Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > How Israel's Media Propaganda Dominates the American Mind
________________________________________
How Israel's Media Propaganda Dominates the American Mind
By Robert Jensen [1] / AlterNet [2]
March 25, 2016
In the conflict over the land of Palestine, Israel's overpowering military
superiority has produced decisive battlefield victories. But just as crucial
to Israeli dominance in that region is its supremacy in the U.S. news media,
which is captured in the title of an important new film from the Media
Education Foundation, The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel's Public
Relations War in the United States [3].
(Disclosure: I have been a consultant to, and interviewed for, other
documentaries produced by MEF, including the 2004 film Peace, Propaganda,
and the Promised Land [4] and the 2006 film Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11,
Fear & the Selling of American Empire [5].)
The film's analysis is crucial to understand why-given the longstanding
international consensus for a peaceful settlement that would give both
Israelis and Palestinians a secure national homeland-the conflict drags on
in its seventh decade. Whatever one's position on how to resolve the
conflict, it is uncontroversial that Israel could not continue occupying
Palestinian territory without U.S. diplomatic, military and economic
support, and it's unlikely that support could continue without the
backing-or, at least, acquiescence-of the U.S. public.
Israeli officials understand that, and The Occupation of the American Mind
offers a sophisticated analysis of their strategy to keep both policymakers
and the public in the United States on their side, illustrated with detailed
examples of how Israel successfully borrows from the contemporary
advertising/marketing/public relations industries-the folks who produce what
is best described as propaganda.
The basics of that propaganda are easy to identify: simplistic phrases,
repeated over and over, designed to engage emotions rather than produce
rational arguments, all shaped to fit into a narrative of good
(Western-oriented Israel, the Middle East's only true democracy) versus evil
(Arab/Muslim terrorists who seek not only to destroy the Jewish state but
kill all Jews).
To accept this impoverished account of the conflict, we would have to
rewrite history, reject international law and ignore the struggle over land
and resources that is at the heart of the conflict. Because those realities
have been so obscured, The Occupation of the American Mind begins with a
straightforward account of the politics of the conflict. No summary of such
a contentious issue is neutral, of course, but the film explains clearly the
1948 and 1967 wars that left Israel in its current position of overwhelming
dominance. Israel's image as an underdog fighting for survival became
difficult to sustain after those military victories and the beginning of the
occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. That's where the propaganda
campaign becomes central.
Israel invested considerable resources in the media project after its brutal
1982 invasion of Lebanon started to turn world opinion toward support for
the Palestinian cause. Rather than reconsider its policy of maximal
expansion and crushing Palestinian aspirations for a state, Israel ratcheted
up its media campaign, dubbed hasbara, which translates as "explanation." In
combination with aggressive lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill, that campaign
has been amazingly effective at undermining an open debate in the United
States.
Viewers expecting conspiracy theories about how Jews control the media or
secretly run the U.S. government will be disappointed. The Occupation of the
American Mind analyzes how the professional practices of U.S. news
media-primarily a slavish reliance on official sources, combined with the
unexamined ideological assumptions [6] about the rightful dominance of the
United States in world affairs-leave journalists susceptible to manipulation
by the Israeli public relations machine. That media strategy supports the
efforts of the Israel lobby that targets elected officials, who also have
their own strategic interests in allying the United States with Israel.
All of this is the way media and politics work in the real world, where
money and power so often trump law and moral principles. "The Occupation of
the American Mind" explains how that works in the case of Israel/Palestine,
a conflict in which cynicism and despair come easy for many in the United
States. But the film is, in the end, a hopeful one, based on the belief that
accurate information can be the basis for rational discussion that can
change public policy in a democratic society.
How rational we humans really are, well, that's an open question. But
nowhere is such faith in education, dialogue and people more needed than
Israel/Palestine.
The Occupation of the American Mindis available via streaming and DVD at
http://www.occupationmovie.com/ [3]. For information on the Media Education
Foundation, visit http://www.mediaed.org/ [7].
Robert Jensen is a professor in the School of Journalism at the University
of Texas at Austin and a board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource
Center in Austin. His latest books are Plain Radical: Living, Loving and
Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully [8] (Soft Skull Press) and We Are
All Apocalyptic Now: On the Responsibilities of Teaching, Preaching,
Reporting, Writing, and Speaking Out [9]. He can be reached at
rjensen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [10]. Read his articles online [11] or join his
email list [12]. Twitter: @jensenrobertw.
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Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [13]
[14]
________________________________________
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/how-israels-media-propaganda-domina
tes-american-mind
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/robert-jensen-1
[2] http://alternet.org
[3] http://www.occupationmovie.com/
[4] http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=117
[5] http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=126
[6]
https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/american-journalisms-ideology-why-the-liberal-
media-is-fundamentalist/
[7] http://www.mediaed.org/
[8]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014OITOOG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&a
mp;btkr=1
[9]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BAWQO84/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&a
mp;btkr=1
[10] mailto:rjensen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[11] http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/index.html
[12] http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org/jensenupdates-info.html
[13] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on How Israel's Media
Propaganda Dominates the American Mind
[14] http://www.alternet.org/
[15] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > How Israel's Media Propaganda Dominates the American Mind
How Israel's Media Propaganda Dominates the American Mind
By Robert Jensen [1] / AlterNet [2]
March 25, 2016
In the conflict over the land of Palestine, Israel's overpowering military
superiority has produced decisive battlefield victories. But just as crucial
to Israeli dominance in that region is its supremacy in the U.S. news media,
which is captured in the title of an important new film from the Media
Education Foundation, The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel's Public
Relations War in the United States [3].
