Iran's 'Media Bomb' on Israel

Iran uses Hizbullah and Hamas to drop an "information" bomb against Israel, whose media counteroffensive should be in Europe, a University of Haifa researcher Dr. Yaniv Levyatan wrote in an Italian journal.

The "information explosion" is already in the air as Iran uses anti-Israel animated films and computer games in an "organized information war against Israel," according to Dr. Levyatan's research published in the Limes: Italian Review of Geopolitics journal.

"Hizbullah and Hamas are Tehran’s 'front line' in this war, [and] the aim of Hizbullah and Hamas, amongst others, is to push Israel into a disproportional response in an attempt to portray the IDF as 'barbaric and 'inhumane' in the international media", he explained.

Hizbullah and Hamas are Tehran’s 'front line' in this war.

He told Israel National News that the Israel government's concern should be to counter the propaganda in Europe and noted that Iran is using brainwashing methods similar to those used by the Nazis before the Holocaust.

"Even before missiles and bombs are launched, the 'information bombs' are landing unrelentingly as preparation for, or as a way of protecting against physical escalation," explained Dr. Levyatan, who analyzed Israeli and American media and the media production of Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas in the last 18 months.

He also wrote that Israeli media are unwittingly helping Iran by broadcasting details of Iran's and Hizbullah's military strength.

“These reports are quoted…with the aim of demoralizing the Israeli public or causing the government of Israel to refrain from taking offensive measures” noted the researcher, who is part of the Ezri Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Haifa.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday that Hizbullah has stockpiled three times the number of rockets it had before the Second Lebanon War two years ago. A Voice of Israel government radio newswoman commented on the "scary" revelation.

Dr. Levyatan warned that  Iran "employs new media methods as weapons to win the hearts and minds of the general public," such as disseminating short animated films on the Internet that showed Israeli soldiers harming children. The films can be downloaded anywhere in the world. Tehran also produced a computer game which let the players release prisoners held by the IDF.

His research also shows that the frequent threats of senior officials of the Iranian regime to destroy Israel, the description of Israel as “small Satan,” the denial of the Holocaust, and the constant reminder of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are tools of the Iranian information war that serve to harness the support of the Muslim world. 

Hizbullah's efficient use of the "information war" is aided by the terrorist organization's "one voice and one message," according to Dr. Levyatan. "In Hizbullah, there are no leaks and all members communicate the identical message. This way of management permits the organization to operate the media as a strategic tool and hurt Israeli society."