Disinformation: LJ Idol Season 9 Week 18
Pallywood: A portmanteau of the words Palestinian and Hollywood. It's used to describe by some pro-Israeli media watchdog advocates, among others, to describe alleged "media manipulation, distortion and outright fraud by the Palestinians and other Arabs and it's designed to win the public relations war against Israel."
Alleged or not, whatever the Palestinians are doing to win the public relations war, they're doing it right. Israel's downfall will not be Hamas but it'll be its poor public relation skills.
I'll see on Facebook posts: "Free Gaza" or "End the Occupation" and hashtag "#GazaUnderAttack. I'll see pictures of blood, of destruction, and warfare. Pictures designed to break your heart (mine included) and anger you to the point where you're reposting said articles for all of your friends to see the cruelty of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Never mind the fact that Gaza has been "freed" and "unoccupied" since 2005 thanks to the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law which states that the army must withdraw from Gaza and all settlements must be dismantled. Never mind the fact that Hamas for years has been sending rockets daily into southern Israel. Never mind the fact that many of the pictures that are posted have been proven to either be from a) the Syrian Civil War or other events in the Middle East or b) posed purposely to gain attention of the media. Not that it takes away from the heartbreaking images but let's at least attribute it to the right conflict.
Public relations for the win indeed since no one is screaming #StopTheRockets or #saveSdorot. Public relations for the win when many are okay with the rockets until they have to wonder what would it be like if Mexico or Canada was sending rockets into the U.S. But since that will never happen, it's not the same, I've been told.
I'm not saying Israel's innocent in this matter nor do I agree with every action that the Knesset (Israel's parliament) has taken. But there are both sides to every story; especially this one. What I am saying is the next time you read an article from either side, stop to think critically about it and check the sources before you spread information. Because in today's social media world, a simple act of hitting share can spread news like a wildfire whether true or not and at the end of the day, disinformation is helpful to no one.
Sources:
Pallywood
Israeli Disengagement 2005
Hamas using photos from Syrian Civil War
Note: This was written for LJ Idol Season 9 Week 18: Disinformation. The Israel-Palestinian conflict is something I've been following very closely this summer and this topic hits home for me especially as my father lives in Tel Aviv (so you can probably tell at the end of the day where I side). I'm open for discussing this topic in comments as long as you keep it respectful. I do implore anyone who's going to read into this subject to keep an open mind as there's plenty of disinformation on both sides so please think critically about what you're reading.