A common ad slogan a few years back for U.S. Army recruitment was: “the Army needs of few good men.” The IDF doesn’t care if you’re a man or you’re good, but they do want you if you’re capable of hacking for hasbara. This is one of those delightful stories that come along, oh, maybe once in a…week…making Israel advocacy look even lamer than it already is:
IDF Spokesman Avi Benayahu said Tuesday that the army is currently in the process of enlisting “new media fighters”.
Benayahu told a panel on the subject of “the digital medium as strategic weapon” that the army was searching for “little hackers who were born and raised online“.
“We screen them with special care and train them to serve the state,” the spokesman told the panel, which was part of the Herzliya Conference.
…”We cannot but be impressed at how Western technology harms regimes at the other end of the spectrum, such as Iran, or at how one cell phone camera can harm a regime more than any intelligence agency’s operations,” he said.
You’d be pardoned if you confused the sentence about training the “little hackers” with a description of how to train K-9 dogs to serve in the IDF. Perhaps there’s not much difference? Regarding online hasbara being a “strategic weapon,” you have to wonder if he’s confusing Israel’s nuclear arsenal with the hasbara hackers he hopes to recruit. Can such an individual really be worth a nuclear weapon in this age of Facebook-inspired political revolutions?
What little fat man (Haaretz characterizes him as having “distinctive girth”) Benayahu forgets is that social networking only works for your cause when you have right on your side as the youth of Tunisia and Egypt did and do. If all you’re selling is the same old recycled swill, nobody’d gonna buy it no matter how you disguise it.
In the final paragraph above, Benayahu seems to be forgetting that Western technology may harm not just Israel’s enemies like Iran, but also Israel itself. That Facebook and Twitter, once used to liberate Egypt from the yoke of tyranny might just do the same for the Palestinians.
Israel’s hasbara operation seems premised on the notion that there’s a way to trick, or lull, or persuade people into supporting Israel. But there isn’t. The argument doesn’t resonate when you’re arguing against facts and reality, at least as the majority of the rest of the world see it. Sure, you can persuade yourself and your narrow band of supporters. But that’s not why you go online to advocate for your cause. You attempt to broaden your support.
Another interesting element of this effort is that it is entirely defensive in nature. It will defend Israeli policy. It will explain why Israel behaves so badly so often. It will fend off a revolution, not advance one. It won’t advocate for new ideas, political reform, freedom or anything like what other social movements do online. This hasbara effort is couched in the negative and I don’t believe this can work on Facebook and Twitter. You have to represent a vision, something positive, constructive, that will capture peoples’ imaginations. Can hasbara do that?
Benayahu reveals that Bibi Netanyahu is going to pay $1.6 million to recruit and train 120 of the “little hackers.” If he paid that money as reparations to Turkey he’d regain a former ally and produce far better results than 1,000 hackers could.
The Ynet article closes with a priceless quote from one of the IDF’s “little hackers” herself, Aliza:
Aliza, a lone soldier from the US, explained about the new unit at the IDF Spokesperson’s Office. “We began to work with new media during Operation Cast Lead. Bloggers are very important and very influential,” she said.
She certainly wasn’t talking about this blogger.
If you have a really dark sense of humor as I sometimes do on this subject, you may get as good a laugh out of this as I did:
“This is about the democratization of information, and about the fact that you cannot stuff information down people’s throats but you can make it more palatable.”
Aliza said the office’s YouTube channel is currently its most successful venture. “Photos catch the eye and constitute visual proof that is better than words,” she said, adding that IDF footage from the flotilla raid became the most-watched videos online and affected “media reports in the world as well as online debates”.
The notion that IDF videos of the Mavi Marmara massacre constitute “visual proof” of anything is simply beyond belief and beyond words. Who does she think she persuaded? What does she think the world thinks of that disaster? That everyone’s now straightened out, understands and accepts Israel’s narrative?
Another delightful note to add to this, is that the very same IDF fat man, Benayahu told the media that he was recently forced to travel to Britain incognito to prevent nasty disturbances against him and presumably a war crimes warrant for his arrest. I can’t imagine how someone with as big and ugly a mug as he could think he could disguise himself. And he certainly won’t the next time he tries this.
What’s even funnier about this guy is that though he’s the IDF’s top spokesperson he’s never fired a shot in his life and his army rank of Brigadier General is entirely honorary. Frankly, I’ve never heard of someone employed by an army holding a rank he never earned. And can you someone this overweight ever have marched a step in his life? Frankly, I think part of his hasbara regime should be going on a diet. He’d make a more convincing spokesperson if he didn’t look like a shlub.
“The notion that IDF videos of the Mavi Marmara massacre constitute “visual proof” of anything is simply beyond belief and beyond words”.
Be careful, Richard, some of your Israeli posters might feel personally aimed at.
