcase and increase awareness of the community's vast spectrum of bloggers', dissenting, left-wing or even moderately liberal sites were scarce among the nominees. This was perhaps unsurprising, since the awards were sponsored by the Jerusalem Post and the right-wing blog israellycool.com, but some progressive bloggers have taken to their keyboards to challenge the bias and the inclusion of anti-Arab hate sites.

Leading the charge is Richard Silverstein's prolific blog, Tikun Olam. He writes: 'Derek (Fattal, Jerusalem Post internet services director) can make the claim that it's a democratic selection process. But only because the nominees and those who nominate them are a self-selected group of hard-right pro-Israel bloggers.'

Contentious awards aside, blogs - online diaries and personal opinion websites - offer a way for dissenting Jews to communicate directly, bypassing community leaders and media outlets that often stifle their views. But the blogosphere throws up its own obstacles. Andrew Schamess had to rebuild his perceptive, humane blog, semitism.net (motto: 'Pro-Jewish. Pro-Arab. Pro-Peace.') in December following a series of hacking attempts.

When I need explanations, I go to Professor Norman Finkelstein, Professor Moshe Machover, Professor Israel Finkelstein, Professor Avraham Oz, Professor Baruch Kimmerling etc.......

 

[TAE]

I've been trying to find an English equivalent. 'Propaganda' never seems to quite cut it and there are so few words equating to 'patriotism' and that's only half the expression anyway.

Any advance on 'bullshit' ?

Apologetics

Yes I know, it's greek, not english

 

[rachamim18]

Tangent: Actually, Astronaut is 100% correct here. I do not know what Wikipedia says [they even have THAT on there?] but that is the correct deftinion and source. The program known by th name is an Israeli govt. program for public imaging [i.e. PROPAGANDA]. However, it is usually an accurate endeavour.

As for your choice in Israeli academics, only Kimmerling is worth a damn, and that is putting it mildly. If you limit yourself to only one viewpoint, how can you ever hope to understand anything? By the way, what do you think on Kimmerling's take on "Palestinian" history/origins?

 

[astronaut]

I think you ought to stop using wikipedia for yours

Shmendrik, I don't need wikipedia to find a translation of a word like "hasbara."

Anyway, why are you playing moono's game? - endless dehumanisation of Israelis.

 

[moono]

Anyway, why are you playing moono's game? - endless dehumanisation of Israelis.

Lol. Not quite 'hijacked hasbara', more ' hasbara assassinated '.

Thanks, tl and TAE, I think I'm getting the hang of it.

 

[rachamim18]

you mean of being a teenager?

 

[moono]

You hold contempt for youth, Rachamim ? Yes, I see you do. Poor sod.

 

[rachamim18]

Moono: NMothing wrong with you being a youngster. In fact I should have known. One just hopes that you grow out of this phase.