UPDATE: The video was originally hosted by Vimeo, which removed it after a complaint that it featured “explict sexual content.” Bad taste, for sure. But “explicit” content? It is instructive though, at least in a symbolic sense, that Vimeo finds such Israeli hasbara is video pornography. H/t Robin.
Dimi Reider has discovered one of the stranger of Israel’s tourism promotions. This one is sponsored by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) undoubtedly in close collaboration with the foreign ministry. The video is in indescribably bad taste, portraying an attractive couple in bed with the woman telling the man she can’t possibly “do it” because it’s “too small.” The dialogue is so lame that it simply must be quoted to be believed:
Girl: Uhhh…
Boy: What?
G: Don’t be mad…It’s just that it’s small…
B: Small?!
G: I don’t know if I can go there.
B: I consider this a spot of worship. It may be small, but it’s brought the driest places to life. Baby, this is paradise. [camera pans to show map of Israel and tourist guidebooks covering boy’s crotch].
G: OK, but if I go down there for you, you have to promise you’ll down south for me next winter.
I’m simply flabbergasted that Israel would use the promise of fellatio and cunnilingus to promote itself. This also puts into proper perspective the blandishments of Birthright Israel and its former premier trip vendor, Shlomo Momo, who hold out to trip participants the possibility of great Jewish sex and meeting potential Jewish mates on their trips.
There are just way too many strange, odd places to go with this evocative video. Do you notice the phallic outline of Israel in the video’s opening image? What does it say about the creator’s fixation on the symbolic size of Israel’s, er member? Maybe Israel is compensating for this sense of sexual inferiority with its “muscular” Occupation (h/t to Ali Gharib)?
The website devised to promote this tourism campaign portrays Israel as a hipster paradise full of models, beaches, bronzed bodies, and beautiful modern metropolises. If I caught it correctly, there’s an image of a dread-locked Idan Raichel thrown in for good measure. Yes sir, Israel is nothing but sun and fun. Not a hint of politics. Not even culture, art or music. And certainly not an Arab in sight. In fact, here are some factoids of which the hasbara machine wants you to be proud:
Did you KNOW?
* On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotechnology startup companies in the world
* Israel is a world leader in water conservation and reforestation
* Arab Israelis have served as elected representatives of the Knesset (Parliament) since Israel was foundedIsrael is a welcoming and inclusive country
* In 1999, an Arab woman was named as “Miss Israel”
* Israeli Arabs serve on the Israeli Supreme Court
* Israel is at the forefront of promoting equality for LGBT communities, as well as promoting women’s rights
* In 1969 Golda Meir was elected as Israel’s Prime Minister – the third elected woman leader of any other country in the world
Speaking of Israel’s technological innovation, did you get a load of those Mossad killers talking into their wrists with that cool gear that communicated with their Austrian command center? Now that’s innovation! Not to mention the cool floppy hat worn by the Mossad babe who was stalking the victim. If that isn’t fashion sense, what is? And how ’bout targeted assassinations in general? What a neat innovation Israel has perfected and given as a gift to the Palestinians and the rest of the world.
How ’bout those claims about Israeli Arabs? Holy shit, Batman! There are Arab Israelis who’ve been elected to the Knesset! I bet you thought they were all dishwashers, daily laborers and maids. No kidding. Of course, this “fact” omits the real fact that Arab political parties are excluded from governing coalitions, and rarely are individual Arab Knesset members named government ministers and so have almost no political power.
And yes, Israel is an inclusive and welcoming country if you’re a Jew. If you’re not, not so much.
Regarding Arabs sitting on the Supreme Court, this neglects the fact that the daughter of Israel’s Arab justice was treated like an Arab terrorist by the Shin Bet when she attempted to leave Israel. Israel is at the forefront of gay rights…except when crazy haredim stab gay marchers in Gay Pride parades, when haredi rabbis denounce gays as evil Sodomites, and when Tel Aviv gay community centers are attacked by crazed gunmen. As for Golda, that’s very nice except that the percentage of women in the Knesset is miserably low and women hold almost no major cabinet portfolios.
