This is 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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Opinion Campaign To Sell Israel With ‘Hotties’ Reaches New Low
I am not a fan of The Israel Project (TIP) for the simple reason that it suffers from the same delusion that plagues FOX News: the one where you claim to be a “,” but do all you can to misdirect any criticism that might challenge your prejudices and lead to real, lasting dialogue. In…
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Fast Forward How Israel Sells Itself With Sex
Some people visit Israel for the holy sites. Some visit Israel as a political statement. Some visit Israel because they think Israelis are “hot.” Disagree? Well, the Israeli Tourism Ministry and City of Tel Aviv do not. Recently, Israel’s economic capital held a Winter Gay Festival advertised using not just a sand-snowman, but also posters…
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Opinion To Reach Diaspora, Make Israel Welcoming to All Jews
I am always delighted by the Sukkot tradition of ushpizin. We invite guests, ceremonially and literally, into our homes to celebrate the spirit of Jewish hospitality — a central theme of this festival. This year, I challenge Israel and world Jewry to ask themselves a question: How big is our people’s sukkah? This question came…
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Opinion Feel-Good Stories Obscure Ugly Mideast Truths
The Israeli government invests considerable effort in promoting its image in the foreign media. It’s called “hasbara,” which comes from the Hebrew root “to explain.” Israelis tend to be patriotic, with many believing their country is unfairly vilified in the foreign media. And so they embrace hasbara as a legitimate corrective measure. But for critics…
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Opinion When Israel’s Help for Injured Syrian Children Is More Than Craven Hasbara
If you look at Israel and see only the occupation, any news in which Israelis come off positively is nothing but distraction, spin or — to use that vilified Israeli term — hasbara. This is an understandable sort of cynicism, even for those of us who are not of the BDS left. After all, Israel…
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Life Is Free Really the Way To Go?
At around this time of year the Tel Aviv beaches are filled with foreigners, hotels are booked to the last room, and thousands are floating their troubles away at the Dead Sea. Many programs have brought Jews, specifically those of college age, to Israel. The most popular of these programs, of course, is the Taglit-Birthright…
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Opinion A Piece of Hasbara Aimed at Alienating Me
Usually when another blogger sufficiently channels my own anger about something that has me piqued, I tend to just try and let it go and give them the last word. And that was my first reaction this morning when I read, with increasing agitation, Jeffrey Goldberg’s post about a new Israeli ad campaign targeted at…
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News Touro Under Scrutiny Over Israel Class
Touro College, a New York-based Jewish university, came under pointed questioning by curriculum experts after the Forward revealed that it granted academic credits for an online course put together by a pro-Israel advocacy group. Touro offered students credit for taking Israel Inside/Out, an online class cobbled together with materials like interviews with pro-Israel activists and…
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Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
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Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
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Fast Forward Hanukkah shooting leaves at least 15 dead at Australia’s most popular beach
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Fast Forward After MIT professor’s killing, Jewish influencers spread unverified antisemitism claim
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