Daniel Seaman

Daniel Seaman is the former director of the Israel Government Press Office.

File:Daniel Seaman IDC Herzilya fb 23 March 18.png

Daniel Seaman at IDC Herzilya, uploaded to facebook on 23 March 2018.

File:Amir Ohana Ami Kaufman and Daniel Seaman i24NEWS fb 18 May 18.png

Amir Ohana, Ami Kaufman & Daniel Seaman on i24NEWS English. Uploaded to Facebook on 18 May 2018.

Career

• Managing Director of the Movement for Governability and Democracy (Meshilut) Dec 2019 – Present Jerusalem Area, Israel
• Israel Director Middle East Forum Sep 2018 – Nov 2019 Jerusalem Israel
• Editor of English Edition Mida.org.il magazine Dates Employed 2016 – 2018 Jerusalem, Israel
• Bureau Chief and Broadcaster Voice of Israel Mar 2014 – Nov 2015, Jerusalem, Israel
• Deputy Director General, Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Prime Minister's Office Feb 2011 – Jan 2014
• Office of the Prime Minister of Israel Total Duration 14 yrs
  • Director, Government Press Office 2000 – 2010
  • Head of Foreign Press Department - Government Press Office Dec 1996 – Dec 2000
• IDF Spokesperson Unit Head of Foreign Press Liaison office Dates Employed Jan 1994 – Nov 1995
• Office of the Prime Minister of Israel Head of News and Information Department - Government Press Office Jan 1990 – Dec 1993
• Consulate General of Israel New York Total Duration 5 yrs 9 mos
  • National Director - Institute of Students and Faculty on Israel Apr 1987 – Jan 1989 New York City
  • Assistant to Consul - Academic Affairs May 1983 – Apr 1987 New York City

Education

• Bachelor of Arts, Political Communication, City University of New York-Hunter College, 1984 – 1988.

Activities

On 27 November 2017, Daniel Seaman attended an event hosted by BESA (Begin-Sadat Center For Strategic Studies) in which Middle East Forum founder Daniel Pipes spoke.

Daniel Seaman, the outgoing deputy-director general of the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry, which is being closed, is a highly controversial figure in those parts of government in constant contact with foreign media. An active member of the Likud party, Seaman once ran as a candidate in the party primaries. He previously served as head of the Government Press Office and gained a reputation for his confrontations with foreign correspondents and for the complaints they lodged against him.

The staff of the Public Diplomacy Ministry is being integrated into the national public diplomacy unit in the Prime Minister’s Office. Seaman is expected to assume a new senior position as head of the interactive media unit, which will be part of the national public diplomacy unit. One of the projects of the new interactive media unit, which will be in charge of coordinating the public diplomacy efforts of the Prime Minister’s Office on the Internet and the social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, will be the launching of “covert units” within Israel’s seven universities that will engage in online public diplomacy, as reported on Tuesday in Haaretz.

Messages Seaman has posted on his Facebook page raise serious doubts as to the degree to which good judgment is exercised by someone who is slated to be the chief official in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Israel’s public diplomacy efforts on the various social networks on the Internet. A series of messages that he has posted over the past few months include abusive, even racist, statements directed against Muslims in general and senior Palestinian leaders in particular, as well as against countries that are thought to be Israel’s allies.

For instance, on August 8, two days after the memorial day marking the World War Two atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which killed over 100,000 civilians, Seaman posted: “I am sick of the Japanese, ‘Human Rights’ and ‘Peace’ groups the world over holding their annual self righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the consequence of Japanese aggression. You reap what you sow.

“Instead, they should be commemorating the estimated 50 million Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Malay, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Burmese and other victims of Japanese imperial aggression and genocide. Not to mention nearly 120,000 Allied military casualties who fought to defeat the genocidal Japanese. These are who deserve to be and should be remembered this week.”

On July 16, a few days after the European Union decided to include Hezbollah’s military wing in its list of terror organizations, Seaman’s Facebook page presented these statements: “The EU found an unequivocal voice when it comes to Israel, but still can’t declare the Hezbollah a terrorist entity. Ironically, while Europeans try to define our ancestral borders, the Muslims are redefining theirs.”

A few days later, on July 22, after Hezbollah’s military wing had been added to the EU’s list of terror organizations, Seaman claimed that the EU’s decision was not enough and was rather abusive: “The term ‘half-assed’ is used to refer to something being sloppy or partially completed. For example… The EU decision to only put the Hezbollah military wing on the terror list and not ban the political wing headed by the same Nasralah [Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah] as well, is half-assed.”

Soon after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began, Seaman demonstrated a remarkable degree of questionable creativity of a racist nature when he wrote on his Facebook page on July 9: “Does the commencement of the fast of the Ramadan mean that Muslims will stop eating each other during the daytime?”

