Debunking Israeli Propaganda
Does Israel have the right to defend itself? Does Israel have the right to exist?
“Hasbara”: Israel’s term for propaganda
Israel cares so much about public relations that they devised a term for it — “hasbara.” Now that the term has fallen out of favor, (for good reason) they’ve replaced it with a new term "toda’a" (תודעה), meaning “awareness” or “consciousness.”1
The poster below is an example of American Wartime propaganda.
Modern Israeli propaganda is much more sophisticated, so that Americans may not realize that its language and framing is a propagandist setup.
Constructing propaganda
In a video below, Paul, an Army combat veteran said, many of these propaganda phrases rely on conflating an uncontroversial term with a phrase that sounds compatible but is false or misleading. For Iraq, the US used a phony false choice — “you’re either with us or with the terrorists” — to smear those who opposed the Iraq War and created a “false choice” in which a (righteous) critic of the Iraq War was conflated with supporters of Saddam Hussein and the 911 high jackers.
Goal: Paralyzing the Opposition
“Information operations” are not designed to make logical or moral sense, but to paralyze the opposition or force opponents to spend resources refuting bogus rhetorical framing. In writing this article, I was forced to expend resources explaining the problems with Israeli propaganda to you. The very fact I devoted these resources shows that I had to at least pay my dues towards the Israel’s tactics.
But is my hope that a broader awareness of how reliant Israel is on manipulatory strategies, that leads a growing cross-partisan group to resist Israel’s impunity23 in the face of ethic cleansing, and genocide using many strategies, including false accusations of beheaded babies4 and mass rapes.5
Read 10 stories that debunk Isreali propaganda.
View “10 Stories that Debunk Israeli Propaganda” for more depth
My response to common hasbara lines:
1) “Israel has a right to defend itself.”
This propaganda phrase starts out sounding like an uncontroversial sentence, but once you agree to its framing, you implicitly grant Israel a blank check to do anything and call it “defense,” including killing journalists,6 and even starving a whole population of unarmed civilians.
Since Israel can’t defend their actions / policies
Paul, a retired Army Combat Veteran suggests that Israel knows that it can’t defend its actions in an open discussion, which is why, early on, “pro-Israeli” advocates made an example of tech conference organizer Patty Cosgrave, forcing him to apologize for speaking out against war crimes, even those committed by “allies.” Cosgrave was forced to resign from the tech conference he founded, chilling the speech7 of others with a platform, should they want to speaking out.
Listen to the full version of the video, which explains why Israel had to shut down the tech conference of a conference organizer who was outspoken against war crimes.
A right to “feed my family?”
(I know it is ironic to use this example, given the starvation in Gaza)
The practice of extending uncontroversial statements to defend the indefensible also has a precedent in sports. It’s like the NBA player Letrell Sprewell, a 2004 free agent. Sprewell insisted that he wouldn’t sign for less than $21 million dollars for 3 years, which was “real money” at the time. When asked why he insisted on such a steep contract, Sprewell responded “I’ve got to feed my family.”
Embedding the indefensible in the uncontroversial
Like the “right to defend one’s self”, we can all agree it is uncontroversial to have the right to “feed one’s family.”8 Who would deny a man the right to feed his family, unless what the man is devising is a pretext for a privilege that far exceeds the initial uncontroversial request.
2) “Israel has a right to exist.”
This is another deceptive propaganda line (or hasbara term) because it takes something that is uncontroversial (concern for Jewish safety and opposition to genocide) and implicitly allows the propagandists to smuggle a whole lot of potentially objectionable material into an unobjectionable-sounding “right.”
Do all countries have an inherent right to exist?
Does every state in the world have a right to exist, regardless of how it treats its public and neighbors? For example, does North Korea have the “right to exist?” What about Quebec, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, or 1980 South Africa? Do all have a right to exist even if they commit war crimes?
Individual Rights
The founders believed that all individuals — including all Jews — are endowed by their creator with natural rights, including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” But the American founders did not believe that countries had an inherent right to exist. Rather, countries must earn their “legitimacy,” based upon good behavior — protecting the natural rights of their people, obtaining the consent of the governed, and I’ll also add, not committing war crimes.
No, countries do not have an inherent right to exist, instead, they earn “legitimacy”
The founders believed that if a country was not “legitimate” — ie protecting everyone’s rights and earning the consent of the governed — the governed have a right of revolution. That’s not my view — I’m a Canadian Mennonite pacifist who does not support violence — but it is important for Americans to be able to recognize9 how their own tradition maps onto the situation in “Greater Israel.”
Avoiding false accusations
When faced with manipulative Israeli propaganda, most people acquiesce to the “right to exist” line of questioning because they are “agreeable” and no one wants their position to be smeared and misconstrued as threatening Jewish safety or sympathizing with Anti-Semitism or genocide.10 Fortunately, the public mood is shifting. Next, I’ll outline some of the ways that Israeli propaganda obscures the substance and policy.
Which Israel?