Is this any way to promote a country? You bet it ain’t. But one thing I have to say–this is yet another ‘brilliant’ manipulation brought to you by those boys, Yvette and Danny, and their most excellent adventure at the Israeli foreign ministry. At the rate they’re going, there may not be much of an Israel left to promote before too long.
This advertising campaign is part of a joint Israel rebranding effort organized by the Israeli consulate in Canada and Canadian Jewish business leaders including the Asper family and Jason Reitman, who also chairs CIJA. An earlier effort at this type of rebranding included the Toronto Film Festival’s honoring Tel Aviv’s 100th birthday in an effusion of pro-Israel glitz and hasbara that Israeli film artists and Naomi Klein objected to strenuously.
Students at 20 Canadian universities will have the pleasure of dreaming about oral sex in Israel when this tourism campaign comes to a campus near them in the coming weeks. I bet they just can’t wait.
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that is one funny ad. thanks for posting it and lighten up man. yes in fact it is an effective way to promote tourism to israel. now tell me, is all of your ranting about evil israelis an effective way to promote tourism to israel? or would you rather that nobody visited the country? and how do you sleep at night after saying things like, “there may not be much of an Israel left to promote before too long”? have you lost your mind?
It’s not funny at all except in a bizarre, twisted sense, which clearly wasn’t what you had in mind. And no it’s a completely ineffective way to promote tourism & will convince no one to visit except those who think Israel’s best known export is oral sex.
I would rather have visitors come to Israel who understand a bit about how complicated a place it is.
How do you sleep at night when Danny Ayalon & Yvette are turning Israel into a laughingstock.
Get down off your high Zionist horse, Tzvee & stop annoying me.
It’s completely gross and tasteless, even worse than the ad I sent you a few days ago, Richard.
Besides, I still get ripping mad when I see maps of “Israel” which do not delineate the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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I don’t know who would want to visit a country where it takes about an hour to convince them to allow you in. Israeli paranoia at Ben Gurion airport is legendary. Questions, questions, questions. Hardly a warm welcome for anyone. I know plenty of people who refuse to visit Israel for that very reason.
my friend, you are entirely missing the point. you’re obviously not the demographic they’re aiming for! i think it’s funny, cute, and unique. have you seen most of the other stuff out there? people aint buyin’ it! this is a nice change of pace.
The hasbaristas have arrived!
Richard,
I am convinced that you’re really on to something with some of this ridicule. It really interferes with the whole national pride campaign Israel has going on.
In addition, Israel has lost any semblence of a sense of humor. Remember, they think this oral sex ad is funny. And they think it’s funny to twitter about their latest “hit” in Dubai.
By the way, what do you make of Ron Kampeas and Judy Miller latest bragging about all of Mossad’s assassinations in JTA and Tablet? Perhaps another aspect of the national pride campaign?
That sounds interesting. Could you offer the links to those?
Judy Miller and Ron Kampeas, respectively, on Mossad capers, including in Iran. Israel’s famous “policy of ambiguity” seems to have been discarded in favor of a policy of braggadocio. Why?
http://www.tabletmag.com/news-and-politics/26313/assassination-tango/
http://jta.org/news/article/2010/02/22/1010744/man-behind-mossad-seen-as-indispensible-on-iran
Thanks for the Tablet link, that’s absolutely reprehensible. The ‘problem’ w. you readers is that you provide me with material to which it’s impossible to say no, I won’t write about this. Stuff like this is just irresistible.
BTW, the JTA story is by Leslie Susser who is one of JTA’s more inept correspondents. I wouldn’t be surprised w. anything that guy wrote.
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!
You have to watch this video with Rebecca Cherniak in it! She’s the coordinator of this campaign!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0BKD1CYGDo&feature=player_embedded
At 2:30 the first girl says, “YOU represent”
Then Rebecca says with hand gestures, “THE ENTIRE JEWISH PEOPLE”
JUST in case that link doesn’t work, go to youtube and CFJS Tabling for Israel.
The video was uploaded Feb 7th!
