Israel's Ministry of "Truth" gets eight month head start

Posted at Friday, January 02, 2009 - 03:22 AM, by: Jim Scott
During WWII, Britain's Ministry of Information so effectively spread pro-Soviet propaganda that throughout Britain Stalin came to be seen as a benevolent ally. The MoI was the model for George Orwell's Ministry of Truth in the novel Nineteen Eight-Four.

Special spin body gets media on message, says Israel
Rachel Shabi in Tel Aviv Guardian UK January 2, 2009

Israel believes its has won broad international support in the media for its actions in Gaza thanks to its PR strategy, which through a new body has for months been concerned with formulating plans and role-playing to ensure that government officials deliver a clear, unified message to the world's press. The body, known as the National Information Directorate, was set up eight months ago following recommendations from an Israeli inquiry into the 2006 Lebanon war. Its role is to deal with hasbara - meaning, in Hebrew, "explanation", and referring variously to information, spin, and propaganda. The directorate's chief, Yarden Vatikai, said: "The hasbara apparatus needed a body that would co-ordinate its agencies, coordinate the messages and become a platform for co-operation between all the agencies that deal with communication relations and public diplomacy."

The directorate acts across ministries and decides key messages on a daily basis. Of its core messages for the media, there has been the advice that Hamas broke the ceasefire agreements with Israel; that Israel's objective is the defence of its population; and that Hamas is a terror organisation targeting Israeli civilians. "In general, we think we are succeeding in getting the message across," said Vatikai. Israeli officials have also enjoyed a clear edge with coverage. An Israeli foreign ministry assessment of eight hours of coverage across international broadcast media reported that Israeli representatives got 58 minutes of airtime while the Palestinians got only 19 minutes. ...

Read more @ Salt Spring News
h/t Greg Bacon