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Stuart Littlewood deconstructs the Israeli propaganda
that has been flooding the airwaves following Israel’s
murder of humanitarian activists aboard the Gaza-bound
international aid flotilla, most notably from the orifice of
the Israeli prime minister’s spokesman, Australian-born Mark
Regev, and debunks the propaganda manual used by Israeli
officials and stooges to hoodwink Westerners.
What were Israel’s excuses for hijacking the Free Gaza ships
in international waters and imprisoning their passengers
after gunning down nine of them and wounding several more?
- There is
no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and
- Israel
already allows sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza so
the flotilla was “an armada of hate and violence", said
Israel’s deputy foreign minister.
But according to John Ging, United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) director of
operations in Gaza, “It’s a struggle to survive [with] the
infrastructure and water and sanitation in a state of
collapse and all that goes with that... People are at their
wits’ end to understand when all of this will come to an
end.”
- If the
Free Gaza ships delivered the humanitarian cargo to the
Israeli port of Ashdod, Israel would ensure it was
delivered to Gaza after checking it for arms.
That’s very unlikely. The report
“Failing Gaza: No rebuilding, no recovery, no more excuses”
by a group of 16 European non-governmental organizations,
published in December 2009, showed that the Israelis allow
only a feeble trickle and what is permitted changes from day
to day.
- Israel
could not allow the ships into Gaza without searching
them for arms that might be of use to Hamas.
There are peaceful alternatives for
checking cargoes. Besides, it’s time Israel implemented The
Agreement on Movement and Access it signed in November 2005,
under which it promised to allow its crossings into Gaza to
“operate continuously” so that people and goods could move
freely.
The agreement also provides for
- the reduction of obstacles to
movement within the West Bank
- bus and truck convoys between the
West Bank and Gaza
- the building of a new seaport in
Gaza
- reopening of the airport in Gaza
There would then be no need for
ships bringing humanitarian aid.
The European Council on 8 December 2009 stated: “The EU
again reiterates its calls for an immediate, sustained and
unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of
humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from
Gaza. In this context, the council calls for the full
implementation of The Agreement on Movement and Access.”
Israel has ignored countless verbal appeals. The EU is in
position to twist its arm because it has granted Israel
privileged access to European markets under the EU-Israel
Association Agreement and the plug can be pulled. These
trading advantages are conditional on Israel showing respect
for human rights and democratic principles. Compliance is an
essential element, not an option.
- Israel’s
interference with the mercy ships was an act of
self-defence against the threat posed by Hamas firing
rockets and mortars out of Gaza.
This isn’t about rockets. A
ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, was negotiated with Hamas in
June 2008. Hamas honoured the agreement, firing no rockets
and restraining other resistance groups. Israel broke the
ceasefire on 4 November by suddenly making a military
incursion into Gaza and killing seven members of Hamas.
Operation Cast Lead followed, supposedly to stop the
rockets. The deaths of over 1,400 people and the maiming of
thousands more were unnecessary. All Israel needed to do was
observe the ceasefire. It chose not to.
And whatever Israel may say, the blockade inflicts
“collective punishment” on the people of Gaza, which is a
violation of international law and Article 33 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention.
- Hamas
wants to destroy Israel.
Not true. Hamas has said it will
accept Israel within its internationally-recognized 1967
borders, which is the same position the United Nations has
adopted.
- Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu now says "dozens of thugs"
from what he called "an extremist, terrorism-supporting"
organization were on-board the flotilla.
No evidence has been produced so
far.
- Israel is
a vibrant democracy.
Actually, Israel is a racist
ethnocracy, which discriminates in countless vile ways
against its Arab minority.
As usual, Israel's chief propagandist, Mark Regev, was on
hand to give the tragedy the benefit of his spin.
- "We did
everything we could to avoid violence... They [the aid
workers] chose the path of confrontation… Our boarding
party was attacked with live fire…”
No such weapons were found.