I freely and proudly admit to being beyond belief and beyond words. To me there is “visual proof” that not all the right is on one side, and that many of the Marmari passengers were not non-violent demonstrators.
Here we go again. There is no requirement for citizens of a foreign state to act non-violently when they are attacked by Israeli armed forces in international waters.
*The U.S. State Department explains that blockades have historically resulted in belligerent recognition of statehood, because they are “a weapon of war between sovereign states.” http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1861_timeline/prevent_confederacy.html That means neutral countries can deal with Hamas as a independent State with all the rights and duties regarding the laws of war and commerce. Those laws prohibit the use of blockades that attempt to starve a civilian population for any reason or that inflict disproportionate damage or suffering on them as a form of collective punishment.
*Wikileaks recently revealed that Israel’s Military Intelligence Director, Amos Yadlin, said that Israel would be “happy” if Hamas took over Gaza because the IDF could then deal with Gaza as a HOSTILE STATE. (emphasis added) http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2007/06/07TELAVIV1733.html
The Restatement (Third) of The Foreign Relations Law of the United States § 201.(h) says “Determination of Statehood. Whether or not an entity satisfies the requirement for statehood is determined by other states when they decide whether to treat that entity as a state.
According to the Washington Post and many other sources the government of Israel maintained that it was clearly within its rights to stop the aid flotilla, saying “any state has the right to blockade ANOTHER STATE in the midst of an armed conflict.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/01/AR2010060102934.html
Every state has the customary right of self-defense during an armed conflict, not just the Israelis. There were no Israeli flagged ships in the flotilla. The customary rule of international law states that the first and foremost restriction imposed by international law upon a State is that – failing the existence of a permissive rule to the contrary- it may not exercise its power in any form in the territory of another State. See Article 2(4) of the UN Charter http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml and the Permanent Court of International Justice ruling in Case of the S.S. “Lotus” (France v. Turkey), PCIJ Series A, No. 10, at p. 18 (1927) http://www.icj-cij.org/pcij/serie_A/A_10/30_Lotus_Arret.pdf
@Shmuel:
You certainly are beyond belief and beyond words. The videos were clearly faked, using some IDF training footage spliced with footage showing peaceful Israeli commandos descending from helicopters. No passenger on board the Mavi Marmara or any other flotilla boat was armed. When attacked with lethal force, a few picked up whatever was available in order to protect themselves and their families from pirates who had already murdered some passengers and were clearly capable to continuing the massacre. If Israel had nothing to hide, why did it confiscate all the cameras, photographs and video records of the unprovoked attack on boats well inside international waters?
Western public opinion can be manipulated easily. See how American thinks that starbacks is selling coffee, not to say that they think it is good coffee.
Like branding and exporting a typical Palestinian or more largely Middle Eastern dish as “Israeli salad”, not to talk about the hummus, tahineh and the falafel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_salad
Don’t get too upset about this, “French fries” have nothing to do with France, “English tea” comes from Sri Lanka, and China crockery comes from Holland.
Israel is Mediterranean so eats Mediterranean food. If Israelis called Polish food Israeli then I’d start getting worried that they don’t belong.
Anyway I seem to remember that a large percentage of Israelis are Palestinian by origin, so obviously these are now indiginous national Israeli foods.
Were it to be called “Jewish salad” you might have a point.
Come on, Shmuel. “French fries” might have nothing to do with France, such as what is called “Macedonian salad” in French is called “Italian salad” elsewhere, but we’re talking of a state being established on other people’s land, and not only was the majority of the natives expulsed but their food was ‘nationalized’ too.
Every time I go to my local supermarket I see tahineh and hummus, branded as an “Israeli speciality” and I feel like crying. After the Jaffa oranges, and the Carmel, now the Palestinian salad. Don’t you understand that ?
Political, military and gastronomic hasbara 🙁
If it’s any consolation, in Israel the salad is invariably called “Arab Salad” on menus. I’ve never come across the term “Israeli Salad” in Hebrew.
I really don’t believe there was ever an attempt to nationalize the Palestinian\Arab cuisine, but it is simply a business and tourist way of promotion. There is no Hebrew word for hummous, falafel, tehina, etc and I don’t think any Israeli denies the Arab origins of hummous or falafel, and every Israeli knows that for “real” hummous you go to Abu Gosh or the Arab suq rather than McDonalds.
I’m truly sorry (not cynically) if this particular thing is so heart rending for you, but I don’t think there is any malice in this one.
Well, you’re doing your job as a defense attorney for the state of Israel 😉
Abroad, and particularly in NY, it’s invariably branded as the ‘Israeli salad’. Try google it.
It’s not the name itself, but paraphrasing Mahmoud Darwish “the Arab salad as a metaphor” (of dispossession).
