How come it is a big deal when Russia does hasbara but not when Israel does it?
* The sad part was getting my vaguely not exactly entirely pro-Israel comments deleted multiple times from Instapundit multiple times because they weren’t sufficiently deferential to the Tribe. It was an article about the S.S. St Louis in which the author slammed FDR for not taking in a handful of boat people 76 years ago while conveniently not noticing that Israel ain’t exactly taking in a lot of boat people today.
* The passengers on the St Louis were fleeing a country — Germany — that was determined to kill every last one of them. African migrants into Israel are hardly in that situation. At most, they’re escaping home countries that have a lot of violent chaos and random murder, and in any case once they reach Israel they’ve crossed through at least one more country (Egypt and possibly Sudan too) so technically they’ve already escaped their home country.
As it happens, back in the 70s and 80s Israel took in a fair number of Vietnamese boat people (not Jewish, in case you’re wondering), who really were refugees in a meaningful sense.
* Google the column by Phyllis Chesler. It is brazenly dishonest in every respect. She falsely reports the number of St. Louis passengers who died in the Holocaust and claims that only some of them were accepted by other countries. She does not mention that the passengers did not seek refuge in the Dominican Republic, despite that countries offer to accept 100,000 Jewish refugees (must have been afraid of vibrant Dominican neighborhoods).
Her article mentions both boat people and the current situation in the Middle East, but does not mention that Israel ain’t taking in a single goddamned one of them, while viciously criticizing FDR and America for not taking in a few Jewish refugees 76 years ago. She attacks American anti-Semitism but mentions the Syrian Jewish community in New York without noting their viciously racist practices which Steve has posted on over the years. She insinuates that American immigration policies of yesteryear were racist without mentioning how rich, corrupt Jews have used their money and influence to secure favorable immigration rights for themselves – see the Cremieux Decree, the Lautenberg Amendment, etc., etc.
I fail to see how the current situation isn’t relevant. We didn’t have any better information regarding the dangers to Germany’s Jews back in 1939 than we have on today’s refugees, and Israel has as much moral obligation as Europe to take them in.
* Aren’t the governments’ hasbara/agitprop efforts similar to what the corporation do to “maintain presence online”? I.e. essentially opening a website and asking people to “like us on Facebook” or “follow us on Twitter”? I think the same “social media director” types would be in charge of both efforts.
* Far more useful to control the media outlet itself than a few comments underneath. However clearly the presence of a few dissenting opinions seems to terrify the media gatekeepers.
* To tie this theme with the Bruce Jenner story: the Russian Wikipedia article on Bruce Jenner uses male pronouns and other grammatical forms (conjugation of verbs, declination of nouns and adjectives) throughout, and refers to him as “Bruce”. The Hebrew page has changed its name to “Caitlin”, but within the article all pronouns and other grammar are masculine forms. (In both Russian and Hebrew, it’s impossible to go on for more than a few words without implying something about gender. All past tense verb forms have a gender, just for starters.)
* Israel spends money on Hasbara not because blog comments change a lot of minds but because all the real mind-shaping instruments – big Western media companies – are already pro-Israel. Blog presence is mopping up after the big battle.
I’m sure that an oligarch connected to the Kremlin would not be able to buy a big Western media company for any price. Western elites only pretend to be capitalist. Ideology always trumps profit with them. So Russia isn’t really a participant in the big media battles in the West. I don’t think my cable company even carries RT. Is Russia a participant in the nearly-irrelevant blog comment skirmishes?
* A thriving volunteer thought police doesn’t preclude the existence of a paid thought police. Online trolling is part of modern psy-ops. I see no reason some government agency does not engage in hasbara.
* Eh, I’d post pro-Putin comments for money. How do I apply?
* Where is all this supposed pro-Putin troll propaganda at? I don’t see any. Most commenters who defend his actions are doing so in response to the tidal wave of absurd anti-Putin propaganda that’s been inundating the public and the defenses have been somewhat tepid and measured. There’s little need for Russian propaganda to undercut the American homestead when all these lefty-liberal sites run by our own citizens are doing such a good job along with media and government elites who are busy engineering demographic disaster. Same with Netanyahu, most defenders seem to be pro-Zionists who are quick to jump on any criticism anywhere and are voluntary. The actual paid professional trolls employed by the various governments pale in comparison to the high ground held by the mainstream media who create a cultural environment of Jenner & Kardashian 24/7 along with spreading fear and moral panics along with jingoism.
* One ray of hope for me is that the Kremlin has backed Marine Le Pen in France rhetorically. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they’re backing her financially. The Kremlin sees itself hammered by Western governments, so when it notices someone in a Western country putting up a serious challenge to the local government, it backs the challenger. I wish they were more ideologically consistent than that. Like you, I wish they understood the West better.
If someone similar to Pat Buchanan mounted a serious campaign for the White House today, winning the New Hampshire primary as Pat once did, the Kremlin would have noticed him and backed him. The neocons bankroll the anti-Kremlin forces in Russia, so it would just be a matter of reflex for Putin to do the same here.
