MUST SEE: "Palestine is Still the Issue," by John Pilger

[Paschall]

Just viewed this new documentary by British journalist John Pilger last night at the Americans Against the War - France meeting.

Found it on line to share with you folks. I highly recommend it.

The segment in which Pilger interviews an Israeli whose daughter was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber is particularly moving. He says, when he looks beyond he grief, "...If you think from the head and not from the gut, and you look what made people do what they do - people that don't have hope, people who are desperate enough to commit suicide, you have to ask yourself have you contributed in any way for this despair? For this craziness? It hasn't come out of the blue: the boy whose mother was humiliated, in the morning, at the checkpoint, will commit suicide in the evening."

In three parts at the Information Clearinghouse (RealPlayer):
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3500.htm

Interviews in text format and video (clips?) also available, with more information on Pilger's work, at his website:
http://www.johnpilger.com

[jonoboy]

1. hey he's an Aussie

can't have the Brits claiming our John Pilger, but he does live in the UK.

Pilger is one of the world's great and honest journalists reviled by many of his contemporaries in Aust and the UK. You can only imagine what they think of him on Fox and Murdoch's News Ltd.

[Paschall]

2. Oops! Thanks for the correction

Sorry, Mr. Pilger!

[jonoboy]

3. no problemo

and thanks for the link..I missed the show when it was on public television here.

[TimeLord]

4. I've seen it. It's extraordinary. John Pilger does great work.

by the way. It's not new. It's been out for at least a year, maybe more.

[Paschall]

5. Goodness, I'm going to have to be more careful

Yes, you're right. By "new" I meant this was Pilger's "return" to the same issue after (I think it was) a period of 25 years; he did an earlier documentary with almost the same title a quarter century ago. Also it deals with the "new" security wall the Israelis are building, ie the "new situation." ;-)

[TimeLord]

8. I'm undoubtedly the one who was mistaken.

I neglected to remember his previous work. At any rate it's all good!

:hi:

[Saudade]

6. Pilger

I agree about Pilger. He's relentlessly honest and humane and courageous. I wish we had journalists like Pilger and Bob Fisk in America.

[bluesoul]

7. Fisk

Fisk is a f-in hero! ;) :toast:

[vierundzwanzig]

9. It just ran

on Worldlink TV (which is on Dish and DirectTV).

Indeed, it is one of the more enthralling pieces.

[tinnypriv]

10. There was an interesting backstory to the showing of this

The standard reactionary loons lobbied to get it cancelled or only broadcast with a 'balanced' piece alongside it (i.e. rah rah Israel).

It was referred to the TV watchdog who ruled in Pilger's favor after he presented historical evidence to support every claim made in the film (doesn't mean each claim is correct of course).

He was actually accused of "lying" by his employeer (almost literally, the head of ITV programming was running a smear campaign, the very network which ran it). Naturally that was all disproven as total wacko nonsense. Quite funny to see the network chief disown his own programme though. ;-)

BTW, when it premiered on British TV, it was shown in a 'graveyard' slot in order to reduce the viewing figures. It still received a massive amount of phone call support etc after the credits rolled.

It also received a huge number of negative calls, of which about 99% were outside of Britain (i.e. could not possibly have seen the film). Par for the course for apparachiks, denounce anything which doesn't hold to the Party Line, regardless of whether you've even seen the material you're denouncing :D

Good film all in all. :thumbsup: (though it is worth watching alonside of Arronovitch's one as well, which came out recently. He's a pro-Iraq war hawk, but he addressed the serious problem of anti-semitism in the Arab world very well).

[Paschall]

11. Thanks for the info

As I recall, Pilger doesn't address the question of anti-Semitism in the Arab world directly. Thanks for pointing to Arronovitch's treatment of this issue.

What is most remarkable in Pilger's piece, I think, is the moderate tone of the whole thing. All actual physical and verbal violence is absent from the film (if you exclude a few shots of non-violent scenes at what might be considered inherently violent Israeli checkpoints). No screaming mobs at Hamas funerals, no wailing ambulances and blood-splattered streets in Israel. Israeli victims are represented most poignantly by clips from a home video of a laughing young Jewish schoolgirl killed by a suicide bomber. Though it's probably impossible to view it without reacting emotionally, this documentary scores big points for creating an atmosphere conducive to reflection and by eschewing gut-wrenching emotion... which, it seems to me, is what the question needs desperately.

[TimeLord]

12. The Israeli father, I think his name was Rami,

Is truly a man worth noticing. His views on the occupation even after his daughter was killed are unwavered calling both the bomber and his daughter "victims."

We need more people like him.