{"id":1701,"date":"2026-05-18T15:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.yzz.me\/?p=1701"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:04:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:04:21","slug":"a-hasbara-lebuktatasa-a-nakba-elhallgatott-fele-irta-vajda-tamas-2026-05-15-rovat-tortenelem-szombat-org","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/a-hasbara-lebuktatasa-a-nakba-elhallgatott-fele-irta-vajda-tamas-2026-05-15-rovat-tortenelem-szombat-org\/","title":{"rendered":"Exposing Hasbara: \u201eThe Untold Half of the Nakba\u201d By Tam\u00e1s Vajda \u2013 May 15, 2026 Section: T\u00f6rt\u00e9nelem-szombat.org\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Original article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.szombat.org\/tortenelem\/a-nakba-elhallgatott-fele?fbclid=IwY2xjawR39KlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeDqfCOnnNBHNatIxV74mIxSwFrFG3gjoZBZC3L2LW38vpvS7cVK-pDkslj1A_aem_IsGprHvI2U9a8pYo6QwBNw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Saturday.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"0\">A\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"2\">Saturday<\/i>\u00a0published in a magazine,\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"34\">\u201e&quot;The silent half of the nakba&quot;\u201d<\/b>\u00a0The article is a classic in the historiography of the Middle East conflict and Israeli public diplomacy (<b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"163\">Hasbara<\/b>) processes a fault line that has been used for decades.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\">The central thesis of the article is that while international public opinion and the mainstream media focus exclusively on the 1948 exodus and expulsion of the Palestinians (the\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"1\" data-index-in-node=\"145\">Nakba<\/i>, i.e. the Catastrophe) as a tragedy, it almost completely ignores the \u201eother side\u201d: the systematic plundering and exodus of approximately 850,000 Jewish citizens who were expelled or forced to flee from Arab and Muslim countries (Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, etc.).<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\">Below we analyze the article\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"32\">its reality<\/b>\u00a0(the historical facts), as well as those\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"92\">slips and manipulative framings<\/b>, which make writing a tool for political advocacy.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1750\" src=\"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2026\/05\/Gemini_Generated_Image_kut2kokut2kokut2.jpg.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1408\" height=\"768\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2026\/05\/Gemini_Generated_Image_kut2kokut2kokut2.jpg.webp 1408w, https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2026\/05\/Gemini_Generated_Image_kut2kokut2kokut2-600x327.jpg.webp 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1408px) 100vw, 1408px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-path-to-node=\"4\">1. Reality: What is historically verifiable<\/h2>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">The vast majority of historical facts underlying this article are true and documented. The tragedy of the Jewish communities in the Arab world in the mid-20th century is an undeniable historical fact.<\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"6\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Systemic persecution and pogroms:<\/b>\u00a0Before and after the establishment of the State of Israel (1948), the Jewish population of Arab states faced overwhelming oppression. Events such as the Baghdad Massacre of 1941\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"209\">Farhud<\/i>\u00a0(pogrom), or the anti-Jewish riots in Egypt and Libya are real.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Confiscation of assets and deprivation of citizenship:<\/b>\u00a0Several Arab governments (for example, Iraq and Egypt) passed laws that blocked Jews&#039; bank accounts, confiscated their movable and immovable property, and stripped them of their citizenship if they left the country.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Number of refugees:<\/b>\u00a0The statistics are accurate: approximately 850,000 Jews were forced to leave their centuries-old (sometimes millennia-old) homeland in the Arab world. Of these, approximately 600,000 found refuge in the newly founded State of Israel, where they integrated (they are the Mizrahi\/Sephardic Jews).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-path-to-node=\"7\" \/>\n<h2 data-path-to-node=\"8\">2. Slips, Silences and Hasbara Framing<\/h2>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">Although the story of suffering presented is true, the article\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"9\" data-index-in-node=\"48\">contextualization, causal relationships and political conclusions<\/b>\u00a0They are already following the classic Hasbara methodology. The aim of the text is not only to establish historical truth, but also to de-emphasize the moral and legal weight of the Palestinian refugee issue.<\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"10\">a) False Equivalence of \u201epopulation exchange\u201d<\/h3>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"11\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"11,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The slide:<\/b>\u00a0The article (and the Israeli narrative behind it) presents the events as if a spontaneous or necessary \u201epopulation exchange\u201d had taken place in the Middle East in 1948 (similar to the Greek-Turkish or India-Pakistani population exchanges). The message:\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"11,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"270\">\u201eThe Arabs expelled the Jews, Israel took them in; Israel expelled the Palestinians, the Arab states should take them in \u2013 the score is settled.