Children engaging in propaganda for Israel, being deluded into believing they are representing all the Jewish people, and one child not even mature enough to clean up her room before making the video. A little hasbara 101 with Jewish Chippendale guys thrown in at the end, in case we were losing interest.
Does any other country in the world train college students in “tabling”? And appeal to them by way of their sexual urges?
OMG, that is embarrassing!
Firstly, i love the video, secondly, what amazes me most is the amount of inaccurate information in this article. The foreign ministry? lol. Did you check you sources, if you had any. I guess it’s typical for someone who is just so critical to attack this campaign without any information. I congratulate the students who are working in this campaign. Showcasing Israel through a different lense is refreshing, you wanting to bring in the conflict to taint this country is something you can do on your own time. Israel is all the things mentioned, Israel does have an arab minority, and if you would pay attention that’s all in the fact section. When you speak of Canada, do you only speak of the war in Afghanistan ? NOPE, when you speak of the US, do you only speak of the war in Iraq ? NO, why is Israel any different, give us a break!!
Who sent you? Likely the Canadian group sponsoring the campaign or Israel’s Hasbara ministry or Giyus. The fact that you note students were involved in the ad indicates you’re an insider w. obvious self-interest. Either that or you’re totally ignorant. You’re not a disinterested observer who just happened here that’s for sure.
An Israeli-Canadian reporter posted a Twitter based on her research saying that the MFA is intimately involved w. the campaign which is highly possible since it has a large budget for such promotions & has done so in Canada already during the Toronto film festival.
Interesting you would compare the absence of Arabs in the images on the website with Canada’s presence in Afghanistan. I would say that Israel’s Palestinian citizens are a bit more integral to Israel than Canada’s participation in an occupying army in the Middle East.
If you deserve it you get one, & you don’t so you won’t.
who sent me ? lol dude you’re living in lala land. If someone criticizes your poor analysis it means someone sent them from the offices of the hasbaritas! lol. Total stranger ? no, just a person who applauds student initiatives. I’m sure they got financial help from somewhere, but it doesn’t cost that much to make these clips, with the right students, it can cost nothing. just check you facts before your make statements of which you are so sure of. Point is, i’m very proud of whoever did this, and clearly, if you go through the site, it’s a campus based initiative. Your comment about lack of arabs in the site is ridiculous, are there any obvious israelis or jews ? maybe the woman on the beach is arab. It’s a mixed society, no need for anyone to stand out.
Hey kiddo,
This tussle between you and Richard can be resolved pretty easily.
How did you get to visit this blog post? I mean, this is not exactly Main Street, Internet here.
Random search? Late-nite boredom? Or someone sent you the link?
I think what makes Richard suspicious is the arrival of hostile comments one after the other, from visitors who’ve never commented on his blog before.
But you are “innocent” until proven “gulity”. Okay, your turn. Tell us how you got here.
New visitors to this blog are not a conspiracy. Anyone reading about that video – which obviously garnered a lot of attention – can easily find more blogs discussing it. I ended up here trying to find the video which vimeo has removed.
I found your blog from here:
http://trueslant.com/nealungerleider/2010/02/22/cum-to-israel-israels-new-ad-campaign/
Which I found from here (a friend of mine posts on here):
http://zabaj.com/2010/02/22/israel-is-a-small-penis/
I think the ad is both funny AND inappropriate at the same time. It certainly caught my attention. Israel has always been innovative, and this is no exception. However, having been to Israel many times (all my family is there), and then going on the Birthright trip, I must admit that it is unrealistic to present Israel without politics or issues. That’s a huge part of who they are. Then again, all world vacation travel is down due to the “war on terror” so I’m sure many countries are trying to get people to visit using whatever clever advertising they can.
What is “hasbara”?
Thanks!
I didn’t say all new visitors are in a conspiracy. I welcome new visitors like you & many others. But visitors who come here almost as soon as the post is published and all begin their comments in virtually the same fashion are suspect.
Hasbara is propaganda or information in modern Hebrew.
Shiera –
An Israeli who doesn’t know what hasbara is? Give me a break, please.
