Comments on: Annals of Hasbara: Manufacturing the Pro-Israel Line Online

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:01:09 +0000

Ah, we have an employee of Aish Hatorah here. Welcome to the Jewish slums. Shouldn’t you report your visit here to your rabbi?

I’ve got news for you…Islam isn’t treated very well in Israel either. Did you know that Muslims were not allowed to choose their own religious leaders w/o the approval of the Israeli government? Would you stand for the U.S. government requiring Jews to vet their leaders & allowing the gov’t to reject them as Israel has done? When Israel becomes the font of religious tolerance then we can talk about Hamas.

By: elliot

elliot — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:10:38 +0000

What a silly statement. What is the “different” state that you suggest Hamas prefers? A harmonic society where all religions and cultures are respected? Or maybe an Islamic Fundamentalist state where Jews and Christians (and Muslims who practice a different sort of Islam) are persecuted? Is this the “different” state you are offering? Sounds like elimination of Israel to me.

By: B.BarNavi

B.BarNavi — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:58:14 +0000

I’ll just let X-Plain respond to this piece!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9SMwVgCSzk

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 06:00:59 +0000

Richard – once again the needless crude tone (“pathetic”). The conversation isn’t about whether hasbara advances Israeli interests (for the record I’d agree with you – more or less – that it doesn’t). The conversation is about whether the way the critique of Israel is formed may – occasionally – be part of the problem as well. I think that sometimes it is.

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:58:15 +0000

Arie, as I said: your argument is dealt with – more or less – in the Seth piece I mentioned above. I suggest you read that and then come back to me.

By: Arie Brand

Arie Brand — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:30:25 +0000

Alex Stein wrote:

“Arie – I’ve grasped your point perfectly well. It simply isn’t true. ”

Oh dear. My wife says in such a situation “You will be telling me that I am not here next”

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:07:07 +0000

If I understand you correctly, then I think it’s rather pathetic that you can’t acknowledge that such feeble hasbara efforts will do nothing toward advancing Israeli interests or pt of view online or anywhere else. To the extent that “advanced western nations” use the same tactics (as the U.S. attempted to do in Iraq for a time), they too were laughed out of the box.

By: Jeanne Capozzoli

Jeanne Capozzoli — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:47:05 +0000

Liberals are accused of pointing our Israeli atrocities when there are even worse atrocities such as Darfur. The problem for Americans is that Israeli atrocities are subsidized by our billions in foreign aid and weapons. Thus, all 300 million of us pay a terrible price in many, many ways. The fact that 1.4 billion Muslims in 57 countries are angry at the United States is tragic. I cannot understand how American Jews in AIPAC etc. can lobby for the billions in aid knowing that the outrageous Israeli policies do such incredible damage to the United States.