Slick Hasbara vs Sincere Hasbara

Their way vs My way

I posted the following video and received a publishable comment. You might not be able to see it because Google hides many comments even if I allow them through.

Being as I moderate my comments and only publish those that meet my standards, I would prefer that Google trust me and not hide from users comments that I approve, but I understand their algorithmic reasons for such shadowbans - even so I would prefer they were up-front about it.

It's a difficult comment to respond to but I get where the writer is coming from so I responded:

NOTE: While I don't deny the humanity in your emotional literary effervescence, you should know that YouTube shadowbans comments that, in its infinite wisdom, it deems to be a "safety concern", so in the future please put on a suit and tie before commenting in a more formal and stoic manner, as apparently your comment is invisible to most people along with my response to it.  END NOTE ⤵️

I ❤ your comment because I understand exactly where you're coming from.

You want peace in the world and for each person in the world to be able to walk freely anywhere they want without fear.

But the truth is that angry tribal sentiments unfortunately exist all over the world, and therefore of course in Egypt too. Though - as you note - nowhere near the degree that people presume. I have been welcomed and befriended by thousands of Egyptians.

Here's the rub.

I was the founding Rabbi and speaker of Hasbara in the year 2000, in the Old City of Jerusalem, before leaving the organization about 18 months later.

The word Hasbara (הסברה) literally means "Explanation".

I don't like the implied apologetics and standoffish feel of the word and might have chosen the word Havana (הבנה) which means "Understanding" [or ideally Achva, אחווה, which means "Brotherhood", but that word has a middle-eastern "ch" sound in it which is difficult for English speakers to pronounce, plus it translates into Arabic as Ichwan, إخوان, which is the name of a political party that is illegal in Egypt] but it wouldn't have mattered. Today Google and AI both translate Hasbara as "Propaganda" and I understand why.

The Jews are the people of The Bible and ought to use holier - and Truer, and BETTER - means of resolving their conflicts than through slogans, lawyers, blackmail, money and elite connections.

But unfortunately the world operates a different way. As Marlo pointed out in The Wire, "you want it to be one way. But it's the other way."

What media have I received? None. What financial support have I received? A few hundred dollars. How many followers do I have? On my main page, www.ydydy.substack.com I have just 46 followers and while on YouTube I have 23,000, the algorithm only shares my full length videos with 30 to 300 people.

Hasbara was built on the biblical principle of וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָבוּ (V'HaEmet V'HaShalom Ehavu) "And The Truth and The Goodness Thou Shall Love".  - Zachariah 8:19 / זכריה ח:יט

Did it stray? No one doubts it.

But look at their level of success vs. mine.

I wish I could place all of the blame on the reigning power structure. It would be easy. YouTube doesn't allow me to break through to humankind. Philanthropists shower endless millions to "pro-Israel" or "pro-Jewish" organizations but block me when I call them, and world leaders stay in power by promoting fear rather than friendship because then they'd be out of a job.

But "We The People" deserve a lot of blame too.

Just look at which hate-filled one-sided YouTube videos they watch. Or look at my experience on Twitter, Reddit, and other “popular” platforms.

Humans understand conflict. Worse yet, we are excited by conflict and deep down actually like it.

Besides, if you provide the masses of a humanity a slogan vs. a nuanced and true explanation that takes time to understand, nearly everybody chooses slogans. We are a herd species who only admire the popular and powerful, ABSOLUTELY REGARDLESS of how or why the popular and gained their fame and platform.

So while I am here showing The People of Planet Earth that Egyptians are a friendly and reasonable people [and risking my life doing so because, like everywhere, there are bound to be people who are less friendly and reasonable] the few people with the ability to actually reach humanity are either unaware of me or actively blocking my message.

However those who (in the name of Hasbara!) appeal to Congress and college presidents, and raise money for advertising campaigns, and only sympathize with a few of the billions of us sharing our mutually-owned glorious and beautiful planet… THEY are able to accomplish big things.

That these "big things" did not prevent the events of October 7th in Israel and are dirtying the very word and people of Israel is somehow less of a concern for them, but hey, they've got the private jets, the titles and the power so I guess they must know what they're doing, right?

To see more, search my channel for the words "Hasbara" or "Israeli".

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