- "Violence
was initiated by these activists..."
No, violence was initiated by armed
troops storming the peace ships in the dead of night.
- "We
didn't attack them, they attacked us... We tried to do,
in accordance with international law, a peaceful
intervention as they were entering a blockaded area..."
International law does not permit
armed intervention in international waters, and the
blockaded area has no legal basis.
- "There
are no shortages in Gaza..."
That is not what the UN and
countless NGOs and charities say.
Meanwhile, in London, Israel’s ambassador, Ron Prosor, was
saying:
- “The
people on board the ships behaved appallingly… they
really did everything in order to provoke and confront…”
What is confrontational about
sailing lawfully and peacefully on a humanitarian mission?
- “We
disengaged completely out of Gaza…”
No, Israel remains in occupation of
Gaza's airspace and coastal waters and in control of all
entrances and exits except on the Egyptian border. It has
Gaza bottled up.
As always, newspaper and television editors, reporters and
presenters were happy to retell the Israeli version of
events, the distortion and the plain lies, along with the
exaggerated language such as “extremists” and “militants” to
describe aid workers, without bothering to examine or
question the material in any way.
More pearls of wisdom from Regev
Mark Regev, the Israeli prime
minister’s spokesman, is a rich source of propaganda
nonsense, for example…
- "It’s not
just Israel who refuses to speak to Hamas. It’s the
whole international community… Most of the democratic
world refuses to have a relationship with Hamas because
Hamas has refused to meet the most minimal benchmarks of
international behaviour."
Isn’t that a little cheeky, Mr Regev,
coming from a regime widely condemned for war crimes, piracy
and mega-lawlessness?
- "It was
the former UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, that put
four benchmarks on the table. And he said, speaking for
the international community…That if Hamas reforms
itself… If Hamas recognizes my country’s right to live
in freedom… If Hamas renounces terrorism against
innocent civilians… If Hamas supports international
agreements that are being signed and agreed to
concerning the peace process… then the door is open. But
unfortunately – tragically – Hamas has failed to meet
even one of those four benchmarks. And that’s why today
Hamas is isolated internationally. Even the United
Nations refuses to speak to Hamas.
Which of those benchmarks has Israel
met, Mr Regev?
If you’re getting the impression that Israel is going
all-out to demonize Hamas you’d be right, as we’ll see
later.
- "Iran’spPresident
openly talks about wiping Israel off the map. The
Iranian nuclear programme is a threat, not just to my
country, but to the entire region. And it’s incumbent
upon us all to do what needs to be done to keep from
proliferating.”
Why is Israel the only state in the
region not to have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty, Mr Regev? Are we all supposed to believe that
Israel's 200 (or is it 400?) nuclear warheads pose no threat
to the region? Would you also tell us why Israel hasn’t
signed the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, and
hasn’t ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty or
the Chemical Weapons Convention? What proof do you have of
Iran's nuclear weapons plans?
And why do you deliberately misquote Mr Ahmadinejad? For the
record, the Iranian president said, quoting the late
Ayatollah Khomeini: "The Imam said this regime occupying
Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time."
Israel’s Crapaganda Handbook
The Israeli administration’s
scriptwriters use a
propaganda training manual that teaches the art of lying
and how to sugar-coat their poison so that gullible
audiences will easily swallow it. Everything Israel
dislikes, and everything that thwarts their lust for
domination, is now labeled “Iranian-backed”… They would have
us believe that everyone in the West – and that includes you
and me and the dog – is in mortal danger from Iran and must
therefore huddle together in a collective act of aggression
orchestrated by Tel Aviv and Washington.
Situations are defined in language that suits only Israel’s
case and ensures that Israel’s narrative, which has little
or nothing to do with truth, is the one that is carried by
the media.
Take, for example, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech
to the UN in 2009. Referring to the critical Goldstone
report on Israel’s blitzkrieg against Gaza, he said:
Israel
justly defended itself against terror. This biased and
unjust report is a clear-cut test for all governments. Will
you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?
