Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Thought-Police Is Here in Israel
The Foreign Ministry unveiled a new plan this week: Paying talkbackers to post pro-Israel responses on websites worldwide. A total of NIS 600,000 (roughly $150,000) will be earmarked to the establishment of an "Internet warfare" squad.
The Foreign Ministry intends to hire young people who speak at least one language and who study communication, political science, or law -- or alternately, Israelis with military experience gained at units dealing with information analysis.
Beyond the fact that these job requirements reveal a basic lack of understanding in respect to the dynamics of the online discourse -- the project's manager argued that "adults don't know how to blog" -- they are not too relevant either. An effective talkbacker does not need a law degree or military experience. He merely needs to care about the subject he writes about.
The sad truth is that had Israeli citizens believed that their State is doing the right thing, they would have made sure to explain it out of their own accord. Without being paid.
Foreign Ministry officials are fighting what they see as a terrible and scary monster: the Palestinian public relations monster. Yet nothing can be done to defeat it, regardless of how many foolish inventions will be introduced and how many bright communication students will be hired.
The reason is that good PR cannot make the reality in the occupied territories prettier. Children are being killed, homes are being bombed, and families are starved. Yet nonetheless, the Foreign Ministry wants to try to change the situation. And they have willing partners. "Where do I submit a CV?" wrote one respondent. "I'm fluent in several languages and I'm able to spew forth bullshit for hours on end."
Anti-democratic initiative
Any attempt to plant talkbacks online must fail. Especially if the State is behind it. Not only because it's easy to identify responses made on behalf of someone, but also because it's anti-democratic. When the Israel Electric Company or other companies do it, it's annoying. Yet when the State does it, it's dangerous.
Imposters on behalf of the government are threatening free discourse even if they only wander through the virtual space. The Internet was meant to serve as an open platform for dialogue between people, rather than as a propaganda means.
Something worrisome is happening here lately. We see the accumulation of silencing attempts. The Nakba Law, the bill calling for a ban on protests outside the homes of politicians, Lieberman's Loyalty Law, and the biometric information database. The free speech hunting season is on.
Thankfully we have the Internet, and it enables us to identify processes, discuss them, warn about them, and join forces against them. We can assume that soon we'll see the establishment of a website opposed to this new initiative, unless such site already exists. Perhaps even a group on Facebook. I wonder whether all its members will be Foreign Ministry agents, or whether it will also include some real people.
This is not a police state: This is a thought-police state.
31 Comments so far
Show AllThis seems to have been going on for some time now, in fact it is just a matter of time before some imposters and planted trolls show up here to tell us how democratic, fair, model state Israel is, a beacon of fairness and justice for the rest of the world.
Not a Police state? Really? What if you are a Palestinian?
This is news? We haven't been calling them "talkbackers" (Who on earth came up with that term?) but we've seen such folks on this website for months and probably years.
I've used the term "drone" to describe these political whores. I'll bet someone else on this site could come up with a better expression.
q
Israel is a beacon of freedom and democracy in a region surrounded by desert dwelling fanatics. The security of Israel is threatened daily by numerous projectiles mostly in the form of hand thrown rocks. If these barbarian children are allowed to continue their rebellious behavior then Israel has no choice but to pen them into a secure enclave, refuse them food and medicine, bomb them at will, and teach them a lesson.
The above comment was paid for by the Israeli government and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the poster.
You're hired!
Anti-semitism isn't going to change or solve anything. distorting the historical record to make it look as if the Israelis began the war or are responsible for continuing it isn't going to change or solve anything.
"The security of Israel is threatened daily by numerous projectiles mostly in the form of hand thrown rocks."
No, they are threatened daily by actual rockets which are being aimed at schools and other civilian targets. These are real rockets, unlike the imaginary WMDs that American terrorists used to justify their genocides in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lying about the reality only makes things worse. If rockets were being fired at your children each and every one of you would do the exact same thing. And every single on of you knows this.
Get real folks. Deal with your anti-semitism as the psychological problem it is, and stop blaming the Jews/Israelis for everything. They are not responsible. It is the Palestinians who have repeatedly rejected all offers of peace, including offers for their own state. They do not want peace. They want to kill all of the Jews and steal their land. Until people understand that this is what this war is about nothing will change.
As proof of what I said about these folks aleady being here . . . .
Criticism of Israel and zionism is not anti-Semitism. Period.
The Palestinians want to "steal" the land that the zoinists stole from them? What audacity!
Get real, mike. Deal with your cowardice as the moral failure that it is and stop trying to shield zionist barbarism with the good name of Judaism.
q
Wow, that was quicker than I even suspected, this imposter only posts on Israel related articles.
Man, you have some serious issues: deal with your deep-seated Jewish White Supremacy and racism against anyone with skin darker than yours, or does not share your religious mythology, Mr. troll imposter.
