Beyond Hasbara

If you haven't read about it by now, an IDF soldier was criticized today for posting photos of herself posing with blindfolded Palestinian detainees on Facebook. You can read about it in all the papers. But while reading The Lede Blog, I stumbled upon this apologist comment that I had to share here. There's no way this commenter can actually believe any of what they're saying. Looks like someone is taking hasbara to a whole new level...

If the prisoners are blindfolded, they don't know they are being photographed and we don't know who they are, so there is no humiliation perceive by them then or now as suggested by some. She mugged for the camera, but not much, I see in her contempt for the photographer - the tilt of her head, pursed lips and narrowed eyes - not a triumphal smile as suggested by some.

The photo suggests the opposite of callus; read their crossed legs, Her talking to him leaning right next to him and facing him. No gun (nylon 'handcuff' strip in hand) and so close she feels she's not in real danger. He can't help but perceive she is there and is not threatened as his legs are not crossed defensively at the knee as are her's. He's the same prisoner on the far left as in the 2d photo. Compare the two shots. 

The captions are subject to misinterpretation, but the photos of body language tell a positive story. She's doing her military duty with a positive attitude, the prisoner is being addressed as a person. She's not shouting into his ear. She's positioned forward to look into his face, hence her left arm in behind supporting her. This action on her part is indicative of genuine human communication and not object treatment. That her legs are crossed and she is leaning over suggests she is physically defensive but intellectually engaging him - thoughtful. He's neither cringing nor leaning away, so he's not in fear and leaning/resting back against the wall whereas in the other shot he's leaning forward, so I take it he's less tense or stressed in her presence than when alone. Did she put him as ease? Possibly. 

Note the two on the right have hands in front - not a threat to the soldiers like the one with hands in back she sits next to in the other shot. The soldier's perceived him to be a danger relative to the others because they tied his hands in back, yet she addresses him in close proximity. 

One must carefully read the body language and chronology of photos, not just the 'wiseguy' afterthought caption. I don't read contempt in her for the prisoners, but rather for the photographer. I don't read in the photos that she's doing anything other than her professional duty and doing it well and in a proper fashion. I don't see any indications that the prisoners are being mistreated. 

If we wrongly over-criticize these photos and the Israelis prohibit the taking of photos, what evidence will there be if and when there is actual physical abuse and disagreement by soldiers about how to treat their prisoners? Then things will get worse for both sides.

deanmblake

Los Angeles, CA

August 16th, 2010

7:36 pm

Right...

Recommended:

• google 'hasbara'
• visit any of these sites:
• http://www.hasbara.com/
• http://www.israelactivism.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasbara
• download the hasbara manual here and familiarize yourself with their spin tactics and propaganda

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Keeping tabs? There's an app for that

For the past week everyone’s been holding their breath for a Blackberry ban that never came to pass.

But while everyone was wondering if BBM would be cut off in Saudi Arabia and which countries might follow suit, the Saudi government was quietly introducing another mobile phone feature: 
Text message alerts to notify men when their female charges leave the country alone.

Read the full article here. Excerpts below:

Gender segregation has spawned a culture of excessive telecommunication. Bluetooth usage (to exchange details between men and women anonymously) on phones was commonplace in Saudi Arabia before mobile owners in the West had any use for the tool. In a country of early adopters and super-users, people usually have more than one mobile phone to separate friends, family and professional contacts. Before pay-as-you go arrived on the scene, my female friends sometimes had their chauffeurs procure more mobile phone numbers in their own names so that the bill would not be sent to their father's home address.

It is not clear exactly what the Saudi authorities are hoping to achieve or pre-empt with this new measure, since if a woman has gone past immigration at the airport that means that she has already been signed off by her guardian and all her paperwork was in order. In addition, if one is to imagine that the guardian may have since changed his mind or was co-opted or tricked into giving permission, the text message allegedly contains no information about the woman's destination – only that she has left.

Article: Keeping Saudi women tagged by text