The false choice is a propaganda
favourite. Why would anyone wish to stand alongside either?
The fact is, Israel reneged on a ceasefire agreement just
before it launched its murderous onslaught, which it had
been planning for months.
In 2005,
hoping to advance peace, Israel unilaterally withdrew from
every inch of Gaza… We didn't get peace. Instead we got an
Iranian backed terror base 50 miles from Tel Aviv. Life in
Israeli towns and cities next to Gaza became a nightmare.
You see, the Hamas rocket attacks not only continued, they
increased tenfold. Again, the UN was silent.
Israel, camped on the Gazans’
doorstep and still occupying Gaza’s airspace and coastal
waters, lobs high explosives into the tiny enclave’s 1.5
million starving and defenceless civilians, and there’s no
escape because all exits are sealed.
…If Israel
is again asked to take more risks for peace, we must know
today that you will stand with us tomorrow. Only if we have
the confidence that we can defend ourselves can we take
further risks for peace.
What exactly are these “risks for
peace” Israel has so bravely taken? In 62 years what peace
dividends has Israel delivered?
The 116-page manual is designed to help the worldwide
Zionist movement win the propaganda war, keep their
ill-gotten territorial gains and persuade international
audiences to accept that their crimes are necessary and in
line with “shared values” between Israel and the West.
It was written by The Israel Project, which describes itself
as “devoted to educating the press and the public about
Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace”. The
organization claims to provide journalists, leaders and
opinion-formers with “accurate information about Israel”.
What it really does is undermine with clever words and
discredited techniques the inalienable rights pledged by the
UN to all peoples, including the Palestinians.
The manual teaches the sort of propaganda bollox that
Israel’s scribblers and drivellers use to try to justify the
slaughter, the ethnic cleansing, the land-grabbing, the
cruelty and their blatant disregard for international law
and UN resolutions, and make it all smell sweet with a
liberal sprinkling of persuasive words. It is designed to
hoodwink hard-bitten media types into believing that we
actually share values with the racist regime in Israel and
that its abominable behaviour is therefore deserving of
support.
Priority: isolate Hamas
How does it do that?The manual’s
strategy from the start is to demonize the
democratically-elected Hamas and rob the resistance movement
and the Palestinian population of their human rights. It is
packed with advice such as this:
- “Clearly
differentiate between the Palestinian people and Hamas…
Hamas is a terrorist organization – Americans get that
already. But if it sounds like you are attacking the
Palestinian people (even though they elected Hamas)
rather than their leadership, you will lose public
support.”
- "The big
picture approach is this: You must isolate Hamas as:
- A critical cause of the delay in
achieving a two-state solution
- The biggest source of harm to the Palestinian people, and
- The reason why Israel must defend its people from living
in terror.
- Read from the Hamas Charter. Now, here’s how to attack
Hamas: indict them with their own indoctrination materials.
Yes, people know Hamas is a terrorist organization – but
they don’t know just how terrifying Hamas can be. The
absolute best way to heighten their awareness is to read
from the Hamas Charter itself. Don’t just “quote” from it.
Read it. Out loud. Again and again. Hand it out to
everyone."
That’s a very good point. Hamas is
mad not to have rewritten its charter. Israel’s barbarous
behaviour makes Hamas look good, but all that will count for
nothing if the charter remains unchanged.
- "Israel’s
right to defensible borders: The big picture is that
they [specifically the Americans, but equally the
British and other Europeans] believe that Hamas’s
leadership of Gaza has made Israel and the region less
safe… they are willing to grant Israel more leeway in
resisting calls to give more land for more peace."
Here we see the motive for
demonizing Hamas: Israel wants more leeway to continue its
land-grabs and colonization. The idea that they are “giving
land for peace” is utterly absurd – they are required to
return land they have seized at gunpoint.