Although he is a civil servant, Seaman saw no problem with cynically attacking President Shimon Peres in connection with the recent celebrations of the latter’s 90th birthday. On June 18, Seaman posted this message on his Facebook page: “Question for Peres, Clinton and Blair – how many ‘victims of peace’ never celebrated their 10th birthday?”

On May 26, chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat was the target of a particularly vicious attack launched by Seaman, who posted: “Erekat, said his side would only agree to renew peace talks if Israel ceased all settlement activity and openly declared that a future state of Palestine would be created on the 1967 lines adding that this should not be viewed as a precondition to talks but rather as an Israeli duty. Is there a diplomatic way of saying ‘Go F*^& yourself’?”

A few days earlier, on May 15, Simon sent an insulting message to all Palestinians from his Facebook page: “The Palestinians commemorated the Naqba with a 65 second siren in Ramallah. That’s not nearly enough time to stop and pause to think about how stupid they are.”

Seaman’s use of coarse language and curses is a fairly frequent feature on his Facebook page; for instance, on May 10, in response to the report compiled by the Church of Scotland that claimed that the Jews have no special right to Palestine, he wrote: “The Church of Scotland? The Calvinist, Presbytarian [sic] Church of Scotland? Why do you think we give a flyin F*^& what you have to say?”

These are a few, particularly abusive messages Seaman has posted on his Facebook page. In many others, he has expressed his rightist political views, has come out against the disengagement from Gaza and the dismantling of the Gush Katif bloc settlements, has crudely attacked international media players such as The Guardian or Israeli media such as Haaretz and has personally clashed swords (figuratively speaking, of course) with journalists such as Channel 2’s Arad Nir and former Haaretz editor-in-chief Hanoch Marmari.

Israeli Public Diplomacy head questioned over his anti-Japan comments - japandailypress.com:

"The Facebook posts of Daniel Seaman, Deputy Director General for Information at the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, caught the attention of Japan, as his posts were addressed against the memorial ceremonies observed for the WWII victims. A Japanese diplomat has also reached out to the Israeli Foreign Ministry for clarification. Seaman’s messages were obviously anti-Japan. Given his public office, Japan wanted to make sure if those messages were merely personal, lest they represent the public office of Israel. One of the comments Seaman posted on the social network came a day before the 68th anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing.

'I am sick of the Japanese, ‘Human Rights’ and ‘Peace’ groups the world over holding their annual self-righteous commemorations for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims. [The bombings of] Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the consequence of Japanese aggression. You reap what you sow … Instead, they should be commemorating the estimated 50 million Chinese, Korean … and other victims of Japanese imperial aggression and genocide.' The Israeli Foreign Ministry claimed that such inconsiderate comments were Seaman’s and do not reflect the hasbara office. It is also unlikely that Israel would make an official statement of the like as the nation, born after the Second World War, has also suffered criticism and racists attacks, usually referred to as anti-Semitism. The Germany-born hasbara director was even questioned if he is actually a civil servant given his comments. Although hasbara has no 'real, precise translation of the word in English,' the would-be Israeli Ambassador to Italy Gideon Meir roughly translated the word as 'public diplomacy.' Although the office is aimed to explain Israeli policies, the office is expected to maintain diplomatic affairs with other and international offices. With the careless comments of Daniel Seaman, the hasbara office has just been put in question." Seaman image from entry

Israel's PR chief told to cease activity over offensive Facebook remarks: Japan demands clarifications for Daniel Seaman's posts about its 'aggression and genocide' and asked whether they represent the Israeli government's position - Barak Ravid: haaretz.com: "Daniel Seaman, the outgoing director-general of the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry, has been told to cease all pro-Israel propaganda activity, after Haaretz reported Wednesday on a series of racist and offensive remarks he posted on his Facebook page."

Netanyahu’s social media director suspended - Gil Hoffman, Jerusalem Post: "The Prime Minister’s Office’s director for interactive media, Daniel Seaman, was suspended on Thursday for making statements in the past on his personal Facebook page that were deemed inappropriate. Seaman’s superiors warned him several times, including in writing, over the past month to refrain from writing controversial statements on his Facebook page. After statements Seaman wrote in the past about Palestinian officials and World War II were revealed by a blogger, he was suspended. 'Danny Seaman’s statements on Facebook are unacceptable and do not express the view of the Israeli government,' the National Information Directorate said in a statement. 'The directorate instructed Seaman to immediately refrain from making such statements.' A former head of the Government Press Office, Seaman ran for a slot on the Likud’s Knesset candidates list in 2009 but dropped out of the race before the primary. When he returns from his suspension, Seaman is expected to oversee a far-reaching plan to utilize students and other supporters of Israel around the world in the state’s efforts to defend itself in social media. A government liaison for Israel advocacy on social media will be in charge of obtaining rapid responses from relevant Israeli officials whenever news happens and generating stories on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on positive steps Israel is taking that the mainstream media have ignored. The messages will be coordinated with all the Israeli bodies that deal with public diplomacy, including the IDF. The students around the world will be involved on a voluntary basis, while Israeli students will receive scholarships or stipends."