Gastronomic Hasbara as the rest of it is for export.
If you ever get the occasion to see “Jaffa, the Orange Clockwork” by Eyal Sivan (it’s on the net in French, maybe it’s there in Hebrew too), a documentary on the Israeli-Arab conflict based on the history of the Jaffa orange, you’ll see, there’s nothing casual about the taking over of Palestinian cultural heritage.
You have a minor point. Starbucks is truly awful coffee & I never drink it. But Starbucks media campaigns are light years beyond the IDF & they actually sell a product that millions want to buy. I can’t say the same about the IDF.
BTW your use the guy physical appearance degrades you not him.
I agree that it’s a blow below the belt to mock his physical appearance, but it is strange to put someone so unpleasent in appearence as your window model.
I often thought that one of the reasons that the peace talks took so long over the years, and the Western world’s reluctance to recognise the Palestinian’s rights was partly due to Arafat’s unpleasent appearence.
I don’t think it’s coincidence that all American Presidents are poster-boys since the visual media revolution.
I’ve just patted myself on the back for never having remarked on Jennifer Rubin primitive appearance, nor the girth & general unattractiveness of Robert Kagan and David Makovsky.
Apparently Haim Saban is very careful about his diet & appearance. Maybe he’ll require that his minions shape up as well?
If you know anything about this shlub you’ll know he degrades himself the moment you see him on screen or he opens his mouth.
The US military obviously disagrees. The services involuntarily discharge individuals for failure to maintain their weight and fitness in accordance with the applicable published standards.
And this guy isn’t even officially military. He has an honorary rank! Can you imagine the US Army’s chief spokesperson wearing a uniform, having the rank of Brig. Gen., yet not actually being an officer at all?? It’s preposterous.
Benihayu, regardless of your disrespectful attempts to degrade him, is “official military”. While his rank was not attained through the ordinary course of army progression – he is currently a fully pledged officer, whether you approve of his weight or not.
Being an officer in the IDF, protecting Israel, is far a more respectful job than sitting behind a desk and typing blog posts against Israel and its people.
Itai
Major in the IDF’s reserve
Frankly, I don’t know what the “ordinary course of army progression” means. I assume it means that for every 100,000 officers there may be a single Benayahu who receives an honorary appointment or whatever you wish to call it. The truth is that he has never attended the officer course or any other form of officer training & so he’s an officer in name only. The IDF is cashing in on his contacts & rewards him with an honorific.
Being an IDF officer is a “respectful job?” Tell it to the people of Gaza & Lebanon. Tell it to the millions of Israelis betrayed by Ashkenazi’s profound disrespect to his own uniform & country by his self-serving venality. Oh & btw, who was the IDF sycophant who served as Ashkenazi’s lapdog through all this? Benayahu. Benayahu who served a man (the chief of staff) instead of the IDF and the uniform he wore. Both betrayed their uniforms & yet you flack for them.
Would you mind how someone whose e mail includes “Dave Kritz” can sign himself “Itai, major in the IDF reserves?”
You wanna talk about respect? I have respect for the Israel and its people who are working courageously against the horrors perpetrated by majors like you in the IDF. And there are tens of thousands of those peace activists & others working for peaceful co-existence. That’s my Israel. And it’s an Israel just as real and important as any you represent. And if you dare to claim at any point in the future that I am against Israel & its people you’ll be outa here so fast your head will spin. And before you type another word into a comment box here you go read the comment rules & you follow ’em. Consider yrself on notice.
http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/2011/02/0409.htm
Israel is displaying true genius in its use of its technology –corporations and governments around the world will be so eager do business with Brand Israel once more people are aware that Israel will hack or infect or include spy doors in Israel Brand systems.
way to demonstrate to the world what a swell buncha people have their technology in your multibillion dollar industry.
i was repulsed reading your description of Benyahous physical attributes. You were so offended when someone referred to you as old, probably after googling your picture. that was really low uncalled for, and disrespect you.
Hey, you know what? Benayahu makes me sick. I’m sorry it offends you but I find him morally repulsive as well as disgusting in other ways as well. He deserves every measure of opprobrium one can muster & I mustered far more that were factual & objective than the subjective ones of which you disapprove. Focus on that & rebut those if you dare. You’re using my insults of his girth as a sideshow to distract fr. the main pts of the lunacy of what he’s trying to do & how he’s going about doing it.
BTW, Eretz Nehederet uses such caricatures in virtually every performance & I bet you don’t hesitate to laugh at its portrayals. I usually keep away fr. comments on people’s physical appearance but Benayahu cries out for it. He’s a caricature of himself. And the fact that the IDF has elevated this buffoon to a position of honor & responsibility speaks volumes of about it & him.