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"11,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Hiding the truth:<\/b>\u00a0This parallel is both legally and historically flawed. The Palestinians were driven from their homeland by a fledgling state (Israel) to create an ethnic majority. In contrast, the Jews of Arab countries were\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"11,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"229\">their own governments<\/i>\u00a0They were punished collectively, as if as geopolitical revenge for the creation of Israel. The Palestinian civilian population was not responsible for the anti-Jewish measures of the Iraqi or Egyptian governments, so their rights (e.g. the right of return) cannot be written off by the tragedy of another group.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"12\">b) The silencing of Zionist agency and motivation<\/h3>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"13\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"13,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"13,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The slide:<\/b>\u00a0The article attributes the Jewish exodus solely to Arab anti-Semitism and unilateral expulsion.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Hiding the truth:<\/b>\u00a0Although persecution was a primary factor, the article completely leaves out the\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"102\">the active role of the Zionist movement and the State of Israel<\/b>. Israel desperately needed a Jewish demographic to replace the Palestinians, so it actively encouraged, organized, and hastened the emigration of Arab Jews through agents (e.g.\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"334\">Operation Ezra and Nehemiah<\/i>\u00a0In Iraq,\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"13,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"371\">Operation Magic Carpet<\/i>\u00a0In Yemen). The 1950-51 Baghdad bombings are also a subject of historical debate, for example, where there is a strong suspicion that Zionist underground movements played a role in intimidating local Jews and urging them to emigrate.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"14\">c) Political instrumentalization of refugee status (Whataboutism)<\/h3>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"15\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"15,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"15,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The slide:<\/b>\u00a0The article suggests that the international community is applying a \u201edouble standard\u201d when it only deals with Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"15,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"15,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Hiding the truth:<\/b>\u00a0Jews who fled from Arab countries\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"15,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"62\">they are no longer refugees<\/b>, but are full, integrated citizens of Israel (or the USA, France). In contrast, millions of Palestinian refugees still live stateless, without citizenship or basic human rights in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria or Gaza, because Israel refuses to let them return and the Arab states (partly for political reasons, partly due to economic impossibility) have not integrated them. The relevance and humanitarian weight of the two statuses are therefore completely different in the present.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"16\">d) Linguistic Framing: Appropriation of \u201eNakba\u201d<\/h3>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"17\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"17,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"17,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The slide:<\/b>\u00a0The title (\u201eThe Silent Half of the Nakba\u201d) deliberately adopts the term Palestinian national tragedy in order to relativize it.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"17,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"17,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The mechanism:<\/b>\u00a0This is a classic communication trick. When the dominant party projects the terminology of the oppressed or criticizing party (Nakba, apartheid, genocide) onto itself (\u201ewe are the real victims\u201d), it nullifies the political edge of the original expression.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr data-path-to-node=\"18\" \/>\n<h2 data-path-to-node=\"19\">Summary<\/h2>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"20\">A\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"20\" data-index-in-node=\"2\">Saturday<\/i>\u00a0article\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"20\" data-index-in-node=\"16\">factually true, but manipulative in function<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"21\">The story of Jewish suffering described in it is real and belongs to the dark pages of Middle Eastern history. The mistake lies in the fact that this tragedy\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"21\" data-index-in-node=\"148\">as a political trump card<\/b>\u00a0use it: it serves to create a moral balance where there is none (unilateral population exchange theory) and to absolve Israel of its historical and legal responsibility towards Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"4\">Source of the analysis of the Szombat article<\/h3>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"5\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The journalism examined:<\/b>\u00a0A\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"5,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"28\">Saturday<\/i>\u00a0A historical essay from a Jewish political and cultural journal about the exodus of Jews expelled from Arab countries.