{"id":3526,"date":"2025-10-31T15:37:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/31\/spinning-genocide-why-is-israel-trying-to-reframe-its-war-on-gaza\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T15:37:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:37:47","slug":"spinning-genocide-why-is-israel-trying-to-reframe-its-war-on-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/31\/spinning-genocide-why-is-israel-trying-to-reframe-its-war-on-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Spinning genocide: Why is Israel trying to reframe its war on Gaza?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><em>This is the second article in a two-part series. You can find the first part, explaining how public relations firms have been aiding Israel, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/30\/spinning-genocide-how-israel-is-using-us-pr-firms-to-frame-its-gaza-war\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The filings of the freshly minted Christian marketing agency Faith Through Works speak to Israel\u2019s new public relations focus.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/16\/centrist-us-democrat-says-he-returned-aipac-donations-cites-netanyahu-ties\">Centrist US Democrat says he returned AIPAC donations, cites Netanyahu ties<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/2\/what-if-the-us-stopped-supporting-israel-tomorrow\">What if\u2026 the US stopped supporting Israel tomorrow?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2025\/9\/22\/us-public-opinion-on-israel-is-changing-us-policy-will-have-to-as-well\">US public opinion on Israel is changing, US policy will have to as well<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/23\/analysis-americas-51st-state-us-pressure-comes-to-bear-on-israel\">Analysis: America\u2019s 51st state? US pressure comes to bear on Israel<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Registering as a foreign agent of Israel with the US Department of Justice, Faith Through Works \u2013\u00a0 one of at least three PR agencies contracted by Israel to improve its image in the United States \u2013 says (<a href=\"https:\/\/efile.fara.gov\/docs\/7653-Exhibit-AB-20250927-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PDF<\/a>) it has been hired to \u201cCombat low American Evangelical Christian approval of the Nation of Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not only within the US\u2019s evangelical base that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2025\/9\/22\/us-public-opinion-on-israel-is-changing-us-policy-will-have-to-as-well\">polls<\/a> show Israel to be losing ground. Widespread protests across US cities and college campuses, allied to surveys from the University of Maryland and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2025\/9\/22\/us-public-opinion-on-israel-is-changing-us-policy-will-have-to-as-well\">others<\/a>, indicate that Israel is also losing US support across Gen Z, the left and within its traditional allies in mainstream US politics and the evangelical right.<\/p>\n<p>And, for Israel, that\u2019s a real <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/2\/what-if-the-us-stopped-supporting-israel-tomorrow\">problem<\/a>, analysts said.<\/p>\n<p>As well as hiring Faith Through Works to target US Christians, Israel has enlisted the support of Bridges Partners to pay an undisclosed group of online influencers to improve perceptions of Israel in the US. It has also contracted another newly formed US company, Clock Tower, to try to improve its online reputation, not least by trying to reshape how artificial intelligence (AI) discussions on Israel\u2019s war on Gaza are framed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor Israel, the war for American public opinion is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/2\/what-if-the-us-stopped-supporting-israel-tomorrow\">existential<\/a>,\u201d Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland said. \u201cThis is a serious game for them and one in which the gloves are off.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3753209\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3753209\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-05-21T164228Z_563908519_RC2GMEACHDV0_RTRMADP_3_USA-COLUMBIA-PROTESTS-1749067282.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside the main campus of Columbia University during the commencement ceremony in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS\/Jeenah Moon\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3753209\">Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside the main campus of Columbia University during the commencement ceremony in Manhattan in New York City, US, May 21, 2025 [Jeenah Moon\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe last two years have shown Israelis just how reliant they are on the US. That\u2019s to say, nearly everyone knew they were reliant upon the US before the war, but not to what extent,\u201d he said, outlining how Israelis have watched their country\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/23\/analysis-americas-51st-state-us-pressure-comes-to-bear-on-israel\">reliance<\/a>\u00a0on the US increase with every new front their government has opened against regional neighbours, including Lebanon and Iran.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of this is before you include the US\u2019s sheer diplomatic power,\u201d he said, \u201cwhich has been vital in protecting Israel through the war, and the potential loss of that is terrifying to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Losing support<\/h3>\n<p>The US public has largely borne the economic, military and reputational costs of supporting Israel. However, amid the scenes of unrelenting carnage that Israel continues to unleash on Gaza, cracks are emerging in US support for Israel: cracks that many in Israel fear could eventually become fractures.<\/p>\n<p>Attempts to shore up Israel\u2019s support in the US are not new. In addition to banning foreign journalists from entering Gaza to record the full extent of the carnage inflicted upon the enclave, there have been concerted efforts to tilt the online conversation in Israel\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/studies.aljazeera.net\/en\/analyses\/digital-occupation-pixelated-propaganda-censored-platforms-and-battle-narrative-gaza?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">survey<\/a> carried out by the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies in May found a concerted effort to influence how social media users were describing Israel\u2019s war on Gaza had been launched shortly after the campaign itself.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to US social media influencers in September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored the importance of social media to Israel\u2019s efforts to safeguard its support within the US.