Did you hear about Hamas beheading 40 babies? How about a Hamas base underneath Al-Shifa Hospital? Or that Zionists came to Palestine because it was an empty land and they made the desert blossom, then Arabs from neighbouring countries emigrated and tried to seize the land from Israel? Well, if you have, you’ve been hit with hasbara. A Hebrew word meaning the ‘explanation’ – hasbara is propaganda pushed out by the Israeli state designed to explain, justify and enable Israeli atrocities, promote Israel and attack Palestinians and their supporters.
Tel Aviv spends millions of dollars and uses key parts of its diplomatic and foreign relations departments to try and shape the global conversation around Palestine. Since Israel began its genocidal assault on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli hasbara has gone into overdrive to confront an increasingly sceptical world. A new initiative, the Hasbara Tracker, has been setup to research, debunk and fact-check Israeli propaganda. Joining us today is the initiative’s founder, Jennine Khalik.
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