NP Rank:
Israel recruits 'army of bloggers' to combat antiZionist Websites
Israel's Immigrant Absorption Ministry is putting together an "army of bloggers" to represent Israel in "anti-Zionist blogs" in English, French, Spanish and German.
What constitutes an "anti-Zionist blog"? All to often I see and hear legitimate criticism of the State of Israel labelled anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic. Over the past few weeks I've seen the anti-Semite slur bandied about dozens of times on NowPublic. Could NowPublic, which is essentially a network of bloggers, potentially be labelled "anti-Zionist"?
This development could also be viewed as an acknowledgement by Israel that it lost the the New Media Information War.
19 Jan 2009
The Immigrant Absorption Ministry announced on Sunday it was setting up an "army of bloggers," to be made up of Israelis who speak a second language, to represent Israel in "anti-Zionist blogs" in English, French, Spanish and German.
The program's first volunteer was Sandrine Pitousi, 31, from Kfar Maimon, situated five kilometers from Gaza. "I heard about the project over the radio and decided to join because I'm living in the middle of the conflict," she said...
..."During the war, we looked for a way to contribute to the effort," the ministry's director general, Erez Halfon, told Haaretz. "We turned to this enormous reservoir of more than a million people with a second mother tongue." Other languages in which bloggers are sought include Russian and Portuguese.
Halfon said volunteers who send the Absorption Ministry their contact details by e-mail, at media@moia.gov.il, will be registered according to language, and then passed on to the Foreign Ministry's media department, whose personnel will direct the volunteers to Web sites deemed "problematic."
Within 30 minutes of announcing the program, which was approved by the Foreign Ministry on Sunday, five volunteers were already in touch, Halfon said.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (17)
at 07:59 on January 19th, 2009
Let them contact me.
at 21:44 on January 21st, 2009
Listen here to Noam Chomsky's opinion on Zionist strategies..
at 08:08 on January 19th, 2009
Well, after the Physical war fair now the Propaganda war fair of the cyber world.
NP as others are already targets of all sorts of Propaganda and from all sides as well.
at 08:17 on January 19th, 2009
'Yes'
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Citj (not verified)at 08:17 on January 19th, 2009
there are already some on NP?
at 08:24 on January 19th, 2009
It would seem, Heritage, an anti-Zionist blog is any blog that does not support Israel's actions.
at 10:00 on January 19th, 2009
Front Page Magazine will give you a different perspective.
http://frontpagemag.com/
at 10:11 on January 19th, 2009
As is obvious for the conversation here, Israel's plan to organize paid Zionist propagandists will undermine the legitimacy of all those independent individuals who write in support Israel. Anyone supporting Israel who resents being taken for a shill, should address themselves to Israeli Ministry of Truth.
at 11:12 on January 19th, 2009
The most elegant and effective control of information has to be the international Islamic network that can orchestrate simultaneous demonstrations around the world efficiently and effectively in no time flat. This is both impressive and terrifying. With a word from a cleric in Iran, hundreds of thousands of ardent followers will take to the streets within hours.
If Israel, or anybody for that matter, wants to get the word out in a way that results in action, they need to go to the propaganda masters in today's troubled world - the Islamic jihadists. Everything else is just talk.
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Iffy (not verified)at 13:45 on January 19th, 2009
I can assure you: what stealthy islamic fascists and radical muslims are up to across the western world, is far more sinister and evil. They are trying to be bring the west down and reduce our freedoms. Watch out: they have already made great progress in europe.
at 15:00 on January 19th, 2009
Why on earth should anti-jewish individuals and organisations be able to use the obvious opportunity provided by the net to promote their propaganda, which is part of the game, and I defend their right to do so, but complain at the same time when the Israelis do the same????
(Just a question to Moonwolf while I'm here - "Just imagine what will happen when we get good at it").
What/who do you mean by "we"?
at 15:26 on January 19th, 2009
Oh, ok, thanks Moonwolf.
There are, of course, anti-Israel propagandists and there are anti-Hamas propagandists. That's only normal. You have chosen your side, and, hats off to you, do not pretend otherwise. You are not a hypocrite. I respect that.
But when can we expect less propaganda (from BOTH sides) and more facts and peace talk instead of the chicken-and-egg thing?
at 15:42 on January 19th, 2009
Yes, That is an excellent address. Just by coincidence, I went there for the first time an hour ago looking for info on another subject but I'm a little busy this evening so I couldn't stay. But, as you say, Dailyclarity has some good stuff to say, and I'll certainly go back there...
When will the craziness stop? Now ZAT is ze qvestion!
Thanks.
at 08:56 on January 21st, 2009
There's no harm. They are intelligent and beat them here too.
at 05:09 on January 28th, 2009
Heritage,
They already have. You will find replies I have added to some story sources, and find those sources are in fact Israeli so-called pro-Zionist 'counter-terrorist' organizations, sometimes very large well funded global lobby groups. Cynically, my favorite is the one that shows up in Google searches as the Palestine Media Watch. There are students in universities who have studied in the Hasbara Fellowship program in Israel, the second largest foreign group from Canada (UWesternOntario, UManitoba, Concordia) who are trained in media 'warfare' as the Israeli misinformation organizations call it. If you Google Hasbara you will find on their website audio and video files of their 'training' courses on how to misinform the public. It is shocking and sad that any Canadian youth would be involved in such scurrilous and 'war'.
It is the concerned individuals who will hoever play a larger role. There are not nearly the number of bloggers concerned about the 'image' of the Isaeli Defense Force or its electioneering politicians in comparison to the general translocal Internet public against war crime, pro-human rights or simply peace-loving and sensible. This is the new democracy - liquid democracy - that will eventually prevail. However, one ought to keep on keeping on about the Israeli agression and abuse and murder of Palestinians until those responsible are prosecuted and the young generation of Israelis realize that it just cannot continue and that Israel must be a model for peace not a model for terror.
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Tony Logan (not verified)at 09:33 on February 23rd, 2009
We, too, have been dealing with this semi automated computer system software that the Israeli military is using to spam all anti Zionist blogs. You are dealing basically with a political spam machine as opposed to a commercial one, the type that usually tries to clog up email boxes with their ads.
The aim of the Israeli military 'Internet Megaphone' is to confuse, disinform, and turn all people totally off being able to observe and discuss the actual doings of the Israeli war machine in any sane manner. It is a propaganda device of a foreign power that uses servers on US soil to send their disruptive disinformation to the public.
at 23:23 on February 25th, 2009
Good story!