<\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"5,0,1\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5,0,1,0,0\"><a class=\"ng-star-inserted\" href=\"https:\/\/www.szombat.org\/tortenelem\/a-nakba-elhallgatott-fele\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-hveid=\"0\" data-ved=\"0CAAQ_4QMahgKEwicurnpyMKUAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQngE\">Saturday: The silent half of the nakba<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-path-to-node=\"6\" \/>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"7\">.Theoretical and historical background sources (To which the articles were compared)<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">The following official and historical sources were used as a basis for identifying slips and Hasbara techniques:<\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"9\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Communication and Hasbara Methodology:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"9,0,1\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,0,1,0,0\"><i data-path-to-node=\"9,0,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The Hasbara Handbook: Promoting Israel on Campus<\/i>\u00a0(Civic Coalition \/ Israel Activism Court) \u2013 This manual openly describes the techniques in bullet points: news spinning (<i data-path-to-node=\"9,0,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"171\">spin<\/i>), discrediting the questioner (<i data-path-to-node=\"9,0,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"206\">ad hominem<\/i>), topic change and linguistic framing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">International legal documents:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"9,1,1\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,1,1,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,1,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">ICC (Rome Statute):<\/b>\u00a0The genocide (<i data-path-to-node=\"9,1,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"34\">genocide<\/i>), the eradication (<i data-path-to-node=\"9,1,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"56\">extermination<\/i>) and the source of the precise legal distinction between war crimes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,1,1,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,1,1,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">ICJ (International Court of Justice):<\/b>\u00a0Interim orders in South Africa v. State of Israel (2024\u20132025), which legally established a \u201eplausible risk of genocide\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">History of Jews in the Arab World:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"9,2,1\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,2,1,0,0\">A\u00a0<b data-path-to-node=\"9,2,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"2\">WOJAC<\/b>\u00a0(World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries) and the\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"9,2,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"62\">Yad Vashem<\/i>\u00a0documentation of the 1941 Baghdad\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"9,2,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"106\">Farhud<\/i>\u00a0about the pogrom and the anti-Jewish laws in Egypt and Libya.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,2,1,1,0\">The Israeli State Archives\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"9,2,1,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"32\">Operation Ezra and Nehemiah<\/i>\u00a0(rescuing Iraqi Jews) and the\u00a0<i data-path-to-node=\"9,2,1,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"91\">Operation Magic Carpet<\/i>\u00a0(rescuing Yemeni Jews) about its logistics and Zionist motivations.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eredeti cikk:\u00a0szombat.org A\u00a0Szombat\u00a0foly\u00f3iratban megjelent,\u00a0\u201eA nakba elhallgatott fele\u201d\u00a0c\u00edm\u0171 \u00edr\u00e1s egy klasszikus, a k\u00f6zel-keleti konfliktus t\u00f6rt\u00e9net\u00edr\u00e1s\u00e1ban \u00e9s az izraeli k\u00f6zdiplom\u00e1ci\u00e1ban (Hasbara) \u00e9vtizedek \u00f3ta alkalmazott t\u00f6r\u00e9svonalat dolgoz fel. A cikk k\u00f6zponti t\u00e9zise, hogy mik\u00f6zben a nemzetk\u00f6zi k\u00f6zv\u00e9lem\u00e9ny \u00e9s a f\u0151sodrat\u00fa m\u00e9dia kiz\u00e1r\u00f3lag a palesztinok 1948-as elv\u00e1ndorl\u00e1s\u00e1t \u00e9s el\u0171z\u00e9s\u00e9t (a\u00a0Nakb\u00e1t, azaz a Katasztr\u00f3f\u00e1t) ismeri el trag\u00e9diak\u00e9nt, szinte teljesen elhallgatja [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,25],"tags":[100,96,153,155,154,156],"class_list":["post-1701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hasbara-magyarorszagon","category-hasbara-megdonese","tag-hasbara","tag-izrael","tag-kozel-kelet","tag-mediaelemzes","tag-nemzetkozi-kapcsolatok","tag-vilagpolitika"],"modified_by":"Antipropaganda H\u00edrblog","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}