- “If… If…
If…Then. Put the burden on Hamas to make the first move
for peace by using If’s. If Hamas reforms… If Hamas
recognize our right to exist… If Hamas renounces
terrorism… If Hamas supports international peace
agreements… then we are willing to make peace today.”
Just substitute Israel for Hamas. It
reads much better.
- “Peace
can only be made with adversaries who want to make peace
with you. Terrorist organizations like Iran-backed
Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are, by definition,
opposed to peaceful coexistence, and determined to
prevent reconciliation. I ask you, how do you negotiate
with those who want you dead?”
Hamas and Hezbollah are only
regarded as terrorists by the White House and Tel Aviv, and
by US-Israeli stooges elsewhere.
The definition Bush used to blacklist those it suited him to
accuse of committing, threatening to commit or supporting
terrorism goes as follows…
“The term “terrorism” means an activity that –
(i)
involves a violent act or an act dangerous to human life,
property, or infrastructure; and
(ii) appears to be intended –
(a) to
intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(b) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation
or coercion; or
(c) to affect the conduct of a government by mass
destruction, assassination, kidnapping, or hostage-taking.
This of course fits the US and
Israel perfectly.
- "There is
never, ever, any justification for the deliberate
slaughter of innocent women and children. Never ...
civilized people do not target innocent women and
children for death.”
So where does that leave Israel,
which recently killed 320 children in Gaza and 773 civilians
including 109 women? From 2000 up to the start of Operation
Cast Lead in December 2008 Israel had slaughtered 4,790
Palestinians in their homeland, including 952 children,
according to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.
In the same period Palestinians killed 490 Israelis in
Israel including 84 children. So Israel’s kill-rate is
nearly 10 to 1, and rising since the blitzkrieg on
Gaza.
Israelis are also expert at making families homeless. Since
1967, according to the
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD),
Israel has demolished in total 24,145 homes in the occupied
territories, including 4,247 (a UN figure) destroyed during
Operation Cast Lead.
Israel talks a lot about its right to defend itself. Here is
the rationale:
-
“Americans fundamentally believe that a democracy has a
right to protect its people and its borders… There is
one and only one argument that will work for Israel:
(1) As a democracy, Israel has the
right and the responsibility to defend its borders and
protect its people.
(2) Terrorist groups, including
Iran-backed Hezbollah and Hamas, continue to pose a direct
threat to Israeli security and have repeatedly taken
innocent Israeli lives.
(3) Israel is America’s one and
only true ally in the region. In these particularly unstable
and dangerous times, Israel should not be forced to go it
alone.
(4) With America’s financial assistance, Israel can defend
its borders, protect its people, and provide invaluable
assistance to the American effort against the war against
terrorism.”
But it seems that Americans don’t
believe in democracy enough to allow Palestinian democracy
to flourish.
- “When the
terror ends, Israel will no longer need to have
challenging checkpoints to inspect goods and people.
When the terror ends we will no longer need a security
fence.”
No rockets are coming out of the
West Bank, so why is the wall still there – and still being
built? Why are the occupation troops still there? Why are
hundreds of checkpoints still there? Why is Israel still
stealing land, demolishing Palestinian homes and building
settlements there?
- "Remind
people – again and again – that Israel wants peace.
Reason One: If Americans see no hope for peace… they
will not want their government to spend tax dollars or
their president’s clout on helping Israel. Reason Two:
The speaker that is perceived as being most for peace
will win the debate... peace should be at the core of
whatever message you wish to convey."
Israelis do NOT want peace and never
have. They failed to honour previous peace accords. Every
action is directed at provoking security crises and keeping
the conflict boiling until they have stolen enough land and
established enough '”acts on the ground” – Jews-only
settlements, highways, disconnected Palestinian bantustans –
to enable them to re-draw the map to suit their expansionist
agenda and make the occupation permanent.
