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[Excerpt:]

"But based on past experience, to make this moral case and to counteract the images from Gaza, carefully considered and professionally implemented strategies are required. For years, Israel has been totally defeated on the "soft power" battlefields, which are dominated by the UN, the media and powerful nongovernmental organizations funded by European governments that claim to speak in the name of human rights and international morality. In these venues, the most effective weapons have been the words and distorted (or faked) pictures highlighting the illusion of Israeli dominance and Palestinian victimization." "The propoganda war in Gaza began more than a year ago, with a steady flow of UN, media and NGO campaigns falsely accusing Israel of "collective punishment," starving the innocent population and preventing Fulbright students from leaving Gaza. In these attacks, the human rights of Israelis are usually ignored. The Hamas leadership provided images of "candlelight vigils" and hungry children, although there was always sufficient electricity and food. On this basis, the NGO "reports," press releases and pseudo-legal claims are repeated verbatim by the media, and then echoed by the UN and diplomats with a strong anti-Israel bias. To counter this offensive and launch an effective counterattack, the main sources of "soft power" aggression must be confronted. In addition to giving a high priority to exposing the false claims and lack of credibility of many such human rights allegations, the best defense is a good offensive. The propaganda effort is supported by massive budgets, provided directly and indirectly (often through church groups) by the European Commission and member governments, as well as Norway and Switzerland. The funds are justified as support for peace, democracy and human rights, but the evidence shows that these groups use their funds for anti-Israel propaganda."