The Real Meaning of “Hasbarah” (and Hasbarah)

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English has a new word, and it comes from Hebrew. It’s “hasbarah,” more frequently spelled in English (without its final Hebrew letter) as “hasbara.” In either spelling, the stress is placed on the final syllable.

What does it mean? In Hebrew, it denotes an organized effort or program to educate the public about some matter. When this effort has to do with defending Israel, the orchestraters of it are commonly organizations like the Jewish Agency and AIPAC, or such Israeli government institutions as the National Hasbarah Forum, which operates a department in the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.