<\/p>\n<p>Framing social media as the \u201cweapon\u201d of the modern age, Netanyahu told his audience, \u201cThe most important purchase going on right now is \u2026 TikTok. Number one. And I hope it goes through because it can be consequential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the other one? X. We have to talk to Elon [Musk, X\u2019s owner]. He\u2019s not an enemy, he\u2019s a friend. We should talk to him. Now, if we can get those two things, we get a lot \u2026 We have to fight the fight, to give direction to the Jewish people and give direction to our non-Jewish friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I had the honor of asking Bibi Netanyahu about Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination &#038; the potential loss of evangelical support for the state of Israel. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XP2faZQa0N\">pic.twitter.com\/XP2faZQa0N<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Debra Lea (@thedebralea) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thedebralea\/status\/1971693763807617259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cEven before the war in Gaza, there was less support for Israel and greater sympathy for Palestinians among younger Americans, including young evangelical Christians,\u201d Dov Waxman, professor of Israel studies at the University of California, said. \u201cIsrael\u2019s behaviour during the war in Gaza has significantly accelerated the erosion of support for Israel among these key groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Polling conducted by Telhami bears this out.<\/p>\n<p>A University of Maryland survey (<a href=\"https:\/\/sadat.umd.edu\/sites\/sadat.umd.edu\/files\/August%20Poll%20082525%20FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PDF<\/a>) between July and August this year found that support for Palestinians had expanded from younger Democrats to all areas of the party, while a significant gap has opened between older and younger Republicans over their party\u2019s support for Israel. Of potentially greater concern for Israeli policymakers \u2013 and helping explain the contracting of Faith Through Works \u2013 is a separate poll (<a href=\"https:\/\/sadat.umd.edu\/sites\/sadat.umd.edu\/files\/Young%20Republicans%20Final.pdf\">PDF<\/a>) conducted over the same period showing growing opposition to Israel\u2019s war on Gaza among young evangelicals, traditionally one of Israel\u2019s most reliable bases of support.<\/p>\n<h3>Shift in MAGA<\/h3>\n<p>That fracturing of support is beginning to extend to the US\u2019s mainstream politics, and critically, to President Trump\u2019s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. In July, one of the loudest voices in that movement, Marjorie Taylor Greene, pushed back against a bill approving $500m in aid for Israel over the following year.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2151881\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2151881\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Greene.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Marjorie Taylor Greene in aviator sunglasses, speaking into the mouthpiece of a bullhorn\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2151881\">MAGA stalwart Marjorie Taylor Greene has opposed US funding for what she calls Israel\u2019s \u2018genocide\u2019 in Gaza [Caitlin Ochs\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cNuclear armed Israel\u2019s national debt is under $400 Billion compared to our crippling national debt of $37 TRILLION,\u201d Greene <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepMTG\/status\/1942709412088390072\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> on the social media platform X. \u201cNuclear armed Israel seems to have their defense and debt under control, so the American taxpayers should not be required to give Nuclear armed Israel another $500 million in our U.S. defense bill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another prominent MAGA figure, Tucker Carlson \u2013 who in October described Christian Zionists as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jfeed.com\/news-world\/tucker-carlson-christian-zionism-criticism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">heretics<\/a>\u201d \u2013 said on his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ufmw8_fnurk&#038;t=9s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a> show the same month: \u201cThere\u2019s only one story going on, and it\u2019s Israel \u2026 And yet, despite its objective insignificance, it is the focus of the conversation \u2026 We are spending our time, our money, and we\u2019re taking enormous risks on behalf of a country that geopolitically is not significant at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My crime, is that I do not believe that American taxpayers should have to pay for Israel\u2019s wars or the wars of any other country. <br \/>I will not change my mind. <br \/>So the question is what will you do to me next? <br \/>The world is watching. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q2MHv7rKHl\">https:\/\/t.co\/q2MHv7rKHl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealCandaceO\/status\/1770909198743683195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 21, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe US Republican leadership is still solidly behind Israel, and that\u2019s not likely to change in this Trump administration,\u201d HA Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute said, \u201cBut there is a strong trend in MAGA\u2019s \u2018America First\u2019 contingent that is keen to reorient American foreign policy away from being Israel-centric when it comes to the wider Arab world region,\u201d he said, citing Carlson and right-wing influencer Candace Owens as examples.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think this will fundamentally shift policy in this administration, but it is definitely a trend that is picking up steam, and is likely the future of the Republican Party more generally,\u201d he said of Israel\u2019s prospects for future support from the US right.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a profound generational shift under way,\u201d Telhami said. \u201cJust as we had the Pearl Harbor generation and the Vietnam generation, now we have the Gaza generation, which sees Israel as a genocidal villain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a generation of young people who saw these horrors unfold on their screens in real time, and I don\u2019t think Israel gets how deep the shift is,\u201d he said. \u201cIsraelis probably feel that this is just a media problem, especially social media, and that if they can just counter that narrative, people will come back to them. They won\u2019t. This is a profound change, one that will determine US public perceptions for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the second article in a two-part series. You can find the first part, explaining how public relations firms have been aiding Israel, here.\u00a0 The filings of the freshly minted Christian marketing agency Faith Through Works speak to Israel\u2019s new public relations focus. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4Centrist US &#8230; <a title=\"Spinning genocide: Why is Israel trying to reframe its war on Gaza?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/31\/spinning-genocide-why-is-israel-trying-to-reframe-its-war-on-gaza\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Spinning genocide: Why is Israel trying to reframe its war on Gaza?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}