[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [HumanRights] Hasbara

Wed Jan 5 17:00:20 CST 2005

Below is an op-ed written by Mazin Qumsiyeh, whom we'd like to come to 
Urbana for enlightenment on the Palestinian perspective of what's 
occurring in the middle east. mkb

> ======
> http://www.qumsiyeh.org/hasbaraandrefugees/
>
> Listening and reading mainstream US media outlets creates the illusion 
> that the "peace process" between Israel and the Palestinians revolves 
> around "curbing the violence" and Palestinian "reforms." Devoid of any 
> self-reflection, the pundits ignore realities on the ground and 
> distort history in ways that try to deceive the US public to continue 
> the massive military and economic aid to Israel at the expense of US 
> public interests (in addition to its devastating impact on Israelis 
> and Palestinians).  Peace is lost in the so called peace process.
>
> There is a well orchestrtated and meticulous media campaign intended 
> to deceive the US public into continuing funding of Israeli apartheid 
> and ethnic cleansing of the native Palestinians. This is referred to 
> in Hebrew as Hasbara.  Hasbara makes sure few learn the true history 
> of Israeli leaders and how they sabotaged every International 
> initiative that could have brought peace with some semblance of 
> justice.  Hasbara makes sure few know that the price of fulfilment of 
> the dreams of Zionism was that two-thirds of the nine million native 
> Palestinains are now refugees or displaced people.  Hasbara suppresses 
> the history of the programs to drive them out and keep them out while 
> obfuscating reality with lies about who drove them out, why they are 
> not being allowed to return, and why International law can be ignored 
> in this case.  Hasbara makes sure few know that Zionist leaders 
> collaborated, funded, aided and abetted some of the worst regimes in 
> human history
> from African despots to South American junta totalitarian leaders (see 
> also Lenni Brenner's "51 documents: history of the Nazi-Zionist 
> Collaboration").  Hasbara makes sure few know about such scandals as 
> the Lavon Affair (Israeli agents planting bombs at US interests and 
> blaming them on Egyptians), the scandalous efforts to get Jews scared 
> to leave Iraq and other countries, and the Zionist movements success 
> in breaking the boycott on Nazi Germany.   Hasbara makes sure few know 
> about Israel's violations of the UN charter and countless UN 
> resolutions.  Hasbara makes sure few know that Israeli laws 
> discriminate based on religion (for example, giving a "right of
> citizenship" to any Jew including converts coming from any part of the 
> world while denying citizenship to non-Jews who are native 
> Palestinians driven out to make space for Jewish colonials/settlers). 
> Hasbara makes sure few know about Israel's role in getting the US into 
> Iraq (just read the neo-con literature of 1997 such as the writing of 
> the Zionist Richard Perle).  Hasbara makes sure few know that Amnesty 
> International criticized the Oslo peace process for ignoring human
> rights (including rights of refugees to return to their homes and 
> lands).  And Hasbara makes sure few know that the latest "road map to 
> peace" (in a long string of such documents) is 2221 words but lacks 
> four key ones: human rights, International law.
>
> Occasionally cracks appear in this Hasbara campaign. Dov Weisglass is 
> Ariel Sharon’s senior adviser and one of the initiators of Sharon’s 
> much talked about disengagement plan that entails proposed evacuation 
> of some minor settlements; this was called by the Bush administration
> as a great gesture of peace.  In an interview with Ha’aretz, Weisglass 
> was quoted as stating that: “The significance of the disengagement 
> plan is the freezing of the peace process.  And when you freeze that 
> process, you prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and you
> prevent a discussion on the refugees, the borders and Jerusalem. 
> Effectively, this whole package called the Palestinian state, with all 
> that it entails, has been removed indefinitely from our agenda”
> (Ha’aretz, 6 October 2004).
>
> Today Hasbara is in full steam to smear the victims as terrorists and 
> smear refugees who simply want to return to their homes and lands as 
> evil people who want to "destroy Israel." Where else in the world one 
> find arguments against return of refugees based on changing the 
> religious (in this case "Jewish") character of the state.
>
> Reconciliation/coexistance in the Land of Canaan (Israel/Palestine) is 
> not only possible but is beneficial to all concerned.  But 
> reconciliation cannot begin when the original and ongoing injustice
> done to the native inhabitants is hidden.  The Hasbara campaign to 
> villify the victims must be challenged.   A truth and reconciliation 
> commission was possible in South Africa after the dismantlement of the 
> apartheid system after intense international pressure of boycotts and
> divestments.  Similar boycotts and divestments from Israel and 
> companies that do business in Israel has already started and is 
> spreading rapidly on campuses, in civic groups, and in churches.  It
> will be a bit more difficult than in South Africa because Israeli 
> apologists have garnered vast resources for Hasbara.  And while the US 
> government did support Apartheid South Africa for many years, it was 
> never at the level this government supports neoApartheid Israel (now 
> nearly $5 billion annually in direct and indirect aid).  The truth 
> ofcourse is hard to conceal (and we now have the internet to spread 
> it).  Like in other such situations the freedom given by the truth 
> leads to grassroot action for justice and hence lights the way to 
> peace.
>
> Mazin Qumsiyeh
> http://qumsiyeh.org
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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