Hasbara 2.0: New media and the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict

• In Event: Media, Activism and the New Political: Inter-Asian Perspectives

Abstract

At the outset of the Second Intifada (2000) the internet began to play a key role in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Cyberspace visibly strengthened Palestinian liberation politics as a counter-public space, particularly in widening international solidarity. However, the response by Israel in recent years confirms that the internet is not only the space of counter-hegemonic dissidence. This paper investigates the Israeli public diplomacy campaign known as ‘hasbara’ and especially the online variant thereof, Hasbara 2.0. The importance of online propaganda grew tremendously since the 2008/9 war on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead) as indicated by the enormous increase of state subsidies and collaborations between the army and PR diplomats. This paper explores how hasbara operates as part of the wider cyber warfare developments, it argues that Israel's reputation as a 'Start Up Nation' cannot be understood without its experience in the field of technological warfare of which hasbara is a spin-off. Moreover, this techno-military expertise is itself a form of mediated 'Branding' used in many hasbara media campaigns.

Author

• Miriyam Aouragh, U of Westminster