- "Draw
direct parallels between Israel and America – including
the need to defend against terrorism... The more you
focus on the similarities between Israel and America,
the more likely you are to win the support of those who
are neutral. Indeed, Israel … faces many of the same
challenges as America in protecting their citizens."
Israel’s strategy is dependent on
the false idea that they are victims of terror and Western
nations need to rally round Israel for mutual protection.
- "The
language of Israel is the language of America:
'democracy’, 'freedom’, 'security' and 'peace'. These
four words are at the core of the American political,
economic, social and cultural systems, and they should
be repeated as often as possible because they resonate
with virtually every American… Remind your audience that
Israel wants peace and then repeat the messages of
democracy, freedom and peace over and over again.... we
need to repeat the message, on average, ten times to be
effective… But don’t confuse messages with facts.... "
Right, never let facts get in the
way of a good message! The only word that matters to Israel
is security (at everyone else’s expense, of course). How can
democracy be a shared value when Israel is a nasty
ethnocracy? How can freedom be a shared value when the world
is still waiting for Israel to end the occupation and allow
the Palestinians their freedom.
- “How can
the current Palestinian leadership honestly say it will
pursue peace when previous leaders rejected an offer to
create a Palestinian state just a few short years ago
and now refuse to live up to their responsibilities as
outlined in the Road Map?”
This refers to Ehud Barak's
so-called "generous offer”, a favourite myth. It wasn't
enough that the Palestinians, at the time of the Oslo
Agreements in 1993, were willing to concede 78 per cent of
the land that was originally theirs, accept the remaining 22
per cent and recognize Israel within “Green Line” borders
(i.e. the 1949 Armistice Line), Barak wanted to include 69
Israeli settlements within the Palestinians’ 22 per cent. He
also demanded that the Palestinian territories be placed
under "temporary Israeli control", meaning Israeli military
and administrative control indefinitely. The “generous offer
also gave Israel control over all the border crossings of
the new Palestinian state. What nation in the world would
accept that?
- “Why is
the world so silent about the written, vocal, stated
aims of Hamas?”
Why is the world silent about the
written, stated aims of the racist regime and its political
parties? Read their manifestos.
- “The
situation in the Middle East may be complicated, but all
parties should adopt a simple approach: peace first,
political boundaries second.”
Why should Palestinians renounce
resistance while Israel’s jackboot is still on their throat?
The international community should first insist on Israel’s
compliance with international law and the many UN
resolutions it has defied. The boundaries are already
defined by these. Whatever issues then remain to be decided,
Palestinians should not have to negotiate with a gun to
their heads.
- "Bottom
line: What will happen if we fail to get the world to
care about the fact that Israeli parents in southern
Israel need to literally dodge rockets when they drive
their children to kindergarten in the morning?”
Only one in 500 makeshift Qassam
rockets causes a fatality. The devastation and carnage
resulting from the barrage of Israel’s state-of-the-art
rocketry targeted on Gaza is a very different story.
- “Humanize
Rockets: Paint a vivid picture of what life is like in
Israeli communities that are vulnerable to attack. Yes,
cite the number of rocket attacks that have occurred.
But immediately follow that up with what it is like to
make the nightly trek to the bomb shelter.”
Israel claims 12,000 rockets were
fired from Gaza in the eight years up to the start of
Operation Cast Lead. Would they care to tell the world how
many bombs, rockets and shells (including the illegal and
prohibited variety) Israel’s F-16s, tanks, armed drones and
navy gunboats poured into the densely-packed humanity that
is Gaza in the same period? Probably not.
And Israelis are careful not to mention that the township of
Sderot, targeted by Gaza’s rockets and a major propaganda
asset for Regev and company, is
built on the ruins of an ethnically cleansed Palestinian
village whose inhabitants were forced to flee by Jewish
terrorists.
- “Living
together, side by side. This is the best way to describe
the ultimate vision of a two-state solution without
using the phrase.”
Sounds cute and fluffy, but who
would want to live alongside bigots and extremists who have
made your life hell for 62 years?
