As in the
field, Israel deploys superior strength and resources as both sides attack each
other on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube
The Guardian, Harriet Sherwood, Wednesday 16 July 2014
The lethal military confrontation between Israel and Hamas is being mirrored in a bitter clash on the battlefield of social media.
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| The Israeli military's Twitter account provides dozens of updates a day on military activities and also comments on Hamas's motives and actions. |
The lethal military confrontation between Israel and Hamas is being mirrored in a bitter clash on the battlefield of social media.
Each side
has taken to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to denounce the other, and to
present accounts that are at best partial and often blatantly distorted.
The
propaganda war between Israel and the Palestinians is not new, but this
battle-round is being fought with unprecedented ferocity. And like the
asymmetry in the military conflict, the strength and resources of the Israel
social media troops outweigh those of Hamas and other Palestinian
organisations.
The Israel
Defence Forces has an official Twitter account (@IDFspokesperson) in English,
with 292,000 followers, providing dozens of updates every day on military
activities plus graphics, photographs and video. As well as data on air strikes
and rocket launches, it also comments on Hamas's motives and actions, and posts
"infographics", such as one purporting to show how Hamas uses
Palestinian homes as military command centres and weapon storage facilities.
Before the
World Cup final it asked followers to retweet its posts on the number of
rockets fired from Gaza using the hashtags #WorldCup and #GERvsARG in order to
maximise its reach.
The IDF is
also active on YouTube and Facebook, and Israeli government ministries,
officials and embassies have Twitter accounts.
In recent
years Israel has recruited hundreds of students to assist in its hasbara, or
public diplomacy campaign. These individuals – some of whom are paid – act
openly and covertly, many engaging in below-the-line online discussion threads
to promote Israel's interests.
At the
start of the current conflict in Gaza students at the Interdisciplinary Centre,
a private college in Herzliya, launched a social media campaign on Twitter and
Facebook, "Israel Under Fire".
According
to its leader, Yarden Ben-Yosef, 27, more than 400 students have volunteered
for the programme, running five Facebook pages in five languages (English,
Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and German). They run a website,
israelunderfire.com, which posts in 21 languages and claims to contain only
factual data – "there is no propaganda, no exaggeration, no lies".
"We
counter Palestinian propaganda and explain the Israeli perspective,"
Ben-Yosef said. "Social media is another place where the war goes on. This
is another way to tell our story."
He conceded
that the students used pictures and data provided by the Israeli government,
but insisted it had no say in how the group used such information. "This
is part of the hasbara effort – we're working for the same goal, but we do it
in our own way."
On the
other side of the conflict, Hamas and other Palestinian organisations have used
social media in the propaganda war. Hamas's military wing, al-Qassam, has
increased its Twitter activity, posting in Arabic, English and Hebrew and using
graphic and distressing pictures of injured children, funerals and the
destruction of homes. It has 11,900 followers for its English posts
(@qassamfeed).
It uses
language such as "genocidal aggression", "resistance" and
"martyrs", which may seem strong to westerners but is part of the
daily discourse among Palestinians.
Hamas has
also hacked Israeli television channels and Domino's Pizza's Facebook page to
warn Israelis about its military intentions. Other organisations and
individuals in Gaza have joined the campaign to win public support using the
hashtag #GazaUnderAttack.
As well as
the general public, both sides are aiming their barrages of
information/propaganda at the mainstream media. The rise in live blogs covering
events such as the conflict in Gaza has led to a greater reliance by
journalists on social media for access to a steady stream of information in
real time.
Question (2002): Dear Kryon, I am sure beings are watching very closely over Israel and the events happening now in this territory, and I believe they also take part and assist sometimes. I have the feeling that many miracles already happened and many lives were saved. However, I feel that we, Israelis, need more understanding and empathy from the rest of the world. The dreadful events of September 11 in the USA have shocked us and most of the world, yet we also have to cope with evil, hatred and terror for a very long period. It is getting worse from day to day.