Yes, Israel has always been “innovative,” unfortunately at the expense of the Palestinian people. As for the world travel being “down due to the war on terror,” much of the world’s “terror” would be eliminated if Israel would end its occupation of Palestine. Of course, the Palestinian people have a “birthright,” too, right?
Your post is about as funny and tasteless as that video ad.
She clearly isn’t Israeli. She went on a Birthright trip which means she’s an American Jew & probably has not thought as long or intensely on these issues as some of us have. So unless & until proven otherwise, I think we should cut her some slack.
Thank you, Richard, I appreciate you sticking up for me. You are correct on all counts. My parents immigrated to the U.S. before I was born. So although I can speak conversational Hebrew, with a limited vocabulary, I am by no means fluent. And it’s also true that I haven’t thought about these issues as intensely.
Btw, your kids are super cute. We just had our first one, a girl. Parenthood is certainly an adventure.
I repeat. How did you learn of this blog post? How did you get here?
That’s a lie. I’ve noted who sponsored & funded it & it’s an Israel advocacy (i.e. hasbara) outfit affiliated of the Canadian UJA. And as I said likely also financed by the MFA. So much for it being a student-run shoestring budget operation.
Not at all. The site views Arabs as object exploited to prove Israel is a grand, grand place. There is no appreciation whatsoever for real Arabs, their real role, real status or real anything within Israel. Why don’t you contact the site’s owners & ask them to verify the vacuous claims you’ve made here about who’s funding it & also pointing out any images of Arabs in the site. Maybe they can add a photo of the Miss Israel Arab winner. That would be quite nice & condescending of ’em.
Richard, Canada is now under complete Zionist occupation….our politicians compete with each other to show which party (Liberals or Conservatives(neo-Nazis) can drink more zionist manmilk than the other. Our foreign policy vs. ME is elaborated by the Bnai Brith and the demonization of Arabs and Muslims by the organized Jewish community is DISGUSTING, and good Canadians will remember who the hate mongers are. Toronto, and Montreal are infested with settlers like MTL 514. As for that AD it is fitting that Israel would be associated with genitals.
I think that’s overly harsh.
“…it is fitting that Israel would be associated with genitals.”
Since when are genitals something negative, since I’m assuming the comment was meant negatively? They’re actually pretty important and useful.
But I agree in general with commenters that the ad is not funny, as well as being tasteless. Tasteless things when done right CAN sometimes be funny, but this doesn’t work, it’s just stupid.
Israel seems to try to so hard to put itself across as this sexually liberated, cosmopolitan sort of place, just like some liberal western European country. When it’s so obvious to any critical, objective observer that it it is overall a pretty reactionary, culturally ‘conservative’, repressive country. But keep trying, I guess, you got to feel for the strenuous efforts of the hasbara brigade, they do try.
What will they come up with next?
It may be small, but on the map he holds it extends to cover Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
Who is Yvette Richard?
Yvette is Avigdor Lieberman’s Russian nickname. I like to call him that when I want to be particularly disparaging.
Her you GO, looked up the domain http://sizedoesntmatter.ca/
And…………………..
Domain name: sizedoesntmatter.ca
Domain status: EXIST
Domain number: 2929497
Approval date: 2009/07/13
Renewal date: 2010/07/13
Updated date: 2009/12/10
Registrar:
Name: Internic.ca Inc.
Number: 29
Registrant:
Name: Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Inc.
Number: 1262044
Administrative contact:
Name: Rob Hall
Job Title: Chief Privacy Officer
Postal address: Privacy.ca
43 Auriga Drive
I don’t know if that helps, but that is who registered the domain
More info, Joel Reitman is the chairman of CJPA
He is also CEO of MIJO Inc.
http://www.mijo.ca/
Now:
http://www.cjnews.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15198&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=86
TORONTO — The Israeli consulate in Toronto is gearing up for 10-month branding campaign and its consul general, Amir Gissin, couldn’t be more pleased.
………………………………………….
