This week I received an email from a group described as the Never Before Campaign. They were promoting a video which promised to “summarize the Palestinian cause in two minutes.” It sounded interesting, so I clicked on the link and watched.
What I saw was a Palestinian propaganda film, pure and simple.
You might be thinking: C’mon, from your pro-Israel perspective, the film was propaganda, but from the perspective of a Palestinian supporter it was a fair presentation of the issues.
In order to determine which view is legitimately true, we first need to define: What is propaganda?
Propaganda is based on the premise that people are emotional. Propaganda typically presents little or no facts, using techniques like selective omission and over-simplification to play on sentiments and feelings. Propaganda uses highly-charged images and slogans to produce an emotional, rather than a rational, response.
So with this in mind, take a look at this video which purports to “summarize the Palestinian cause in two minutes.”
Imagine an average person watching this video in middle America, France, Australia, or anywhere else in the world. On one level, the images are extremely powerful and convincing. But on a deeper level, this video is propaganda -- a complete distortion of the issues. Viewers may be emotionally moved, but there is no rational basis to back it up.
That’s why Aish.com teamed up with filmmaker Micah Smith to produce our own version of this film that exposes the propaganda for what it is.
By adding some concrete facts and information, the message of the movie is easily flipped around to become a pro-Israel film, revealing the superficiality of the original. Due to the constraints of the medium, our version of the film cannot possible address all the issues. Therefore we recommend reading the articles below that explore some of these topics in depth. (We slowed down the film by 30% to make it easier to read the text.)
Ultimately, it’s a lesson in the power of the media, and how -- if we don’t want to be manipulated -- we need to constantly be on guard.
So take a look at our version, and share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Be informed. Read these informational articles:
- Top 10 Myths about the Middle East
- The "Occupied Territories": A Primer
- It's Not About "Occupied Territories"
- What Occupation?
- Are Israeli Settlements Legal?
- Combating Lies
- This is Apartheid?
- Israel's Anti-Terror Fence
- Dishonest Reporting: Media Bias Against Israel
_(english).jpg "Chicken Soup with Chopsticks")
(63) Mayim , October 7, 2009
I love it
really strait to the point
(62) Gary Katz , July 20, 2009
Why the special treatment?
What I can't figure out is the special treatment and attention afforded the "Palestinians." They are the only "refugees" with their own U.N. agency. They get billions in aid, both legitimately and illegitimately. There are few actual refugees; most of them are descendants of refugees. They are but a subset of Muslims who never had but now demand their own state, and commit terrorism in the pursuit of their goal. The world doesn't shed any tears over other such Muslims in Thailand or the Philippines. The Palestinians are not the only people who ever suffered displacement and permanent relocation due to war. Entire cities in Iraq were divided up ethnically after Saddam was driven out. The world does not clamor for Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians to be allowed to return to their homes. So what's the big deal with the "Palestinians," other than the fact that Jewish Israel "mars" "sacred Muslim land" (Who are the real racists here?)?
(61) Notborn Yesterday , July 14, 2009
More up-to-date coverage needed!
As a Christian and a supporter of Israel, I am tired of being bombarded as I am by the rabid hatred of Israel that continues to promulgate pictures of devastation and accusations of genocide in Gaza. I see very little from the Israeli viewpoint that eother denies these accusations or puts them into a perspective. Generally all I see from the Israeli viewpoint concerns incidents and events that are months or years old, and i think Israel is very poor at giving the world up-to-the-minute day-by-day coverage that we can use to nip the lies of the arabs and the MSM in the bud. How about it friends?
(60) pgp , July 13, 2009
just one thing
without any other comment, one thing I do have to say has to do with one of the first lines of the new video. The video mentions a Palestinian state in 1948. This is where many other people make mistakes, in that there is not now nor has there ever been a country of state of 'Paslestine.' The only existence of the word "palestine" is that in relation to territories, palestinian terrirtory.
(59) Kat , July 13, 2009
I agree
With the second video. Perhaps Carter needs a copy? I think the public is beginning to see how crappy the palestinians are treated by other Arabs, and how they do have better lives inside Israel vs. Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, etc. They are not allowed ciizenship in the other Arab countries, and instead of CAIR helping them, they would rather bother and fight with the American people, or send money to terrorist groups keeping violence and hatred alive over there. CAIR needs to and deserves to get, lawsuit after lawsuit against them. By Americans from Palestine. If the Pals in America would go against CAIR and other arabs for their maltreatment, something may be done. Until the truth is free and the propaganda is stopped, Palestinian children will always live in war zones and terror.