Middle East
Israel
Media Manipulation
The Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) psychological warfare unit is working to plant news items in the Israeli press about the threats posed by Iran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbollah, writes Aluf Benn in Tel Aviv’s liberal Ha’aretz (Oct. 19). Benn reports that the IDF regularly seeks to plant stories—originally placed in Arabic-language publications by its agents—in Isaeli newspapers.
“Officers of the psychological warfare unit are inconstant contact with Israeli journalists and give them translated material from Arabic newspapers,” Benn says. Officers, he says, have also pressured reporters to publish certain reports.
For some, Benn’s story has triggered memories of renegade Mossad agent Yehuda Gil, who for years fed disinformation to his superiors indicating that Syria was preparing to attack Israel.
Could the IDF succeed in misleading policy makers on Iran? Impossible, says Ha’aretz’s Ze’ev Schiff (Oct. 29). “It’s not possible to lead astray those in decision-making positions by means of false items planted in the foreign and Israeli press,” he says, “because such a scheme requires the participation of numerous people and the greater the number of people involved, the sooner the lie is sure to be detected.”
Moreover, says Schiff, Israel has various “filters” for determining the validity of intelligence, ranging from other domestic agencies to friendly foreign ones. At the top of the “governmental pyramid” is Prime Minister Ehud Barak, writes Schiff.
However, Schiff appears to overlook the potentially dangerous consequences intentionally false or alarmist intelligence can have on public opinion, not to mention the perceptions of Israel’s regional foes.