You appeared on cue, good job. How much are they paying you? You should get a bonus
How many shekels did they pay you for this Israeli government spam?
Was this comment a practice assignment for the new thought-police?
mikep, "deal w/ your anti-semitism like the psychological problem it is," mike, my psychologist, who thinks Israel is monstrous, is a nice Jewish man who says Frued can't address anti-semitism. Dr. Silverstein also assures me that the projectiles threatening Israel are what he called, "oy vey! missiles of truth, they are unstoppable like rain now!" He is smart, huh? best, joe
Postscript, a two-state solution is the way. Palestine where it always was, and The Invaders go live in the West Bank & Gaza strip under Hamas Authority. Hezbollah as well for external security, their ties to Iran make them good allies.
Shalom
No you get real mikep. Reality means accepting the facts - don't accuse others of lying when you seem to have problems accepting the truth yourself! Reality was that Hamas launched no - I mean NO rockets for 6 months last year. During that time Israel continued its blockade of Gaza. Yes a few - and I mean a few rockets were launched by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade - allies of those "good guys" called Fatah that took over the West Bank from the elected government of the Palestinian territories - all with the help of those democracy-loving Western Powers. It was widely acknowledged that Hamas were doing a remarkably good job at keeping the ceasefire in the circumstances, given their limited resources. No Israelis were killed by rockets during that period - please mikep read that twice since you seem to have problems understanding it. What did Israel do in response to Hamas' efforts? It killed several Hamas leaders. When did it do it? On election day in the US - I wonder why?
When will you understand who are the real aggressors here? Who took the land? Who drove out hundreds of thousands of Palestinians? And who treats them like animals. Let me remind you of the words of a former Israeli Prime Minister:
"The Palestinians" would be crushed like grasshoppers ... heads smashed against the boulders and walls." " Speech to Jewish settlers New York Times April 1, 1988
Let me remind you of a former leader of the Knesset - Avrahim Burg:
Israel, having ceased to care about the children of the Palestinians, should
not be surprised when they come washed in hatred and blow themselves up in the
centres of Israeli escapism. They consign themselves to Allah in our places of
recreation, because their own lives are torture. They spill their own blood in
our restaurants in order to ruin our appetites, because they have children and
parents at home who are hungry and humiliated. We could kill a thousand
ringleaders a day and nothing will be solved, because the leaders come up from
below - from the wells of hatred and anger, from the "infrastructures" of
injustice and moral corruption.
And yet even when Palestinians do not attack Israel. Israel goes on with its killing, with its starvation, with its total lack of concern for the lives of the Palestinians.
And really - talking of reality - the old "anti-semitism" slur is wearing a bit thin. The Jews (or to be more precise the Zionists) didn't own this land. To quote Ben Gurion:
"If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault ? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?" Quoted by Nahum Goldmann in Le Paraddoxe Juif (The Jewish Paradox), pp121.
The Israelis and their American dual-loyalty backers seem intent upon the mass production of anti-semites.
Tony Vodvarka
By the way, Ms. Kuperboim, many thanks for your tipoff. Most people know that there are many Isrealis struggling to amerliorate the malignant policies of their government, a task as difficult as it is for us here in Patriot Act America.
Tony Vodvarka
I am convinced that the conscience of Israelis will recognize that the West Bank is set up as a "reservation" for the Palestinians. This is parallel with the relationship between the Native Americans and the US Government. I understand that the State of Israel is defacto - but the Israeli encroachment on the West Bank does not serve the best interests of Israel
Israel's actions in all matters relating to Muslims and/or Christians within Israel or the occupied territories are indefensible. Ergo, the paid propagandists (after all, unemployment is also a problem in Israel, and hopefully will get much worse as the world intensifies its boycott of the apartheid state) will be easily spotted (unless they are confused with besotted, befuddled, or uneducated zealots, aka Zionists).
The conquest and annihilation of the Palestinian people is Israel's "Good War"-- or so supporters of this policy believe.
So it's not surprising that, like patriotic Amerikans in World War II, each Hasbarist enthusiastically does their bit to contribute to the War Effort.
Whether zealous amateurs or dutiful semi-professionals, each Hasbarist strives to be a microcosmic Ministry of Propaganda.
What they lack in intellectual acumen, honesty, perspicacity, and empathy, they make up for in tenacity.
