The following two paragraphs are taken from an article I recently wrote for the Dispatch from Jerusalem, Bridge for Peace’s bi-monthly magazine. Although the first paragraph is alarming, it’s not new to most of us. But that second paragraph …
Since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, the country has remained loyal to the original priorities of the Islamic regime including exporting revolution throughout the globe. According to the US State Department, Iran holds the dubious distinction of being the world’s “foremost state sponsor of terrorism” providing “a range of support including financial, training and equipment to terrorist groups around the world – particularly Hezbollah.” In the 45 years since the revolution, Iran has built a formidable army to protect the state’s sovereignty, in addition to the IRGC which the US Council on Foreign Relations calls the “ideological custodian of Iran's 1979 revolution,” and whose role it is to defend the Islamic Republic from internal and external threats. More impressive, however, is Iran’s army of proxies which includes more than a dozen militias and terror groups across the Middle East with outposts around the world. Their role is to foment instability and expand the scope of the Islamic Revolution. These groups are directly accountable to the IRGC.
Also worthy of mention is what is being called Iran’s Cyber Battalion consisting of 8,000 members around the world. First appearing around 2011, the group works relentlessly to wage an online propaganda war against the US and Israel. Using Facebook and other social media platforms, or under the guise of local media reports, Iranian state propaganda is laundered to unsuspecting audiences. They often tell the story of a softer, gentler Iran and a quieter, more peace-loving “Palestine” forced to deal with a violent and imperialistic Israel and its equally evil sponsor the United States. Using fake but sophisticated online personas, propaganda is disseminated through individual journalists and even letters published in US regional newspapers. Disinformation about the war with Hamas is rampant, distorting everything from Israel’s conduct as an army subject to international law to the number of casualties or the distribution of humanitarian aid. Relying on the principal that a lie told often enough becomes the truth, the Cyber Battalion is enormously successful.
Remember that the next time you check out the news.
Read the full article in the upcoming September issue of the DFJ
Blessings and Shalom,
Issachar Community
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