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Israel Prepares Post-War Battle for Public Opinion

Posted by Faiz Shakir, Think Progress at 10:02 AM on January 18, 2009.


Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said Israel is aiming to prevent an "over-dramatization of the facts."
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Earlier this month, NBC's war correspondent Richard Engel reported that Israel was waiting until Barack Obama's inauguration to let reporters into Gaza, when viewers "simply won't care." Yesterday, Israel declared its war with Gaza over, meaning reporters may now be allowed to enter the strip:

With the fighting over, foreign journalists and non-governmental organisations are expected to flood into the impoverished Palestinian territory to assess the damage from 22 days of massive bombing and shelling.

With this in mind, Israel is reportedly "readying a new offensive -- the battle for public opinion."

AFP reports Israel has begun compiling information to try to prove that many of the 4,000 residential buildings, 51 government buildings, and 20 mosques it hit during the offensive were legitimate targets used by Hamas militants. At least six Israeli ministers will be "fanning out to different countries to press home Israel's view of the conduct of the war." Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said Israel is aiming to prevent an "over-dramatization of the facts."

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Tagged as: war, israel, palestine, middle east, attacks, gaza, public opinion, ceasefire

Faiz Shakir is the Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Editor of ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report.


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Welcome to Israel
Posted by: weathered on Jan 18, 2009 10:29 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A political state by day, a religious state for tax purposes, an extradition-free refuge for its citizens who commit crimes elsewhere, but always, the exhausting, manipulating and misunderstood victim that demands to be treated as the exception and always at the expense of others.

Never again, will this the most selfish zipcode on Earth be trusted, ever!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

A crime and A Sin
Posted by: DrBrian on Jan 18, 2009 9:51 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Any attempt to portray Israel's putative response to Hamas's rockets as proportionate is irredeemably racist; 3 Israeli civilian casualties compared to probably more than 1000 Gazan civilian deaths and thousands of injuries implies that Israeli life is several orders of magnitude more valuable than Palestinian life.

The widespread use of white phosphorus on civilians, bombing of medical facilities, schools, shelters and private homes, and the herding of civilians into buildings that are then shelled or bombed cannot be justified. The lame tu quoque defense offered is neither morally nor legally valid.

Instead of contrition, we get defiance; instead of acknowledgment of the obvious, we get blatant lies; and instead of "never again," we get more threats.

Irrespective of one's religion, opinion of Hamas or Zionism, no one at even the lowest levels of Kohlberg's scale of moral development can justify this savagery. It's counterproductive, a crime and a sin.

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Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said Israel is aiming to prevent an "over-dramatization of the facts.
Posted by: chance garden on Jan 19, 2009 12:22 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Please before any prevention of "over-dramatization of the facts" occurs,...

..meaning before the Inner Party members have the Outer Party members at their stations working to:

UPSEND: OPERATION "CAST LEAD" DOCS.MURDERgaza MEM Hole NOW.END

DOWNSEND UPLOAD REVERT OPERATION: "Justifiable Cause"

Just EXACTLY what are the facts????

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No morals or mercy
Posted by: BarbW on Jan 19, 2009 3:48 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The deaths and destruction Israel caused because of a few, harmless rockets shows it has no morals or mercy.

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gathaiga
Posted by: gathaiga on Jan 19, 2009 8:56 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Nuke the SOB but spare the horse he rode in on.

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The Israeli Government, just like the Bush Junta...
Posted by: Quannah on Jan 19, 2009 10:42 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
believe that their policies aren't flawed, but rather, they need a better PR campaign to convince people they are right.

This is political hubris, plain and simple. Neither is dealing with reality.

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ZIONISM...
Posted by: spratling on Jan 19, 2009 10:45 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A PSYCHOTIC CULT!
Is it possible that this insane war crime was conducted pre-Obama's swearing in, believing that he would oppose such an action?

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Never Again
Posted by: rafey on Jan 19, 2009 2:19 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
After perpetrating a holocaust on those they forced to suffer following their blockade; after killing and maiming thousands of women and children ... where is there room for a defense? Are they as delusional as Bush?

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Sure looks delusional....
Posted by: chance garden on Jan 19, 2009 6:27 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Unless, of course, murder has lately found an audience..

..in any event, damage control at the least...now they just sit in their blinds and wait...wait...probably not too long, and poof!
An attack on israelis occurs...

...to falsely characterize to the world what beasts the Palestinians really are...yep. a gimmick...apparently to turn the tables on Hamas in the PR campaign

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