Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Tony Kushner, Eric Roth
English, German, Italian, French
163 minutesBriefly, the movie presents, via pulse-pounding scenes of kidnaping, death, stalking and more death, the message that Israel was brutal, bungling and immoral in its reaction to the massacre. True, the hostage-takers were also brutal; but dispossessing Palestinians, we soon learn, lies at the root.
Unlike American journalists who subscribe in principle, if not always practice, to a high-minded code of ethics calling for accuracy, balance and accountability in news coverage, documentary filmmakers of various nationalities often freely blend fact, distortion, ideology and even fiction and defamation without pretense of adherence to any such standards.
The magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is spreading extreme misinformation among its members about Israel's security fence while the church is urging them to vote on anti-Israel resolutions.
Some argue there is an easy way to counter media shortcomings and make Israel's case, but there are profound strategic flaws in efforts to advance public understanding of Israel's circumstances that do not tackle and defeat false and damaging information about the Jewish state.
The wish to see a resolution of the grueling Arab-Israeli conflict is both understandable and perilous for journalists. During the Oslo period, wishes all too often stood in for facts, with a constant blind eye turned to the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hate industry spawned by Arafat and the Palestinian Authority.
As sure as the calendar moves toward spring, National Public Radio stations turn to a fresh season of fund-raising. For listeners wondering about the status of the network's longstanding bias against Israel, a snapshot of coverage in early 2005 offers few signs of positive change. Instead, the tilt toward Arab positions continues. Sloppiness with factual precision is still commonplace.
An essential step to begin reversing British anti-Semitism is for the British media to start applying journalistic standards of accuracy and balance that would halt the demonizing of Israel and provide a truer picture of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The New York Times buried on page 6 of the Business Section (Section C) an important story (February 7, 2005) on the escalating scandal surrounding the facts of the infamous Muhammad al Dura episode. The case involved the alleged Israeli killing of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy and the severe wounding of his father at Gaza's Netzarim Junction in September 2000.
