The nation of Israel was attacked this last Monday (April 7). The attack was massive, coordinated and announced in advance.
No soldiers, bombs, missiles or tanks were involved, however. The attack occurred quietly through the Internet. Its’ aim was to cripple Israel economically—at least for a day.
For several preceding weeks, the global underground “hacktivist” network that calls itself “Anonymous” had warned of a coming cyber attack upon Israel’s government and businesses. The group branded the effort with the hashtag (a form in Internet labeling) #OpIsrael
Several weeks ago, announcements like the following began appearing on hacker social media accounts all over the world:
"On April 7, 2014, we call upon our brothers and sisters to hack, deface, hijack, database leak, admin takeover, and DNS terminate the Israeli Cyberspace by any means necessary."
On a website dedicated to the event, another hacker group calling itself “AnonGhost” posted a video saying that the attack “will target every possible Israeli website in order to show solidarity with Palestine.”
These were not empty threats. On the appointed day, hundreds of websites of Israeli ministries, organizations, and companies came under attack by the “Anonymous” network.
As it turned out, most of the sites had enacted security measures designed to minimize the damage such attacks can cause. The disruptions were temporary and, with a few exceptions, no major data breaches took place.
The truly troubling aspect of the incident is that it is only one element in a much larger global trend toward isolating, marginalizing, ostracizing, and demonizing Israel.
Every day, and in multiple ways, Jewish Voice is fighting this trend. We’re using every channel of communication at our disposal and innovative strategies to counter the lies and distortions about Israel with the truth.
That’s why your ongoing support is so vital and so deeply appreciated. When you share, you’re combatting darkness and hate with light and love. Thank you.
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