This film quite obviously reflects the Palestinian side of the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, but this was refreshing because we rarely get that perspective in our regular news coverage, as the film stresses. In “Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land” we are finally given the opposing view, which focuses on the errors on the part of the Israelis. Since this is my first class on the Middle East and I have been exposed to American media my entire life, I do not have much of a background on this side of the conflict except from some discussions with other students majoring in history at Mville who have studied this subject. Last semester I attended a lecture by Omer S. Bajwa of Yale University, which was organized by the Muslim Student Association and focused on the media’s influence on the public’s perception of Islam and Muslims. Though the lecture was on a broader topic, Bajwa discussed the slanted portrayal of Muslims in the media and the typical misunderstanding of Americans of Middle Eastern history, analyzing the typical language and images we have come to associate with Islam and terrorism. Bajwa gave various examples of Muslims being shown at fault and as violent aggressors, and I immediately called to mind his problems with the media when watching the film.
The different specialists and commentators in the film discussed the multi-faceted factors in America’s involvement and news coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. These different points were interesting, and mostly involved deconstructing the pro- Israeli themes in the media, asking “Does the news coverage reflect the situation on the ground?” in the beginning of the film. Particularly interesting was the use of language in the ‘P.R.’ campaign (for example, constantly stating that Israel is retaliating against Palestinian militants instead of discussing its role as the occupier), the pressure put on American journalists who question the occupation, and the fact that Israel has been accused of war crimes and is in violation of the Geneva Convention. Obviously this is not a cut and dry issue, since Palestinians have committed acts of violence, but the film’s attempt at questioning the objectivity of our journalists was certainly thought provoking and should lead to more well rounded discussions of the conflict (in our class, hopefully). I would be curious to find news websites that further present the Palestinian side of this issue; I sadly do not have much more to offer at the moment on the topic.