According to Gissin, the campaign launch could not have been achieved without the help of a triumvirate of high-powered business leaders in the community, namely Sidney Greenberg, vice-president of Astral Media; Joel Reitman, president and CEO of MIJO Corporation; and David Asper, executive vice-president of Canwest Global Communications Corp, all of whom have dedicated resources to Brand Israel.
…………………………………………
“We want everyone to have a personal stake in this process,” he said. “The idea behind brand initiative has been coalition-building… [and] with the conference, we want to continue recruiting people within and outside the Jewish community.”
The consulate sent out invitations to select organizations and individuals in the community and expects around 200 people to attend the branding conference. Gissin hopes guests will take it upon themselves to disseminate the information they hear at the event.
“The way to fix negative images of Israel is to present Israel in a positive light elsewhere,” Gissin said.
(those are just snippets from the link)
Great job Robin! Citizen journalism at work.
I have not read your blog before, so I am not commenting this in relation to a trend I have seen in your posts (as some here seem to have done). And I can certainly understand your dislike of this ad, and your take on it as distasteful.
My problem in your post is with this line:
The CIJA is not synonymous with Israel, nor is an ad they run the same as something that, say, the Israel Ministry of Tourism might run.
Just my $.02 / .10 NIS.
You should read my post in full including the link to the Canadian Jewish publication which outlines a joint Canadian Jewish/Israeli MFA funded rebranding campaign of which this is part. So yes, I’m sorry to say, this campaign is funded & supported by the MFA. I wish I could say it was just some lame brained scheme cooked up by a few nutcases thinking they could help Israel. But that’s not the case.
I did read that, and again, I reiterate that this is not the same thing as Israel or its Ministry of Tourism running such a campaign. Did they want to “rebrand” Israel? Yes. Did they oversee every ad that is disseminated around the world? Not so sure.
What I mean by this is that every consulate or embassy is certainly under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry. But there are numerous example of Ambassadors or Consuls doing things that embarrass their respective governments by actions they take on their own. That is because they don’t go and run every single decision past their superiors.
This is very likely the same thing, with an Israeli official in Canada taking this action on his own. And while you might say that since he is a representative of Israel, his actions are synonymous with those of the country itself, I believe this is a clear overstatement.
Should they continue with the campaign, then you’d be correct, in my opinion.
Read my latest post in which Arutz 7 manges to elicit a claim fr. the MFA that it was behind the ad and it was pulled (which it wasn’t). I don’t distinguish bet. an Israeli consulate, the MFA & gov’t of Israel. The rebranding campaign, of which this was a part was devised by the MFA in Jerusalem & implemented in Canada by the consultate. It’s one seamless garment.
You don’t know anything if you believe that a major rebranding effort supported with millions in contributions fr. the wealthiest, most respected Jewish figures in Canada isn’t closely coordinated in Israel. The effort at the Toronto Film Festival is another example of a project devised in cooperation bet. the MFA in Israel & consulate in Toronto.
Israel is a self proclaimed racist country and gives new dimension to the word “hypocrisy”. Nothing they do or say ever surprises me. Having said this, if this ad is real it is quite sleazy and strikes new low tone on many levels.
In light of this:
“This advertising campaign is part of a joint Israel rebranding effort organized by the Israeli consulate in Canada”
Here’s an interesting website which provides the link for the Israeli consulate under the heading: Where to go to get informed
Christians United For Israel Canada!!!
http://www.cufi.ca/CUFI/Links.html
right under the link for the Israel embassy is the link for:
Institute for Canadian Values
Canada’s first and only faith-based public policy think-tank.
OH, Dr. Charles McVety wears many hats, president of CUFI Canada, and president of Canada Christian College and president of Canada Family Action.
I thought he would be interested in your post here Richard so I just sent him the following message:
Hello,
Since Dr. McVety wears several hats, amongst them the president of Family Action and the president of CUFI Canada, I thought you might want to know about the advertising campaign for Israel undergone by the Israeli consulate there in Canada and the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy.
Would you care to comment about this campaign?
https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2010/02/21/canadian-jewish-tourism-ad-uses-oral-sex-to-promote-israeli-tourism/#comments
Sincerely,
Robin *****
Los Angeles
C’mon people. Seriously…lighten up.