· Yr Obd't Servant
When Isreal began their last military war on Palestine, Obama justified Israel's actions with the same type of response; If your children were being threatened and terrorized with rockets,wouldn't you respond as Israel? But who ever asks ; If your children's lives were being threatened by starvation and sickness from a blockade, wouldn't you respond as the occupied, suffering,oppressed, people of Palestine? Evil dictators, use the denial of food and other vital supplies as weapons and are condemned by Democratic leaders, as barbaric. Israel can continue this blockade forever by controlling the media and avoiding condemnation and accountability for starving the Palestinians.If palestine ended firing rockets and any terrorist acts , would Isreal end the blockade?
um, actually it's very much a police state in palestine. and i wouldn't say all israelis believe their state is doing the right thing either. the numbers of refuseniks is growing, as is the number of people all over the globe recognizing the land-grab/genocide for what it is. it's the dominator/imperialist true believers that kid themselves and try to convince others that there are moral or spiritual underpinnings behind oppression/murder/plunder. same as it ever was, though the attempts to utilize the net to both further and prevent domination are a new kind of globalized class/cold war i suppose. fortunately fabrications are vulnerable to being outed by REALITY and so require alot more maintenance for the really long long-haul than does the unvarnished truth. the truth will out.
Today's homework assignment for the thought police is as follows:
While you are here, try explaining the morality Israel actions seen in the videos at the following website: repeated Israeli military shooting at Gazan farmers as they pick their crops; Israeli military shooting at Gazan fishermen. Plenty more homework is available.
http://palsolidarity.org/
"By their works ye shall know them"
Just so.
That's the fraternal twin to a phrase I've been wearing out lately: "Handsome is as handsome does."
· Yr Obd't Servant
I expect we'll be seeing these on-line propaganda agents of Israel working both sides of the street. Some will be offering the usual platitudes of support for Israel while others will pretend to be anti-semites/neo-nazis who will use the same arguments as people who oppose Israeli policies. The idea will be to lump all people who oppose Israeli policies in with the nutcases/(agents) using the same arguments.
So, as counter-intuitive as it may seem, a frothing at the mouth anti-Israeli poster may well be one of these propaganda agents.
Yeah right, I always suspected that Hamas MP cleric Yunis Al-Astal, for example, is an Israeli (sorry Zionist) agent. It all makes so much more sense now after reading your comment.
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2169.htm
Yeah, you're right. I should never have said that everyone who is fanatically against Israel is a paid Israeli propaganda agent.
Oh wait, that's not what I said.
The Palestinian public relations monster.
Yet nothing can be done to defeat it, other than complying with UNSC Resolution 242.
Video of the Spirit of Humanity's last moments before Israel hijacked the boat. Includes audio of Israel threatening fire on the boat if they don't turn back.
http://www.ricenpeas.com/2009/July/cynthia_mckinney_intvw.html
Video also posted at the Freegaza.org website.
bligh4
Well, having been accused of being a paid "troll" ( I didn't even know what that meant and am still waiting for my check...), I thought the idea of thinking that anyone that disagreed with you being ipso facto "paid" was just paranoia.
If this article is true, then this has to go down on the list of the ten dumbest ideas of the twenty first century.
Blog away you paid stooges. The whole world has been watching Israel far too long, and we know too much to believe anything you say. And now with the actual live video from Gaza still fresh in our minds, we know you so well no amount of bogus pr can change anythng.
A friend of mine who has spent some time in China teaching English had this to say about this report:
"In China, the state pays certain bloggers to make sure the state's view of things is represented in chat groups. These propagandists are paid 5 Chinese cents (wu mao) per word and are therefore known in the Chinese chat group lingo as the "wu mao dang"--the five cent gang. It appears Israel has taken a page from the Chinese communist party playbook. At least in China, when the chatters and bloggers get a scent of wu mao dang activity they bug out to a new site."
Hell! You're worried about the thought police in Israel?
Look at the legislation, Executive Orders, etc., that authorize the American Thought Police. It is growing every day. Increasing surveillance, both electronic and "legal" burglary, closed circuit TV and cameras, RFId's, GPS locator chips in cars, cell phones. The list is endless and growing. The number of "Suspicious" or "Potential Terrorists" are growing by the tens and hundreds of thousands every year.
If the government fears this many of its own citizens, perhaps there is something wrong with the government. Thomas Jefferson said, "When the government fears the poeple, you have freedom. When the people fear the government, you have tyranny.
Unfortunately, the government's apparent fear of the poeple has turned into tyranny. The "no-fly" lists are growing with no way to get off them or find out why you are on them. "National Security" of course. More identification needed to leave or enter the country; soon the "Real Id" with all your information on an RF chip that can be read at a distance. (It has already been proved that anyone with some electronics background can make a scanner to download this information from a distance and you'll never know it, until your bank account is cleaned out or your credit cards run amok.) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090711/ap_on_bi_ge/us_chipping_america_iv
Legislation is pending to make anyone, citizen or not, a "homegrown terrorist" just for opposing government policy, or demonstrating in protest. The penalty? Indefinite detention, no trial. Just locked away and forgotten. "Nacht und nebel" rides again, but this time in the USA.
Yeah, we and Israel learned from Nazi Germany. We observed their mistakes and determined to do it better this time.
I'm sure this has been going on for years already, and it isn't only the Israeli government doing it. A few bloggers spring immediately to mind as I read this article.