Notice that the statement leaves unsaid “what Israel” we are talking about. What are Israel’s borders or what will they be? Are we talking about the 1967 borders or ‘Greater Israel,” including the West Bank and Gaza? Are we talking about the new acquisitions in Syria, obtained through US support of Al Qaeda, through Syria leader Al Julani? Are we talking about the desired borders of Netanyahu’s cabinet members Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir? What about the borders of founding father David Ben-Gurien?11
Equal Rights?
Are all in the claimed area given equal rights?12 Can they choose to live anywhere in this country or are there restrictions on their housing? Do different groups of people have different colored ID cards?
Can everyone go anywhere in the country unmolested by humiliating and time-consuming checkpoints and drive on the all the roads?13
Martial Law in West Bank:
Do Palestinians in the West Bank live under the equivalent of martial law, where they can be arrested and detained without charge under “administrative detention”?
Can the police detain a different family member if the desired arrestee is not at home; and how much evidence is required to search a Palestinian home at night between 12 midnight and 5 am?
Tendency for “Domination”
Israel inspires the worst elements of the US deep state, which feel the need to dominate their neighbors and wage perpetual war. They seem to believe that their own safety requires overthrowing the government of any country14 that is not weak and subservient. Israel’s desired relationship with Iran would be for Iran to follow the path of Iraq, Libya or Syria15 — get overthrown by a coup for the purposes of weakening and dividing the country.
Israeli Extremism:
A government that respects everyone’s rights, and does not have aggressive and expansionary aims, could be considered “legitimate” by the American founders’ standards, but unfortunately much of Israel appears plagued with extremism.16
3) The World’s Most Moral Army?
One of the patterns I noticed when I used AI to analyze Israel’s rhetorical techniques is the “moral high horse” technique — Israel often takes a stance of posturing moral supremacy. “The World’s most moral army” is one example of this.
Questions:
Why does the Israeli army treat unarmed Palestinans as “human animals”?
Why are western journalists forbidden in Gaza & Al Jazera reporters deliberately killed?
While widely advertised as something that separates Israel from other countries, has Israel largely abandoned “roof knocking” in Gaza because it considers it inapplicable during “wartime?”
Why have feeding stations in Gaza been called “death traps”, leading Gazan hospitals to schedule their staffing based on the timing of the Gaza “Humanitarian” Foundation feeding stations schedule?
Why did Israeli soldiers ask former US Army Ranger Anthony Aguilar why they were feeding their enemy? What does this say about Israel’s commitment to feeding the unarmed civilian population?
Does Israel match or exceed the standards of the US Army for avoiding risk to civilians? US Army Combat Vet Paul reports that if he did what Israel did, he would be in jail.
Is it true that Doctor Nick Maynard reports that Israeli snipers compete to shoot the most of a civilian body part in one day, and Israel prohibits the entry of baby formula? One day they shoot heads, then chests, then stomachs, then testicles. In 2019, one Israeli sniper shot protesters at the weekly March of Great Return protest — 42 kneecaps of protesters17 in 1 day. The Israeli treatment of protesters makes it harder for pacifists like me to oppose those who call for opposing violence.
Was Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant wrong when he stated the policy of blocking food, water, and energy (including to civilians)? Would the US do that in 2025?
Why are there reports that doctors have lost 20-30 kg (44 -66 lbs)? Is that something one would expect if Israel wasn’t weaponizing the food supply?
Why destroy agricultural land, if Israel is not trying to weaponize food / starve Gazans?
4) What should be done?
Here are some ideas of what should be done. Add your own ideas in the comments / social media:
Israel must let unlimited food, water, baby formula, medicine, and energy into Gaza.18
Israel must let all outside journalists into all of Greater Israel. To do otherwise suggests consciousness of guilt.
The US and other countries must block arms exports until Israel is no longer committing war crimes.
US and other countries must honor the International Criminal Court warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, and Hamas Commander.
The US Congress must force AIPAC, etc to register under Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Next: 10 Stories that Debunk Israeli Propaganda
Videos and stories that address the issue in more depth
Footnotes
“Long referred to as hasbara, a term used to denote both public relations and propaganda that has been freighted with negative baggage in recent years, the ministry now brands its approach as toda’a — which translates to “awareness” or “consciousness”— an apparent shift toward broader, more proactive messaging.”
“After a month, deadly shootings near Gaza aid sites still a near-daily menace.” Nava Freiberg & and Jacob Magid, Times of Israel. June 26, 2025,
One of the pattens I see Israel (and US) at the forefront in is the breakdown of the rule of law. I’m concerned that if we don’t stop starvation / ethnic cleansing / genocide in Israel, when it involves a US ally, we will find it increasingly difficult to defend the basic standards of civilization in the future. Israel and the US seem to be normalizing bad behavior. I once thought “Never again!” meant “Never again for everyone”, but now some apparently only believe “Never Again” applies to Jews.
“Impunity” — An example: the allegation that the executive director of Israel’s National Cyber directorate, who was visiting Las Vegas, and is accused of attempting to solicit sex with a minor was allowed to leave the country. Perhaps he was actually innocent, but the idea that the rules do not apply to Israel is a common concern.
for more about Joe Biden’s repetition of claims of beheaded babies (he was actually told about these claims), See National Review’s report “Biden Appears to Back Up Reports of Hamas ‘Terrorists Beheading Children’”, Oct 11, 2023.