It may not be the funniest ad in the world, but who cares?!
Doesn’t Tikkun Olam mean “repairing the world”? What better way to do so than through humor and laughter?
I think Israel, regardless of what your politics may be, deserves a little attempt humor and laughter…even if it comes from its global supporters.
This branding campaign is tongue in cheek, but holds merit too. One of Israel’s greatest achievements to date is survival, despite its size.
There have got to be far more important debates you could be engaging in right now, nachon?
Please do.
I swear this is the 3rd comment that starts precisely the same way using the specific term “lighten up.” Can you offer us the script you’ve been reading from Sam?
Perfect example of the concern troll strategy. Did they teach you that as well in Hasbara 101? Yr IP resolves to Toronto? You wouldn’t possibly work for the consulate or any other Canadian Jewish Israel lobby group??
Humor and laughter? I don’t think it’s funny, I think it’s sickening. It makes Israel look like a place to get laid, did you ever think of that, or is that OK with you? The Holy Land, turned on its side, the horrible occupation ignored, and made to look like a penis?
And the nauseating double entendre’s aimed at….whom? Young Jewish college students, obviously. Because if you’re a Muslim you’re going to be revolted by the ad, and you also know damn well you’re not going to get past the border guards anyway.
This stupid ad is being talked about all over the internets, and I’m happy to say that the consensus appears to be quite negative. This ad is turning stomachs all over the world.
Yesterday, I had 3,000 unique visitors which is the 2nd largest amt of site traffic I’ve ever had in a single day. It’s big.
UHOH trouble in paradise. Your article is mentioned but what is not mentioned, saying that this campaign is entirely student led is the fact that the website is registered to Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Inc.
http://www.shalomlife.com/eng/6416/Israelis_Prove_That_Size_Doesn't_Matter/
Oh dear, I see you replaced the Vimeo video with a youtube.
The campaign has a Facebook and they posted this on their wall 6 hrs ago
Size Doesn’t Matter After reaching more then 20,000 views, the video was removed from VIMEO for “explicit sexual content” I gues the success of a video will drive people to acts of desperation, they will try everything, but no worries, a new version will be up and runnig in just a few minutes!!6 hours ago · Comment · Like
Rebecca claims the campaign has no connection to CIJA
Well there certainly is a connection between CIJA and Rebecca.
She is the president of McMaster: Israel on Campus.
If you go to their website to the about link, it reads at the bottom:
McMaster Israel On Campus thanks the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) for their generous contribution, which made this website possible.
Now WHO is the McMaster, Israel on Campus website registered to?
Date Registered: 08/13/09
Date Modified: 11/20/09
Expiry Date: 08/13/10
DNS1: ns1.cherniaksoftware.com
DNS2: auth-dns1.mnsi.net
Registrant
Cherniak Software
Rebecca Cherniak
509-2001 Shepppard Ave E
Toronto, ON (CA)
M2J4Z8
So Rebecca herself is thanking CIJA for their generous contribution to her OWN website which just happens to be registered to her FAMILY’S business!
The Shalom Life article states:
“Rebecca Cherniak, coordinator of the campaign and chair of Israel affairs for the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students also confirms that Size Doesn’t Matter is an initiative strictly run by students, not by CIJA.”
Then can you please explain to me why the size doesn’t matter campaign is NOT on either the website of the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students website OR their Facebook as of 9:47 pm PST Tuesday?
Is this just a renegade operation she and a few others pulled off? Maybe? You have the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maya Kadosh stating that in a conversation with the consulate in Toronto “indicated that the Consulate had no part in the movie, did not initiate it and did not participate in its planning or its distribution.”
Methinks there is a WHOLE lot of embarrassment going around about this low life advertising campaign. OH, and their next video “goes from the office to the bedroom”
F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C, keep em comin’!! Because YOU Rebecca, represent in your own words which you have learned from all your hasbara training, “THE ENTIRE JEWISH PEOPLE” (caveat, do I believe her when she says this? HECK NO!)