Answer: My dear Israeli, you have struck the magic chord of the strings of the new consciousness. Indeed your description fits the frustration of the ages. The “unsolvable” problem also was supposed to provide the seeds for Armageddon… an energy which was provided to end the entire earth! What was needed all along, instead, was for the other parts of the world to “see” some of the truths behind the real battle, as we have stated within the first answer. This process has begun. It is slow, but it has begun.
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Kryon Q&AQuestion (2002): Dear Kryon, I am sure beings are watching very closely over Israel and the events happening now in this territory, and I believe they also take part and assist sometimes. I have the feeling that many miracles already happened and many lives were saved. However, I feel that we, Israelis, need more understanding and empathy from the rest of the world. The dreadful events of September 11 in the USA have shocked us and most of the world, yet we also have to cope with evil, hatred and terror for a very long period. It is getting worse from day to day.
So many
innocent people were murdered. Our enemies send thousand of brainwashed young
people to murder as many of us as possible. The propaganda is lying in the face
of the world - on one hand they celebrate killings and continuous war, while on
the other hand they complain that they are victims. Children are sent to fight
against us and if some of them get killed our wounded they put the blame on us.
How should we react at the moment? Until the light which people send can change
the situation and we make the transition successfully, how should we react to
the continuous killings - in the name of God, by Holy “Shaheeds” who for their
killing “go straight to paradise”? At least we would find some comfort in being
understood.
Our enemies spread their false propaganda and everyone
listens only to them, while the continuous terror we have to cope with day by
day is mostly being ignored by people who have only a very vague idea of the
facts. Why do I have the feeling that what is really happening to us is of
little interest to most of the world, but so many people are very quick to
blame us for being the cause of unrest and terror in other countries? I would
like to hear what is your answer to all this.
— A woman and mother from Jerusalem
Answer: My dear Israeli, you have struck the magic chord of the strings of the new consciousness. Indeed your description fits the frustration of the ages. The “unsolvable” problem also was supposed to provide the seeds for Armageddon… an energy which was provided to end the entire earth! What was needed all along, instead, was for the other parts of the world to “see” some of the truths behind the real battle, as we have stated within the first answer. This process has begun. It is slow, but it has begun.
It is not
the process of a political coalition, but rather one of education and
awareness.
How should
you in Israel react? Just like you have for the past thousand years… with
patience and endurance. But instead of patience without resolution, you now have
something brewing that you never had before: The rest of the earth has had a
profound insight as to what it feels like to have this energy at their
doorstep. Gone are the days when you and your seeming enemies battle it out
with the world turning its back, or not fully understanding the subtleties. Now
the major powers of the planet must look at it
closely and study the true roots of the issue, not the false ones.
We have
said over and over… “As go the Jews, go earth.” Do you understand now? Do those
reading this who are NOT in the Middle East understand now? Your problems are
now Earth’s problems. You also share them with those on the other side of town
[meaning the Palestinians]. They also wrench their hands in frustration,
wondering what to do. Do you think other mothers in those areas wish their
children to be filled with hate and die? No. As discussed, it is not a group
consciousness that is forming, but many individual ones together. This means
that there are many in what you call the “enemy” camp, who are beginning to
think differently about everything that was impossible in the past to solve.
What happens in the future where you live, is what will guide the entire
planet.
Be peaceful
with the fact that because of the new energy, the leaders will change and the
structure will change. You may see the seeds of solution within your own
lifetime as governments, schools, and even fundamentalist religions slowly
understand that hatred is no longer the energy-hat will bring about the means
of what they desire. Force will no longer equal peace... a very old
consciousness since the beginning of mankind. It’s easy to die. It’s far harder
to live in peace for a long time. This requires a wisdom that is just beginning
to form. Let the children lead the way, for as they grow up you will see
amazing changes… not like the ones you have seen over and over all your life.
The ones who are being
“trained to hate” by old energy adults are beginning to ask questions on their
own, which may surprise you.
By the way…
when the prophet Muhammad spoke of Martyrdom, it was wisdom offered in the
context of consciousness of those who would sacrifice their lives on the
battlefield of God… a battlefield where warriors fought for unity and for the
God of the Abraham! Paradise was never promised to one who would willingly
terminate themselves by their own hand. This latter concept came from
men, not God.
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