Reading into Israeli psychological warfare via Hebrew media
An analytical article by Muhammad Mustafa Shahin examines what he describes as Israeli psychological warfare through the Hebrew media, considering that the Hebrew press has become a party to a system for managing perception and shaping expectations. It cites articles about moves toward Iran and analyzes rules such as control of attention, timing, and narrative coherence, calling for a critical reading of the Hebrew media.
Palestine Online publishes an analytical article by Muhammad Mustafa Shahin that examines what he describes as Israeli psychological warfare through the Hebrew media. The author argues that the Hebrew press, in some of its coverage and analyses, has become a party to a broader system for managing perception, shaping expectations, and directing behavior, and that the news is no longer just a transmission of facts but a tool of psychological pressure and a political message. He points out that this function may come in the form of sober military analysis, an intelligence leak, or information attributed to anonymous officials, such as 'a senior military official' or 'security assessments.' He cites articles that addressed American and Israeli military moves toward Iran, where attention was diverted from previous deterrence failures to what was called 'battleship diplomacy.' The author analyzes the rules of psychological warfare such as control of attention, timing as a pressure tool, excessive narrative coherence, and cognitive closure. He concludes that the psychological goal is to push the opponent to destroy his own options, and that confronting this war requires building a resistant critical awareness that reads the news in its context and examines its source.