Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land (2005)

Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land is a documentary film about the U.S. media and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here is some basic information about this film which premiered in 2005:

** Writers and directors: Sut Jhally & Batsheba Ratzkoff
** Producer: Media Education Foundation (MEP)
** Run time: ca 80 minutes

Several people were interviewed for the film. Here are their names in alphabetical order:

** Seth Ackerman
** Stav Adivi

** Arik Asherman

** Hanan Ashrawi

** Noam Chomsky

** Robert Fisk

** Neve Gordon

** Toufic Haddad

** Sam Husseini

** Hussein Ibish

** Robert Jensen

** Michael Lerner

** Karen Pfeifer

** Alisa Solomon

** Gila Svirsky

This film takes a clear stand on the topic at hand:

# 1. The US news media tend to present Israel in a positive light, while the Palestinians are usually presented in a bad light.

# 2. The version that is offered by the US media is often incomplete or misleading and in some cases completely false, because it ignores important historical facts and turns reality upside down.

How does it happen?

The language is very important:

** The US media will not talk about Israel’s “occupation” of Palestinian land. They will not describe the occupation as “illegal.” But there is an occupation, and it is a violation of international law.

** The US media will not talk about “a Jewish settlement,” because this word may have negative associations. Instead they will talk about “a Jewish neighborhood,” because this word has positive connotations.

** When there is a violent clash between the two sides, the US media will say that Israeli troops are trying to “defend themselves against a Palestinian attack.” They will not say the opposite: that the Palestinians are trying to “defend themselves against an Israeli attack.”

** When Israel makes a proposal to the Palestinian side, the US media will describe it as “a generous peace offer.” When the Palestinians turn down the offer, the US media will use this fact to say that the Palestinians do not want peace. But if you study the details of the Israeli proposal, you will find that the offer is not generous at all and that the Palestinians have a good reason to turn down the offer.

One of the persons who are interviewed in the film uses an image to explain the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Let us say we have a house with a basement, ground floor and first floor. Family A lives in this house. One day, family B decides to invade the house. They take over the first floor completely; they take over half of the ground floor and half of the basement. Then family B says to family A:

“You can have one room in the basement and one room on the ground floor. We will take over the rest of the house. Please remember, we control the staircase. When you want to go from the basement to the ground floor, or the other way, you must pass a checkpoint. Show your passport and your permit. We also control the bathroom. When you wish to use the bathroom, you must pass a checkpoint. Show your passport and your permit. We think this is a generous offer. Please sign this contract to confirm that you accept this offer.”

Family A is the Palestinian population in the occupied territories, while family B is the Israeli invasion of the occupied territories: Jewish settlers supported by the Israeli army.

This is what the situation looks like when it is seen from the Palestinian side. Do you think the actions of family B are right? Can you understand that the members of family A are unhappy with the situation and that they do not want to accept the contract that is offered by family B?

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is highly controversial. Many people have strong feelings about it, even if they have no personal connections to this conflict.

Some people will like this film, because they agree with what is being said, while other people will hate it, because they disagree with what is being said. Whether you agree with the film or not, I think it is worth watching, because it has some important information.

What do reviewers say about it? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

** 57 per cent = Metacritic
** 64 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes

** 83 per cent = IMDb

As you can see, the average ratings are quite good, quite high. But if you ask me, they are not high enough. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

PS # 1. For more information, see the following items:

** Stone Cold Justice (2014)

** The Occupation of the American Mind (2016)

PS # 2. American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein is a documentary film about the (highly controversial) US scholar Norman Finkelstein, who has written extensively about Israel and the Palestinians. The film premiered in 2009.

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American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein (2009)

American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein is a documentary film about the controversial American scholar Norman Finkelstein (born 1953) who received his Ph.D. in political science at Princeton University. Here is some basic information about this film which premiered in 2009:

** Directed by David Ridgen & Nicolas Rossier

** Released on DVD in 2010

** Available on Amazon Video since 2012

** Run time: 89 minutes

As stated above, Finkelstein is a controversial scholar – because of his views on the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In this film we follow him during several months as he travels in the US and to other countries where he is invited to give a talk, to present his views, and to take part in political and historical debates. Some people in the audiences love him, while others hate him.

In this film we meet some of his supporters, who agree with him, as well as some of his opponents, who condemn him. Here is an alphabetical list of the people who are interviewed:

** Musa Abu-Hashhash

** Nidal Barham

** Noam Chomsky

** Alan Dershowitz

** Richard Finkelstein (Norman’s brother)

** Raul Hilberg

** David Olesker

** John Mearsheimer

** Len Rudner

** Avi Shlaim

** Maxine Tsvaigrach

What do reviewers say about this film? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

** 71 per cent = Metacritic

** 80 per cent = IMDb

** 86 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes – the audience score

** 100 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes – the critics

As you can see, the ratings are quite high, quite good. I understand the positive reviews and I agree with most of them. As far as I can see, this film is an ABC-product: accurate, balanced and comprehensive. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

PS. Norman Finkelstein is the author of several books and articles about politics and history. Here are two examples:

** The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering (hardcover 2000, paperback 2015)

** Method and Madness: The Hidden Story of Israel’s Assault on Gaza (paperback 2015)

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