Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of hasbara (which translates roughly to “explaining”), a key component of Israel’s public relations strategy.
Hasbara
The Latest
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News Israel’s antisemitism envoy urges American Jews to fight in the war for public opinion
Michal Cotler-Wunsh called Israel's release of images of victims slain by Hamas an 'Emmett Till' moment for the Jewish state
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Opinion These Hasbara Tours Bribe Jews To Be Pro-Israel And Make Birthright Seem Lefty
Last week, J Street U, the campus arm of J Street, wrapped up its inaugural free trip to Israel for Jewish college students. The “Let My People Know” trip was conceived as a response to protests against Birthright, which does not include meetings with Palestinians on its trips, or discussions about the occupation. While the…
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Opinion Why Is The Pro-Israel Right So Threatened By Black Jews?
One of the responses to the horrific massacre of 11 praying Jews this fall was a call for more firearms in synagogues. From Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams to New York State Assemblyman Dov Hilkind to President Trump himself, many called for an increased presence of armed guards at Jewish places of worship. But not…
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Letters No, American Zionism Is Not Apathetic
Last month on the pages of The Forward I claimed the right to be a liberal Zionist in America, one who feels a deep connection with Israel, one who continues to envision a democratic Jewish state that exists alongside a free and independent Palestine — but also one who recognizes that a half-century after the…
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Opinion Why Do People Care More About Adelson’s Money Than The Lives Of Palestinians?
Over the past three weeks, 13 Birthright participants decided to walk off their Birthright trips, causing quite a stir. The walk-offs happened on three different trips, but all for the same reason. After repeatedly asking questions about the material they were being presented and then receiving whitewashed answers about Israel’s military rule over Palestinians, or…
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Opinion Walking Out On Birthright Was The Right Thing To Do
Last week, five participants of Birthright walked out on the program and straight onto a tour of the segregated city of Hebron with IDF veterans from Breaking the Silence, where they saw what Birthright desperately tried to hide. They saw the checkpoints, the streets Palestinians aren’t allowed to walk on and the caged windows that…
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Fast Forward After Gaza Deaths, Israeli Leaders Are Asking Where Their PR Went Wrong
JERUSALEM (JTA) — When the smoke from the rifles of Israeli sharpshooters and the firebombs thrown by Gaza Palestinians cleared in the wake of the Palestinian March of Return, there were at least 15 Palestinians dead and hundreds of protesters injured. Israel, meanwhile, had a huge PR mess. Israeli troops “overreacted” Friday in confronting thousands…
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Opinion Michael Oren’s Conspiratorial Hasbara Is More Common Than You Think
We’re living in an age hospitable to conspiracy theories. Surely everyone knows someone with these tendencies. Maybe it’s your wacky uncle who believes the pyramids were really built by aliens, or the taxi driver who takes the opportunity to explain how the entire world is really controlled by a cabal of seven Jewish families. Or…
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