Defending your behavior you are adding a sin to a crime ( חטא על פשע) your critique of Benyahou may be in place but when you chose to go to such a low level your critique looses its validity.
I refuse to discuss this issue further – as a protest.
This is precisely what I was pointing to in my earlier reply to you. Instead of dealing w. real issues you pout & distract fr. them. You speak about my satirical description of Benayahu in moral-halachic terms while ignoring the far more significant moral breaches which the big guy is defending using every lie at his command. If Benayahu wants to go on a diet & start shilling for Weightwatchers or Jenny Craig (he’s essentially a PR flack–his real profession–dressed up in uniform) I’ll stop makin’ cracks about his girth. But until he does that I’ll allow myself to use the weapons of political satire to skewer my subject.
And btw, I expect to hear no sounds of mirth in the IlanP household on nights when Eretz Nehederet airs and a politician or other public figure is similarly lampooned for being fat. I’m sure you’re far too serious to stoop so low as to think this might be funny.
Don’t act dense. You are not, so don’t make a fool out of yourself.
Your statement didn’t resemble a satire, and that’s why you had more then one comment condemning it.
a person with integrity would have apologized and moved on. you dig your foot in the sound and try what ever maneuver do defend your despicable attack. which as you were told is a testimony to your character and not to his.
Sure it was satire. What do you call it? If you don’t consider it satire it may be because Benayahu is your ox and you don’t like him gored. But if you look up the word in the dictionary you’ll find that the phrases I used are certainly satiric. Those who criticized my references to his girth either support what he represents or don’t really understand the role he plays in defending the IDF and its worst acts.
Sorry, but you will fail in attempting to deflect attention fr. Benayahu’s bad character and deflect this to discuss mine.
“Despicable attack?” Gimme a break. OK, that’s it. We’re done with the subject. Move on.
The designation “little hackers” suggests something entirely different than the hordes of online hasbaristas already at work.
True, that’s called trolling, not hacking.
Two things, here, that the Israeli military should learn from the US:
– Hacking, meaning unauthorized entry into a system to disrupt it, can easily be used against Israeli targets, as Richard mentions. The computer industry improves security all the time, so this seems useless as a weapon against non-Israelis, and would wave a flag saying, “here! hit me” to all the rogues in the world. There are many.
– Planting stories on websites is, for good reason, contrary to US military doctrine. Both unconstitutional and probably contrary to the US Code of Military Justice. Why?
(a) The Constitution and US ttradition says that the military stays out of politics. The military does not try to influence publc opinion. (What if fewer Israeli generals ran for office?) Is Mubarak’s Egypt a good model?
(b) A sailor at GTMO was ordered to prowl websites to give a true account of conditions at the US detention center. Even though he might have been more accurate, people traced him back to a military net and IP address. He was verbally kicked by his superiors, and the military had to apologize.
The truth will come out, and Israel will look bad. Again.
Richard, your derogatory remarks about the poor guy’s looks don’t add much to this otherwise very interesting story.
I wonder what he means by LITTLE hackers. Are they going to recruit and train children or teenagers? If so, this may be qualified as military use of children and may be in violation of international law. So I guess he must be talking about 18-year-old army recruits.
Secondly, what does he mean by HACKERS? Is he talking about training computer security experts who will break into computer systems, plant viruses and engage in other sorts of illegal activities? This is what the word hacker suggests to me, and in that case this is a very embarrassing story for the IDF. Or is it about digital and social media experts who will write propaganda blogs, chain emails, and engage in social network activities to promote the IDF standpoint? In that case, one does not need to be a hacker or to be “born and raised online”. The use of the word hacker would in fact be ridiculous in that context.
I’m sorry about the low blows about his looks. Perhaps if you heard him speak you might have more sympathy for my portrayal. The guy is simply a buffoon in almost every sense of the world.
I don’t think he really has a clue about internet terminology. So yes, he doesn’t understand what a hacker really is & thinks it’s someone who will engage in social network battle on behalf of the IDF & State. So his usage, as you said, is ridiculous. He probably meant to use a term like computer “nerd” or “geek.” Those would’ve been more apt.
With that I can agree.
I don’t like the man, wouldn’t like him near me or my children.
He may have been chosen for the job, because of the way he knows how to manipulate the press.
I saw Avi Benyahu at an ice cream place next to the Kirya gorging himself following a protest against the IOF’s murder of Youssef Amira, a child, in Ni’lin. This dude is the ultimate twit – the photo Richard used was relatively tasteful, given his usual appearance. The guy was being shadowed by an attractive female underling who totally failed to stop a large group of activists from surrounding his girth and questioning him regarding the murder. His only response was “no response” *eats more ice cream*.
Richard’s distaste for the man is totally within reason.
I support Israel and also enjoy an occasional ice-cream cone. Does that make me a “twit”?