Propaganda 2.0: Tweeting for scholarship in Israel [Google translation] - Jan-Peter Kleinhans, netzpolitik.org: "Ben Lynfield the British newspaper The Independent reported that the Israeli government in early August launched an initiative to get a scholarship in the Israeli students, when they in turn commit themselves to positive posts on Twitter and Facebook to post. This campaign was launched by Daniel Seaman, Deputy Director General for Information (Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs). So the Prime Minister's

Office confirmed that the goal was to paint a positive image of Israel via social media channels. ... Israel has a long history to use social media for themselves. early as 2009, use the Israeli army (Israeli Defense Forces) YouTube to show their 'own version' of the Gaza conflict with Hamas. Over time the IDF were active on all major platforms - Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, Instagram. Social media allow the IDF to bring direct images, videos and news of the war events to the public. However, this brings up some controversy with it." Image from article

‘PMO stealthily recruiting students for online advocacy’: Government to play behind-the-scenes role in spreading pro-Israel information on social media via universities - Stuart Winer, timesofisrael.com: “The Prime Minister’s Office is working to set up a network of advocacy units in Israeli universities, operated by students who will receive scholarships for their efforts totaling nearly NIS 3 million ($845,000).

The outgoing deputy director of the Prime Minister’s Office, Danny Seaman, sought to gain a waiver from issuing a public tender for the advocacy project, the Haaretz daily reported on Tuesday. ‘The whole idea of the system is based on student actions,’ Seaman wrote in a letter to the government tenders committee last week. The project requires the state’s role to be under the radar, making it appear as if the students are working independently under the auspices of the students’ union, he added. ... Although the advocacy units will be under the auspices of the student unions, they will take their orders from the Prime Minister’s Office advocacy apparatus. ... Israel’s now defunct Ministry of Public Diplomacy is currently being absorbed into the National Advocacy Department at the Prime Minister’s Office, where Seaman will head the Internet Media Unit." Image from article, with caption: Israeli students seen on the first day of the new academic year. October 21, 2012. See also (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Israel setting up “covert units” to tweet, Facebook government propaganda - Ali Abunimah, electronicintifada.net: "The Israeli prime minister’s office is organizing Israeli students in 'covert' and 'semi-military' style units to tweet and post pro-Israel messages on social media without revealing they are doing it as part of a government propaganda campaign, Israeli media reported today. But as The Electronic Intifada has previously revealed, this effort is not entirely new. ... Last year, The Electronic Intifada revealed that the National Union of Israeli Students was already a full-time partner in Israeli government propaganda and set up a project to pay Israeli university students up to $2,000 to spread propaganda online. As The Electronic Intifada also reported, the National Union of Israeli Students sent its members for government propaganda training and described students as Israel’s 'pretty face,' to be deployed as a propaganda auxiliary force. ... Such Israeli government efforts, which attempt to disguise official propaganda as the work of ordinary concerned citizens and students, date back at least to December 2008, during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead assault on Gaza. At that time Israeli social media strategist Niv Calderon wrote that he was hired by the foreign ministry for a first of its kind effort to create a digital 'war room' to promote Israel’s propaganda message internationally. Calderon was later involved in similar organized social media efforts to discredit theGaza flotillas, and in one report on Israeli TV from June 2011, Calderon can be seen managing a social media “war room” working against that summer’s flotilla to Gaza."

Settlers begin Tel Aviv hasbara campaign - alternativenews.org: "A northern West Bank settlers' committee began self-described public diplomacy (hasbara) meetings with Israelis at a Tel Aviv bar Monday night. Yossi Dagan, Deputy Head of the Samaria Regional Council, the representative body of northern West Bank settlements, met with 'tens of Israelis' last night to kick off a planned series of meetings in Tel Aviv. Designated as 'Samaria on the bar', these hasbara meetings are intended to tackle what the settler committee defines as the 'greatest enemy of settlements: ignorance'. Kipa, the settler-affiliated media site, reports that Dagan described to those at the bar the social composition of northern West Bank settlers and the flourishing settlements and settlement industries in the area. Dagan further told his audience that 'radical left-wing Israeli groups' incite against settlements in Israel and against Tel Aviv when they are in Europe, citing inaccurate knowledge of European officials received from left-wing Israelis."

Contact

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/daniel.seaman.752
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-seaman-2b272365/?originalSubdomain=il

External resources

• Students offered grants if they tweet pro-Israeli propaganda, The Independent, 13 August 2013.