(Disclosure: I have been a consultant to, and interviewed for, other
documentaries produced by MEF, including the 2004 film Peace, Propaganda,
and the Promised Land [4] and the 2006 film Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11,
Fear & the Selling of American Empire [5].)
The film's analysis is crucial to understand why-given the longstanding
international consensus for a peaceful settlement that would give both
Israelis and Palestinians a secure national homeland-the conflict drags on
in its seventh decade. Whatever one's position on how to resolve the
conflict, it is uncontroversial that Israel could not continue occupying
Palestinian territory without U.S. diplomatic, military and economic
support, and it's unlikely that support could continue without the
backing-or, at least, acquiescence-of the U.S. public.
Israeli officials understand that, and The Occupation of the American Mind
offers a sophisticated analysis of their strategy to keep both policymakers
and the public in the United States on their side, illustrated with detailed
examples of how Israel successfully borrows from the contemporary
advertising/marketing/public relations industries-the folks who produce what
is best described as propaganda.
The basics of that propaganda are easy to identify: simplistic phrases,
repeated over and over, designed to engage emotions rather than produce
rational arguments, all shaped to fit into a narrative of good
(Western-oriented Israel, the Middle East's only true democracy) versus evil
(Arab/Muslim terrorists who seek not only to destroy the Jewish state but
kill all Jews).
To accept this impoverished account of the conflict, we would have to
rewrite history, reject international law and ignore the struggle over land
and resources that is at the heart of the conflict. Because those realities
have been so obscured, The Occupation of the American Mind begins with a
straightforward account of the politics of the conflict. No summary of such
a contentious issue is neutral, of course, but the film explains clearly the
1948 and 1967 wars that left Israel in its current position of overwhelming
dominance. Israel's image as an underdog fighting for survival became
difficult to sustain after those military victories and the beginning of the
occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. That's where the propaganda
campaign becomes central.
Israel invested considerable resources in the media project after its brutal
1982 invasion of Lebanon started to turn world opinion toward support for
the Palestinian cause. Rather than reconsider its policy of maximal
expansion and crushing Palestinian aspirations for a state, Israel ratcheted
up its media campaign, dubbed hasbara, which translates as "explanation." In
combination with aggressive lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill, that campaign
has been amazingly effective at undermining an open debate in the United
States.
Viewers expecting conspiracy theories about how Jews control the media or
secretly run the U.S. government will be disappointed. The Occupation of the
American Mind analyzes how the professional practices of U.S. news
media-primarily a slavish reliance on official sources, combined with the
unexamined ideological assumptions [6] about the rightful dominance of the
United States in world affairs-leave journalists susceptible to manipulation
by the Israeli public relations machine. That media strategy supports the
efforts of the Israel lobby that targets elected officials, who also have
their own strategic interests in allying the United States with Israel.
All of this is the way media and politics work in the real world, where
money and power so often trump law and moral principles. "The Occupation of
the American Mind" explains how that works in the case of Israel/Palestine,
a conflict in which cynicism and despair come easy for many in the United
States. But the film is, in the end, a hopeful one, based on the belief that
accurate information can be the basis for rational discussion that can
change public policy in a democratic society.
How rational we humans really are, well, that's an open question. But
nowhere is such faith in education, dialogue and people more needed than
Israel/Palestine.
The Occupation of the American Mindis available via streaming and DVD at
http://www.occupationmovie.com/ [3]. For information on the Media Education
Foundation, visit http://www.mediaed.org/ [7].
Robert Jensen is a professor in the School of Journalism at the University
of Texas at Austin and a board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource
Center in Austin. His latest books are Plain Radical: Living, Loving and
Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully [8] (Soft Skull Press) and We Are
All Apocalyptic Now: On the Responsibilities of Teaching, Preaching,
Reporting, Writing, and Speaking Out [9]. He can be reached at
rjensen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [10]. Read his articles online [11] or join his
email list [12]. Twitter: @jensenrobertw.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [13]
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.[14]
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/how-israels-media-propaganda-domina
tes-american-mind
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/robert-jensen-1
[2] http://alternet.org
[3] http://www.occupationmovie.com/
[4] http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=117
[5] http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=126
[6]
https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/american-journalisms-ideology-why-the-liberal-
media-is-fundamentalist/
[7] http://www.mediaed.org/
[8]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014OITOOG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&a
mp;btkr=1
[9]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BAWQO84/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&a
mp;btkr=1
[10] mailto:rjensen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[11] http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/index.html
[12] http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org/jensenupdates-info.html
[13] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on How Israel's Media
Propaganda Dominates the American Mind
[14] http://www.alternet.org/
[15] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
