Israel's Internet intifada

[bemildred]

Online political activism has hitched its battlewagon to the stars of social networking, leading to warfare over Israel’s legitimacy on sites like Facebook and MySpace.

The struggle for the Holy Land may be the world’s most ancient conflict. But in one respect, at least, the weapons and the battleground could not be more cutting-edge.

This is the realm of the “virtual intifada,” digital combat played out in cyberspace by intensely partisan pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists-cum-hackers, or in the vernacular of the Information Age, “hacktivists.” One incarnation of this online political activism has hitched its battlewagon to the stars of social networking, taking advantage of the runaway popularity of sites like Facebook and MySpace.

At the forefront of pro-Israel hacktivists are the shock troops organized as the Jewish Internet Defense Force, a group best known for its activities against anti-Israel groups on Facebook, the social networking colossus whose members may establish and join network groups based on a wide variety of interests. The JIDF made headlines in August by executing a takeover of a popular anti-Zionist Facebook group called “Israel is not a country! Please Facebook delete it.”

http://www.haaretz.com/ga/israel-s-internet-intifada-1.394381

[TomClash]

1. No kidding!

I'm just shocked. We never see that here. :rofl:

[Scurrilous]

2. US embassy Facebook page stormed after ‘open mic’ leak

<snip>

"Earlier today, Ben Smith of Politico noticed what seemed like an angry response by Israelis to the “open mic” rants exchanged by US president Barack Obama and French president Nicolas Sarkozy. According to reports, Sarkozy called the Israeli PM “a liar,” and Obama complained “I have to deal with him every day.”

In the evening following the publication, the Tel Aviv US embassy’s Facebook page was filled with comments by Israelis defending their prime minister’s honor."

<snip>

"Yet one couldn’t help notice that some of the comments have the exact same message.

I decided to check the Facebook page of Israeli Sheli (“My Israel”), a “grassroots” organization which is run by a former chief of staff of Netanyahu (before his return to the PM office) and which has strong ties to Yesha Council, the settlers’ representative body (Haaretz has called Israel Sheli “an arm of the Yesha council”).

Sure enough, earlier today Israel Sheli sent its 60,000 followers to protest the comments by the American and French presidents, and even offered them some talking points. The message ends with the sentence: “Doing Zionism – defending Israel’s honor.”

<snip>

"Most people who responded to the appeal simply copy-pasted the message from Israel Sheli’s Facebook page, bus some were more original; in the first screenshot I posted, the person who posted the Hebrew message is wishing the United States “another 9/11.”

http://972mag.com/following-comments-on-pms-character-pro-netanyahu-network-storms-us-embassys-facebook-page/27332/

[Scurrilous]

3. ‘Proud Zionist’ tweets that assassinating Obama is ‘tempting’

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/proud-zionist-tweets-that-assassinating-obama-is-tempting.html


Student leader who tweeted about Obama assassination spent last weekend w/ pro-Israel group StandWithUs

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/student-leader-who-tweeted-about-obama-assassination-planned-to-spend-last-weekend-w-pro-israel-group-standwithus.html

[King_David]

4. Mondoweiss is not exactly a reliable source buddy.

:thumbsup:

[holdencaufield]

5. IP Protocols of the Elders of Zion?

Are you saying that anyone who speaks out in support of Israel is a puppet or paid-agent of a global conspiracy run by secretive Jewish groups?

Speak plain... you know you're dying to say it.

[azurnoir]

6. are talking to Ha'aretz or the poster of the OP ?

in any event your snide accusation about the 'Protocols' is quite unwarranted

[holdencaufield]

7. Read Posts 2&3

And tell me I'm being paranoid...

... I see this kind of thing all the time here. Accusations that Israel support is manipulated by a secretive Jewish conspiracy... straight out of the Der Sturmer playbook.

[azurnoir]

8. "Israel support is manipulated by a secretive Jewish conspiracy..."

Facebook groups, GIYUS, and such are "secretive" or conspiratorial? hardly they are quite out front and noisy and no not every ProIsrael poster on the net is a member

[bemildred]

9. Hey, they're all alike, and it's us or them, stop confusing the issue.

(And don't ask me who "they" is either, I know them when I see them, and the last thing to do is warn them that we are on guard now.)

[bemildred]

10. You have a lot of chutzpah to criticize me for not speaking plainly. nt