May 11, 2026 | “The Big Lie: Information Warfare in the Israel–Gaza War” with Joel Fishman

In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, public discourse surrounding Israel and Gaza has been shaped not only by events on the ground, but by rapidly circulating and often competing narratives. Political messaging, media dynamics, and historical interpretation intersect in the construction of contemporary understandings of the conflict.

The ‘big lie’ is the name of a propaganda technique, originally coined by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf, who wrote “The great masses of the people… will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one,” Today, the big lie concept is being utilized in anti-Israel propaganda. False, or grossly simplified and emotionally charged narratives can rapidly gain traction in digital environments, going on to influence public perception and policy debate. How are historical sources currently being used and misused in political argumentation? How important are the issues of translation, access, and selective citation across contexts? How can propaganda and disinformation clearly be identified and distinguished from legitimate analysis?

Dr. Joel Fishman is a historian and Fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. He received his doctorate in modern European history from Columbia University, Certificate of the European Institute, Columbia University, and post-doctoral research at the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam. He has published on political warfare, devoting special attention to the cultural environment in which it is waged. At the Jerusalem Center he served as editor-in-chief of the Jewish Political Studies Review. He is the author of the pioneering contribution, “Ten Years since Oslo: The PLO’s ‘People’s War’ Strategy and Israel’s Inadequate Response,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jerusalem Viewpoints No. 503, 1 September 2003.