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Hitoshi Arai

How should Israel fight information warfare?

Characteristics of Japanese media

Diplomacy is the world backed by political, military, and economic power, however  under Japan’s Constitution, military power is not a diplomatic tool. Japan’s security would not be possible without maintaining law and order in the international community and the cooperation of its allies. Therefore, people’s faith in the United Nations is quite strong. Another characteristic of the Japanese is that they generally tend to have a “Hogan Biiki” (sympathy for the weak and unfortunate, taking sides and supporting them regardless of whether things are right or wrong). A lot of “suggestive reporting” appeals to emotions because of the sentiment that helping the weak is justified.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan’s equivalent of Wall Street Journal, published an article on May 9 titled, “Israel Rejects Hamas Acceptance of Truce Plan, Communicates to the U.S.” The lead of the article reads, “Hamas accepted the cease-fire plan, but Israel rejected the agreement and is trying to keep the war going.” Indeed, the Israelis rejected the agreement proposed by Egypt and Qatar. However, the article did not provide any information or explanation as to the agreement’s contents which was quite unfavorable to Israel and did not contribute to the recovery of the hostages.  This article only conveys the impression that “Israel is backward-looking toward the cease-fire.”

Importance of other countries’ empathy

Many voices in Japan criticize Israel regarding the Hamas-Israel war. The reason for this is, in part, the asymmetry in the magnitude of the damage, but also, perhaps, because Israel is on the side of the “strong,” supported by the United States, the most powerful country in the world. As mentioned before, Japanese people tend to have the sentiment that it is righteous to support the weak.

One Japanese writer and former diplomat, Masaru Sato, wrote “Israeli Jews would rather fight and survive even against the whole world than die out with the world’s sympathy.”  While this is an understandable thought from a people who experienced the Nazi genocide, it also raises a question of whether it would be possible to live in isolation from the world even if they survived. As the “Free Palestine” movement spreads in U.S. universities, and as reports of damage in the Gaza Strip continue to increase, Israel is being isolated from the rest of the world as growing criticism that Israel ignores international law. It is worth involving the international community because it is difficult to resolve conflicts by themselves.  Israel needs to try to share its values and empathize with the people of other countries, rather than making enemies of the world..

How to fight information warfare and get empathy

Below are some messages that might help Israel align its values with those of other countries and gain empathy.

(1) Stop settlements in the West Bank and withdraw.

There is no justification for settlements in the West Bank, no matter what logic Israel develops. Moreover, settlement activity provides a basis for reinforcing their legitimacy in the international community as evidence of the Palestinian logic that the Nakba is still going on. The settlements should be stopped to show that Israel respects international law as a democratic state rather than being bound by the balance of power within the State of Israel.  This would be the only way to most effectively show that “Israel is a democratic state that abides by international law” through its efforts.

(2) Focus the objective of the Hamas-Israel War on “recapturing the hostages.”

The sense of crisis in Israel that terrorism will occur again if Hamas is not eradicated can be fully understood by looking at the history. However, the possibility of accomplishing this by force is not high. One Japanese university professor said that Hamas is not an organization but a “thought,” and even if the current visible Hamas members are wiped out, new people with that thought will be born. Without the eradication of Hamas as an objective, the number of civilian casualties that would have to accompany the eradication of terrorists would be reduced. Instead,  continued efforts to “contain terrorism” with international political power and increased influence in the Arab world will be closer to the values of other nations.

(3) Continue to appeal for the current situation of the hostages and their recovery, as well as the damage caused by terrorism.

In information warfare, the weak are often supported, and the strong are often blamed. Israel is already on the losing side in information warfare, simply because Israel is on the “strong” side, as mentioned before. The “sad fact” that over 100 hostages are still being held and many women have been raped is one of Israel’s few “weak” sides. For lack of a better word, Israel should continue to appeal to the international community facts such as the harsh conditions in which the hostages were placed for the past eleven months by “taking full advantage” of the weak side through the various media and supporters.

(4) Be humble.

There are more than a few Japanese who support Israel. However, it is difficult for us to continue to support Israel as long as it takes actions that are difficult to simply deny the many critics who say that “Israel is ignoring international law”. Israelis may be characterized as hutzpah. In the world of high technology and business, hutzpah is effective, but it may backfire in other areas, such as the information warfare involved in war.  Israel should also put aside its “strength” of surviving against the whole world, as mentioned by Mr. Sato, and adopt the attitude of living together with the people of the world. To do so, Israelis must have the humility to listen to others and pull back when they should. They should try to show that they “share the same values” as people of other countries.

(5) Strengthening soft power, not just military force (hard power).

What other means are there to recover the hostages other than the use of force? I have no practical wisdom that is feasible. Still, I am certain that we need the cooperation of the international community to keep the pressure on the terrorists to release the hostages. To this end, Israel should also focus on exercising its soft power to gain the support of the international community in information warfare. During the Fourth Middle East War, oil became a weapon to move the world. Now, western countries feel the risk of losing access to advanced semiconductors manufactured by TSMC, the world’s largest foundry, due to  China pressuring Taiwan. Western countries will have no choice but to support Taiwan in securing the advanced semiconductors needed for all industries.  Does Israel currently have the equivalent of TSMC, a value each country does not want to lose?  If Israel holds and continues to create “value that the world does not want to lose,” equivalent to TSMC, the international community will provide a certain amount of support from a practical standpoint.  Having Israel’s XX technology without which we would be in trouble, should be an effective soft power to gain the support of the international community.

About the Author
Hitoshi Arai is a director of the Japan-Israel Friendship Association. He is the author of “Why the World's Elites Focus on ‘Israel’” (ISBN: 9784492503195) and translator of “ISRAELI Business Culture” (ISBN 978-4-89586-168-7). Graduated from Waseda University and MIT Sloan School.
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