Borderline Crimes

My family members got the following message in their email:

“A Petition from the Office of Hasbara and the Diaspora

Citizens of Israel,

Following the stopping of the provocative flotilla, Israel is in the midst of a Hasbara war.

We are confident that you are also feeling frustration given the present situation. This is not the time to say what should have been done. This is the time to act!

Every one of you has the ability to take part in the hasbara, every one according to their ability, their language, and the means standing at their disposal.

In light of the calls for the destruction of Israel, for its isolation and for laying all the responsibility on the IDF, it is necessary to provide a serious and clear response to the issue of the flotilla, the reasoning behind stopping it and the importance of preventing weapons from getting to Hamas.

A summary of the main arguments is as follows:

1. The Palestinian people are not under siege, only the terror regime of the Hamas in Gaza.

2. In the flotilla extremist organizations made cynical use of civilians.

3. It is important to separate between the will to help the residents of Gaza and providing assistance to the Hamas regime and to terror organizations who want to create another channel for weapons coming into Gaza.

There are websites where there are films, photographs and articles. Send them to your friends on the internet. Write letters to the editor, write blogs, articles, respond in talkbalks, radio shows, and post links on the social networks…Tell how life is seen from here.

We will clarify that Israel encourage the freedom of expression and criticism–  for this is the power of a democratic and liberal state. However, the flotilla was made to delegitimize and dehumanize Israel and to cancel its right to exist.

Remember: the fight is no longer at sea. The struggle is about perception and the fight is in the media: in newspaper, the radio, television or the internet.

Given the negative image of Israel, the Hasbara and Diaspora office calls on you, residents of Israel, to invest your human capital in this fight.

Attached are links and different messages for your use.

Thanks for your collaboration,

Ronen Plot

Executive Director of the Office for Hasbara and the Diaspora”