Familiarizing yourself with these two terms will go a long way in helping you understand the ongoing situation in Israel and Palestine.

Hasbara, in simple terms, is the product of the powerful Israeli PR machine. It’s a reminder that the mainstream media in most countries is not your friend. Hasbara is critical and instrumental in maintaining Israel’s facade that Palestinians are terrorists while Israelis are innocent victims simply minding their own business and under constant fear of attack. It’s why genocide or serial mass murder is called a “conflict.” It’s the reason that you might still believe that on October 7th, Israeli women were raped and babies were beheaded and burned in ovens, while no evidence for any of this exists.

The following video from Media Education Foundation is a classic and was produced long before the current “conflict.” While it is a long video (45 min) it’s well worth the watch. And before you turn away too quickly, keep in mind that all mainstream media rely on the fact that getting good reliable and useful information takes time and effort. They don’t have to worry about their “facts” being checked because the average media consumer is happy to turn on their local or national news program of choice and simply believe what they see and hear.

The Hannibal Directive or Protocol, is an Israeli military policy introduced in 1986 to try to prevent or limit the number of Israeli soldiers captured, thus decreasing the need for prisoner swaps or subsequent negotiations with their enemies. It allows field officers to open fire on enemy forces or vehicles suspected of carrying captives. Opening fire, includes using heavy artillery like tank shells and/or attack helicopters. This policy was implemented on October 7 and was responsible for much of the destruction and many of the dead. But you wouldn’t have known it at time, of course, because the potent hasbara machine was immediately also cranked up to make you believe that this was the worst attack on Jews since the holocaust.

While this video was produced in November of 2023, It shows how early the implementation of this policy was suspected if not already accepted by dedicated and hard-working journalists like Chris Hedges and Max Blumenthal. It should also illustrate how easily the mainstream media are able to deceive and never be held accountable. It’s now widely known that on October 7th, Israel killed many of their own. You wouldn’t know it though, if you only consume the likes of CNN, CBC, FOX or BBC.

If you are looking for somewhere to find good information and real journalism, click through the links below and get informed…