Israel ‘escalates to de-escalate’ with Hezbollah

In the past couple of weeks, the low-intensity war that Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting across the Lebanon-Israel border for a year has metastasised. Thousands of Lebanese have been forced from their homes as Israeli bombardment has intensified. More than 600 have been killed.

Alongside air raids and preparations for a land invasion, there is an element of psychological pressure Israel exerts too, designed to terrorise people and manufacture consent for war.

Contributors:
Habib Battah – Founder, Beirut Report
Ori Goldberg  – Academic and political commentator
Zahera Harb – Senior lecturer in journalism, City University
Assal Rad – Author, State of Resistance

On our radar:

A terrifying new plan to ethnically cleanse North Gaza has made its way onto Netanyahu’s desk. Tariq Nafi looks at the man behind the “The Generals’ Plan” and the support he has received across the Israeli political spectrum.

Online Zionist Influencers

“Hasbara” – the Hebrew word that translates to “explanation”, “persuasion” – has been a central strategy of the Zionist movement. It’s taken the form of media-trained government spokespeople delivering soundbites on TV, PR campaigns advertising the Israeli army not just as moral but also cool, and extensive messaging on social media.

Nicholas Muirhead reports on the work of online hasbarists and how the genocide in Gaza has made their jobs a lot more challenging.

Featuring: 

Hen Mazzig – Israeli author, commentator and influencer
Saree Makdisi – Professor of English and comparative literature, UCLA
Tamara Nassar  – Associate editor, Electronic Intifada
Matt Lieb – Host, Bad Hasbara