The Creation of Islamophobia

Hasbara has been instrumental in fostering and weaponizing Islamophobia as a means to defend Israeli policies, undermine Palestinian solidarity, and maintain Western political and financial support for Israel, contributing significantly to the rise and persistence of Islamophobic
attitudes in the West.

Israel shapes Western media portrayals of Islam by embedding Islamophobic stereotypes, promoting false moral equivalences in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and manipulating political discourse to defend Israeli policies. This results in a widespread, often one-dimensional, negative representation of Muslims that fuels fear, misunderstanding, and discrimination in Western societies.

The Israeli government's public diplomacy and propaganda effort (hasbara) has played a significant role in the creation and amplification of Islamophobia, particularly in Western countries. Originally meaning "explaining" in Hebrew, modern hasbara involves spreading Zionist narratives that often include fabrications and half-truths to defend Israeli policies and discredit critics, especially those supporting Palestinian rights.

Hasbara significantly influences the portrayal of Islam in Western media by shaping narratives that often reinforce negative stereotypes about Muslims. It operates through various channels including mass media, social media, academic institutions, NGOs, and political discourse to promote a Zionist perspective that frequently casts Muslims, especially Palestinians, in a negative light.

Israeli propaganda contributes to the dominant Western media stereotype of Muslims as radical insurgents bent on jihad or terrorism, reinforcing the association of Islam with violence and extremism. This portrayal is pervasive in news coverage and entertainment, where Muslim characters are often depicted as terrorists or threats to Western society.

Hasbara supports a narrative that frames the Israel-Palestine conflict as morally equal on both sides, obscuring the power imbalance. This framing often equates Israeli military actions with Palestinian resistance, thus deflecting criticism of Israeli policies and reinforcing negative images of Palestinians and Muslims as aggressors.

Hasbara efforts aim to divert attention from Israeli actions such as settlements and human rights abuses by shifting focus to issues like alleged Palestinian incitement or anti-Semitism. This manipulation extends to portraying Israel as a lone democracy defending itself against a hostile Muslim world, thereby justifying aggressive policies and fostering Islamophobic attitudes in Western societies.

Israel provides fellowships, grants, and internships to journalists, bloggers, and social media activists who advocate pro-Israel narratives, which often include spreading negative stereotypes about Muslims. This institutional support amplifies Islamophobic messages within mainstream and digital media.

Post-9/11 Western media, influenced by hasbara, shifted towards classical Orientalist portrayals that depict Muslims as inherently violent, incapable of democracy, and a permanent threat to Western values. This creates a climate of fear and suspicion that is continually reinforced by repetitive media coverage of terrorism linked to Muslims.

This propaganda effort has strategically used Islamophobia as a tool to defame and neutralize pro-Palestine activists and organizations by associating them with terrorism or extremism. Since the early 1980s, Israeli propaganda shifted to target nationalist and Islamic groups, and after the Cold War, terrorism replaced communism as the perceived global threat, which Israel exploited to frame Islam and Muslims negatively.

Pro-Israel groups and individuals heavily fund and shape this Islamophobic discourse, investing millions of dollars to promote anti-Muslim sentiments in the U.S. and Europe. This serves to sustain unconditional Western support for Israel by portraying it as a bulwark against a supposed Muslim threat, thus making Israel appear indispensable in the so-called "clash of civilizations" and the global "war on terror."

Hasbara campaigns often link Palestinian resistance movements, such as BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions), with anti-Semitism and terrorism to delegitimize them. This tactic also extends to spreading a negative image of Muslims in general, not just Palestinians, through mass media, academic institutions, NGOs, and social media influencers who receive support and funding to advocate Israel's narrative.

Notably, prominent Islamophobic figures and campaigns with strong pro-Israel ties have been documented, and some Islamophobic activists have connections to Israel, further illustrating the intertwined nature of Zionist propaganda and Islamophobia. Key organizations funding Islamophobia linked to pro-Israel agendas include several Jewish federations, donor-advised funds, and foundations that channel significant resources to anti-Muslim groups and individuals known for their Islamophobic rhetoric.

There is the Jewish Communal Fund (JCF), which is affiliated with the UJA-Jewish Federation of New York. It has provided substantial funding to prominent Islamophobic groups and figures such as Pamela Geller’s American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), the Clarion Fund, Steven Emerson’s Investigative Project on Terrorism, Daniel Pipes’s Middle East Forum, and Frank Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy. Between 2011 and 2013, JCF contributed approximately $1.4 million to these organizations.

Next, there is the Jewish United Fund (JUF) of Metropolitan Chicago, which is the funding arm of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Middle East Forum and Investigative Project on Terrorism. JUF also received millions from donor-advised funds like Donors Capital Fund and Donors Trust, which are major funders of Islamophobia in the U.S. These funds have supported the distribution of anti-Muslim propaganda such as the film Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.

Third, there are the Donors Capital Fund and Donors Trust which are key anonymous donor-advised funds with a history of financing Islamophobic organizations and campaigns, including large grants to the Clarion Fund and other anti-Muslim groups.

Fourth, there is the Russell Berrie Foundation, which is identified as one of the top donors to extreme Islamophobic groups in the U.S. It has funded Steven Emerson’s Investigative Project on Terrorism and Daniel Pipes’ Middle East Forum, both central to the Islamophobia network.

Fifth, there is Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), which is openly anti-Muslim and has sponsored talks by Pamela Geller, a leading Islamophobic activist.

Then, there are other Jewish federations in major U.S. cities (New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco) which operate donor-advised funds that disperse millions to anti-Muslim groups, often anonymously, reflecting a pattern of mainstream charitable giving supporting Islamophobia tied to pro-Israel agendas.

Islamophobia is considered a strategic tool for supporting Israeli policies because it serves to marginalize and demonize Muslim populations, particularly Palestinians, thereby deflecting criticism of Israel’s actions and justifying its security measures and military operations. This strategy leverages widespread fears and negative stereotypes about Muslims in Western societies to build political support for Israel and to undermine solidarity with Palestinians.

By framing Palestinians and Muslims broadly as a security threat or as inherently intolerant and violent, Israel and its supporters can portray opposition to Israeli policies as support for extremism or terrorism, thus delegitimizing pro-Palestinian activism.

Islamophobia taps into existing fears and prejudices in Western societies, especially among right-wing populist groups, creating a receptive audience for hardline Israeli narratives. This helps Israel gain allies in influential political circles in the U.S. and Europe.

Islamophobia provides common ground for alliances between Israel and far-right parties in Europe, India and the U.S., who share anti-Muslim sentiments. This shift from antisemitism to Islamophobia has facilitated broader cooperation and political support for Israel.

Depicting Muslims as a monolithic threat allows Israel to justify stringent security measures, military incursions, and occupation policies as necessary for self-defense against an existential enemy. The common Western assumption, therefore, is that Israel is keeping Muslims in check, otherwise they will overrun and destroy the West, and take over. This threat haunts the Western psyche.

Islamophobia conflates Palestinian identity with Islamist extremism, discouraging Western public and political support for Palestinian rights and resistance by associating them with terrorism. Thus, Islamophobia becomes an accepted form of racism in many Western societies, allowing Israel to benefit from societal biases without facing the backlash that overt antisemitism might provoke.

Islamophobia functions as a political and ideological tool that supports Israeli state interests by shaping public opinion, influencing policy, and marginalizing Palestinians and Muslims in the broader geopolitical context.

Thus, Hasbara networks and affiliated pro-Israel organizations are significant promoters of Islamophobia in the West, using it as a tool to defend Israeli policies and counter pro-Palestinian movements.

Fear is the greatest propaganda tool