Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land

In the post-modern period that we live in, it amazes me to see how far-reaching public relations campaigns can reach into the minds of governments and citizens. The extent of the Israel lobby’s power is almost limitless. I do not like the idea of an organization that can seemingly control the policies of such a strong government as the United States. The lobby and other filters determine that we will not see Israeli violence perpetrated against Palestinians, that we will have little knowledge of the occupation and that Israel does commit war crimes against the Palestinian people. The public relations campaign of Israel turns the conflict on its head by implying, through inconspicuous choice of diction, that the Palestinians constantly “attack” and the Israeli forces are constantly retaliating. This is most certainly not the case—the Israelis are not protecting themselves on land that is not theirs, they are being retaliated against for occupying a foreign nation. The Palestinians are tired of this treatment, and when enough rage boils over for their situation, they strike out against their oppressors. I believe that until the outlets and organizations that feed the American popular media are curbed, the Americans will be deluded into thinking that the Israelis are fighting a just war. This is the danger of propaganda, if one is under its spell, one will rarely notice it until confronted with the conflicting view. I find it outrageous to think that the illegal Israeli settlements are being portrayed as peaceful, innocent neighborhoods by the popular media in the United States. Instead, these settlements are the action of the Israeli government with the goal of driving more Arabs from their lands. Furthermore, when Israeli soldiers die on Palestinian soil—they become heroes, while dozens of Palestinians perish and are only mentioned as statistics—devoid of human quality. These deliberate attempts to undermine the Palestinians are subversive and have been very effective in fleecing the American public. A good question to ask is what purpose does Israel serve America for all of the aid it receives? According to the film, the United States gives Israel billions of dollars, yet receives no assistance concerning the surrounding Arab nations due to Israel's predicament. Support of Israel certainly does not bring stability to the region as violence continues day after day in the region. Journalists who should be relating the facts of the conflict become part of the conflict by feeding the United States the news that Israel supplies them. This is wrong. Events and groups that should receive coverage, such as the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions receive little, while suicide bombers that are harming hopes of peace dominate our television sets. One thing remains clear in this conflict—there will be no peace unless there is just peace.