“Turns out the source of the “beheaded babies” canard is an extremist Israeli settler leader, David Ben Zion, who “has a history of calls to genocidal violence” & wiping out entire villages! He literally wishes to see Palestinians ethnically cleansed & the media is helping him!” the writer wrote on X on Wednesday afternoon, despite Biden’s earlier comments.
For more on accusations of mass rape, See #6 of 10 Stories that Debunk Israeli Propaganda.
Yes, I realize Israel has a standard playbook in which they call everyone “Hamas” or “Antisemitic”. These names they call critics are two of their magic “cheat codes.”
Video game cheat codes are special sequences of button presses, key combinations, or typed commands that trigger hidden or non-standard functions in a game. They can:
Give advantages — e.g., unlimited health, extra lives, infinite ammo, maxed-out resources.
Unlock hidden content — e.g., secret levels, alternate character skins, or developer test areas.
Change game physics or visuals — e.g., low-gravity mode, giant characters, or altered colors.
Bypass normal progression — e.g., skipping to later levels, unlocking all weapons immediately.
By using the “Hamas” and “AntiSemitism” cheat codes, they have been able to get immunity for virtually any offense. It is my hope that this playbook is becoming overexposed and less effective.
1. Legal and Government Threats
“Be careful what you say online—people have been arrested for less.”
→ Implies legal punishment for criticism, even if laws are vague.“We’re monitoring all posts about the government.”
→ Creates fear of surveillance, discouraging dissent.Threatening lawsuits for defamation or national security violations when someone criticizes officials or corporations.
2. Employer and Institutional Warnings
“Remember, what you say on social media could cost you your job.”
→ A veiled threat that employees may be fired for political opinions.“You wouldn’t want this to affect your promotion, would you?”
→ Chills workplace discussion on controversial issues.University policies that hint students could lose scholarships or face discipline if they speak out on political issues.
3. Social and Cultural Intimidation
“Careful—you’ll be labeled antisemitic / unpatriotic / racist if you say that.”
→ Uses stigma to silence discussion.“If you protest, don’t expect anyone to hire you afterward.”
→ Suggests permanent career harm for activism.“You’ll ruin your reputation if you bring that up.”
4. Police and Law Enforcement
“You don’t want to get in trouble for asking too many questions.”
→ Implies retaliation from authorities.“That’s borderline incitement—we could take you in for that.”
→ Vague suggestion of criminal liability chills protest speech.Visible surveillance (police filming protests) → even without action, deters people from participating.
5. Indirect Structural Chilling
Broad surveillance laws (e.g., data collection, facial recognition) cause people to avoid saying things they otherwise would.
Defamation laws in authoritarian or semi-authoritarian states: people avoid criticism of leaders altogether.
“Hostile environment” rules applied too broadly in schools or workplaces, causing avoidance of political or controversial discussion.
✅ The key to “chilling” speech is not the actual punishment itself, but the fear of punishment, retaliation, or stigma.
We can all agree on the right to feed one’s family except apparently Israeli “Defense” minister Yoav Gallant who stated the Israeli government’s policy:
“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed.”
“We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”
I sometimes ask myself how people from other countries would ask if they were in the same position as the Palestinians. How would the Aussies act? What about the French, the Russians, the British, or the Canadians? Somehow I don’t see the Americans as sticking solely to peaceful protests in the face of their treatment in the Great March of Return.
Notice that a desire to avoid being accused of sympathy with genocide by “cry-bullies” can lead to actual tolerance of ethnic cleansing and genocide
Ben-Gurion often said: “The State of Israel will have to see its borders as elastic.”
He did not insist on Biblical borders (like some later Zionist leaders did), but he believed Israel should seize and hold land when possible, especially for security reasons.
He consistently viewed borders in pragmatic terms: whatever the army could secure and hold was legitimate.
Most Americans would be shocked by the lack of rights Palestinian live with in the West Bank, which Trump donor Miriam Adelson has paid him a $100 million bribe/donation to annex the West bank.
Overthrowing 7. countries in 5 years: General Wesley Clark
In multiple interviews and speeches (notably a speech to the California Public Affairs (video no longer available), and a 2007 interview on Democracy Now), Wesley Clark recalled visiting the Pentagon in late 2001. He was shown a classified memo that outlined a plan for the U.S. to "take out" seven countries in five years:
Iraq
Syria
Lebanon
Libya
Somalia
Sudan
Iran
Clark said a Pentagon official told him: “We’re going to start with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finish off with Iran.”
Israel aims to mimic the Nazis in creating “Lebensraum“ by taking over land in Syria and Lebanon..
I realize one could easily also say that Hamas is extremist. I don’t endorse Hamas or October 7, but Israel’s actions are not popular with the American people. If it were up to the American people, the US would pressure changes in Israel, in addition to Hamas.
Would it be acceptable for the Gaza “Humanitarian” Foundation to make food plentiful, or must we accept civilain deprivation as a necessary side-effect of Israel’s campaign against Hamas, or does Israel view food insecurity as a feature for it to gain leverage against civilians it wants to ethnically cleanse through “voluntary migration”?