Now, let me add in here in fairness, could there be a generation gap thing going on here? I’m just asking because she is very young and an AIR HEAD if she and her co-partners think this is the way to market ANY country.
No it’s not funny, yes it is absolutely tasteless, AND I don’t care how many people say Richard or any one else is an old fuddy dudd, it’s just plain CRUDE!
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doesn’t anyone notice the map shown of israel erroneously includes the west bank and gaza?! i guess the sexual innuendo did its job of distracting from that false advertising.
Yes I have mentioned it in another thread. The hasbarists do it all the time, it is not accidental by any means.
Mary,
I would be disappointed and embarrassed if the students in my university did not ‘table’ for at least one cause besides beer drinking or the cheerleading squad. And you should also note the difference between a country setting up propaganda networks and grassroots efforts (that might eventually hook up to some organization).
Given that, this campaign is quite disappointing and embarrassing especially if it is really affiliated with a real hasbara group (of grownups). I’ll give college students some leeway for their film projects, but personally think it’s dumb.
And if you anyone can’t show that it really is an Israeli Foreign Ministry thing, then I suggest you stop bashing Israel on this thread at least.
Josh, I can think of a million other good causes for which students can “table” besides for the purpose of supporting a regime which continues a brutal and illegal occupation, steals land, and starves people (among other collective punishments in violation of the Geneva Conventions).
I don’t care if this film project has anything to do with the Israeli Foreign Ministry, to be honest, but if would not surprise me if it does.
When Israel ceases its brutality and racism, I will be happy to stop “bashing it.” Thanks for the suggestion.
I wonder what country you live that does not practice brutality and racism.
That’s lame, Josh. There is no justification for brutality and racism wherever one lives.
There also aren’t a whole lot of other countries who set up propaganda tables at college campuses outside their own borders.
Hasbara 101
Rule #1: don’t let the other side claim Israel engages in immoral conduct without first pointing out all the other countries in the world which do. That’s shut ’em up for a few seconds at least!
Hasbara Rule #2: Get out of the discussion when it becomes obvious that they’re on to you.
so the way i see it is that if Israel became a Palestinian state then the Sunis and the other guys and the wasabis and the other guys would be all good mates and there would be no more terrorism and people would join hands and sing kum ba ya, and the islam guys wouldn’t hate the non believers and there would be world peace.
as no fan of Israeli People (they double dip and have lousy table manners) in the interest of world peace and not having to take my shoes off at the Airport, hand over the country.
You must write for Jon Stewart or Steven Colbert. Either that or you’re a certifiable lunatic. Either way, you’re fond of the sound of yr own wit which is paltry.
hey guys.
wow, just read in todays newspaper, they’ arrested 2 Palestinian guys in Dubai for the murder of that mean Maboud person! my Gawd…..isn’t that awsome!!!!!!! jews and palestinians working together. imagine, murderous mossad (that’s an illiteration, feel free to use it), and murderous palestinians, murdering other murdering palastinian guys. thats so kewl!!! who said that jews and palestinians cant cooperate together? evn Imadinnerjacket in Iran will be impressed by that!
I love it when the highest echelons of intellectual life post comments on this blog.
[comment deleted due to its moronic nature]
With people like that you have to admit that Darwin’s law of the Survival of the Fittest seems to have failed. “Wits” like this certainly have brains that are unfit & one wonders how their DNA even managed to get passed along to manifest itself here.
You ARE a total moron & a–hole. Thanks for making that clear before I ban yr ass. Where did you learn yr version of comedy? From Jackie Mason?
Now I stumbled upon this blog very much by accident – it is amazing what unrelated results google gets you when you’re looking for “is-it-kosher?”.
Anyway. I know I have a good chance of getting chewed up about this but yet I’ll go ahead. I find all the debating rather amusing really. I have never been one for politics, but this was informing as well as funny, just reading people having a go at each other about their oppinions.
The ad itself – I think it rather distasteful, but that is not for me to judge, not being Israeli. The comments on this page – that makes for some amusing and interesting reading. I will definitely be following this blog.