- "When
talking about a Palestinian partner, it is essential to
distinguish between Hamas and everyone else. Only the
most anti-Israel, pro- Palestinian American expects
Israel to negotiate with Hamas, so you have to be clear
that you are seeking a 'moderate Palestinian partner'."
What gives anyone, American or
Israeli, the right to ignore a nation’s democratically
elected representatives? And where are the moderate Israeli
partners?
- "The
fight is over ideology, not land; terror, not territory.
Thus, you must avoid using Israel’s religious claims to
land as a reason why Israel should not give up land.
Such claims only make Israel look extremist to people
who are not religious Christians or Jews.”
If the fight isn’t about land, why
has Israel been stealing it? And why won’t they give it back
when told to by the UN?
- "Think
pro-Palestinian…I particularly want to reach out to
Palestinian mothers who have lost their children. No
parent should have to bury their child.”
Reach for the sick-bag. Israel won’t
even allow cement into Gaza to build the graves.
- "And so I
say to my Palestinian colleagues … you can stop the
bloodshed. You can stop the suicide bombings and rocket
attacks. If you really want to, you can put an end to
this cycle of violence. If you won’t do it for our
children, do it for your children.”
This is recommended as “an effective
sound bite” for pro-Israel activists.
- "I want
to see a future where the Palestinians govern
themselves. Israel does not want to govern a single
Palestinian. Not one. We want them to govern themselves.
We want them to have complete self-determination."
Pure tosh! That’s not what Israel’s
political parties are pledging. For decades Israel has
dismissed the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. It
is desperate to snuff out Palestine's fledgling democracy
and destroy its chosen government.
What’s to become of the Holy
City?
- "The
toughest issue to communicate will be the final
resolution of Jerusalem. Americans overwhelmingly want
Israel to be in charge of the religious holy sites and
are frankly afraid of the consequences should Israel
turn over control to the Palestinians.”
Israel is in control right now and
prevents Muslims and Christians from outside the city from
visiting the holy places. Israel has proved it can’t be
trusted. In any case, the UN's partition plan decreed that
Jerusalem should become a “corpus separatum" – an
international city – under international management.
And here’s a final example of the twisted mentality of those
who wrote the manual:
- “The
force undermining peace is Iran and their proxies
Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. You must not call
Hamas just Hamas. Call them what they are: Iran-backed
Hamas. Indeed, when they [the West] know that Iran is
behind Hamas and Hezbollah, they are much more
supportive of Israel.”
By the same token should we call the
racist regime what it is – US-backed Israel or US proxy
Israel? Take your pick.
In addition to their expertise in disinformation the
Israelis are adept at concealing or destroying the evidence
of their crimes. We saw it again with the confiscation of
the flotilla passengers’ cameras, phones, laptops and other
personal effects. If they ever get them back they’ll be
corrupted. Israel also makes it difficult for even VIPs to
enter Gaza – they don’t want outsiders inspecting their
major crime scene. Anything to obstruct justice and make it
difficult to bring their thugs to book.
Israel’s dirty tricks will be to no avail in the end. They
are beginning to lose the propaganda war. That was
inevitable. In the long run you cannot succeed with a
communications programme based on lies and deception. Even
the best public relations is only as good as the “product”
or brand, and “Brand Israel’s” reputation was never great.
It has now fallen off a cliff. The truth is spreading
despite big efforts by mainstream media to block or disguise
it.
The thing we must cling to is the obligation that binds all
decent people to respect and promote human rights. The
following words, written nearly 62 years ago, explain why
good will eventually triumph over the selfish and evil
outpourings of the Israeli crapaganda machine.
Now, Therefore the General Assembly
proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a
common standard of achievement for all peoples and all
nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of
society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall
strive by teaching and education to promote respect for
these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures,
national and international, to secure their universal and
effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples
of Member States themselves and among the peoples of
territories under their jurisdiction. |
