Keys to understanding the developing situation in Iraq

I wanted to write this post because I'm tired of having to read all these analysis and watch all these self claimed experts on the situation in Iraq once hell broke loose. As always, most of the writers and commentators on the situation are westerners, non-Arabs, non-Iraqis. Most of the writings and analysis are reflective to their authors and this is problematic.

I do an effort to look for sources on the ground and I fortunately speak/read both Arabic and English and that makes things a lot more easier. I still prefer to keep my opinions for myself when things are complicated and when my sources are not adequate. Unfortunately, so many people don't choose to do this. That's why we are witnessing an analytic circus on Iraq these days because everyone thinks they're entitled to saying something even while they don't know enough to form an opinion about the matter.

So, I'm not offering a whole other analysis here, it's more like a guideline based on my observations and readings. These are things I think you need to be aware of and keep in mind while looking at the situation in Iraq right now. It might help you understand a little bit before jumping into conclusions you have already.

The historical context: The peaceful uprising of 2012 that turned into an armed rebellion:

A Friday rally in al Anbar Jan 2013

I started paying close attention to Iraq again in early 2012 after I found out randomly through some of my contacts in Iraq that a popular peaceful uprising started in February 2012 in most of the Sunni major parts of Iraq. The whole thing started in Al Anbar. This came as a response specifically to the targeting, imprisoning, and raping of women in Al Maliki's prisons and the general targeting of the Sunni Iraqis using terrorism laws to persecute the Sunni population. 

 These designs on several days of actions and event are from Herak English, one of the Iraqi English Facebook outlets I followed closely. 

The mobilization was widespread across more 13 major Sunni Iraqi regions, it was incredibly inspiring and was met with so much aggression but for some reason it didn't pick up any media attention. I coordinated with some revolutionary Iraqi Facebook pages and started an English page to translate and post updates from there on a weeklybasis.

We don't give up, we win or die. From an anti-Maliki rally in 2013

A series of attacks and massacres took place at some of the protesters camp sites, and Al Maliki's armed forces used excessive force against protesters. Al Hawja massacre is one example. The situation escalated and eventually several insurgent groups were formed and people picked up arms whether individually or through their clans and tribes. You can check this interview with an armed rebel in Ramadi on why this ended up happening.

  In July 2013, more than1,000 Iraqis were killed in several contexts whether in attacks by the regime forces or in explosions. This is the largest number of deaths the country has witnessed in years, yet it didn't pick up enough attention. Check out this figure.

Civilian Deaths in Iraq from 2008-2013

The conclusion here is: People need to consider the uprising in the Sunni major cities in 2012 and the context in which this uprising emerged and how things were under the US installed puppet regime of Al Maliki.

Contextualizing Syria and Iraq: Shared borders, history, and present:

Guess what? Iraq and Syria share geographical borders. You can look at a map and make sure this is a fact. The development of the Syrian revolution has definitely reflected on the Iraqi scene. Al Malik's regime is allied with Bashar Al Assad's, and Al Maliki's security forces have been involved in operations with Bashar's against the anti-Assad protesters and rebels since 2011. Naturally, several groups and individuals from Iraq were also allied with the anti-Assad Syrian rebels.

The formation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham came through some of these shared efforts. A while before that the Islamic State of Iraq was operating in Iraq. This was the mother group from which (ISIS) was born.

The conclusion here is: Syria is relevant to Iraq. Iraq is relevant to understanding Syria. If you can't fully understand what's been taking place in Syria (And I don't blame you, it's complicated), then you shouldn't expect yourself to fully grasp what's been taking place in Iraq. But at least make sure you're connecting the dots.

The over-generalization and bogey-men blaming:

The recent developments in Iraq reaffirmed the fact so many people in the west think of themselves as experts in Islamic groups. Way too many people think they can have a valid opinion about this subject, mostly non-Arab non-Muslim white males who reside in the northern American continent. The western narrative on Iraq hasn't been any different from the general narrative on the Middle East. This are some common mistakes:

1- Reducing the situation into black and white binaries and overlooking the diversity and the wide spectrum of parties involved and emphasizing the sectarian aspect of the conflict. (Islamist and secular, Sunni and Shia, Muslim brotherhood and military, rebels and state security forces.. etc).

Most of the time this results in the common Arab man who might be affiliated with neither parties not given any credit. It also doesn't give any room for imagining a third gray area.

In case of Iraq it should be recognized that The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) is not the only sole rebel group that's involved in the current conflict in Iraq with Al Maliki's army and security forces.

Although their role in turning the situation can't be neglected, claiming that (ISIS) is the only group involved is as ridiculous as the Egyptian military's claim that everyone in the Egyptian #AntiCoup movement is a Muslim Brotherhood member or a Morsi supporter. The Iraqi people should be given credit for their participation in resisting this US funded puppet regime and people should do an effort in finding more keys to understanding this.

2- The Bogeymen, the terrorists, the bad (usually bearded/Jihadi) guys who get all the attention, who are usually portrayed in an exaggerated representation and are blamed for everything.

In Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham happened to be playing this role. I have my own reservations about the group based on the firsthand accounts I have heard and read from people in Syria and Iraq. I also have been following multiple (ISIS) supporting sources. In addition, like many Jihadi groups, (ISIS) does have a remarkable Arabic and English online media presence because they depend on this in recruiting and building a populace ground. The fan boys of (ISIS) are everywhere on the web, their HD youtube videos, statements, and articles get translated into several languages. While you can always read what the terrorist expert white dudes in Washington DC think about these people, I guess it could be beneficial to you to read their own productions to get more perspective.

I'm not going to get into details about what I think of it personally but I do think that people need to be doing more reading about it in multiple context. There's a need to be familiar with the older group (The Islamic State of Iraq), and the manner in which (ISIS) operates in Syria verses how it has been operating in Iraq and things like this.

3- Blaming the victim and undermining the role of the oppressor.

Just like with Syria and Egypt, the protesters, the rebels, the anti-government elements get more criticism than the forces they are fighting against.

The protesters in Egypt are violent, the rebels in Syria are foreigners, the Sunnis in Iraq are armed, the (ISIS) is torturing people, and thus as a result of this the whole body of the given movement is illegitimate and these people deserve to be punished. This is a very common trend in many of the analysis and in the news coverage about mobilizations in the Arab world.

In Iraq, while nobody said anything about what Al Maliki's regime has committed against his own people and against the Sunni population specifically for years, everyone is talking about the violations (ISIS) was involved in. Similar to the arguments about Rabaa's sit in being an armed sit in and what's been said about Syria that I don't want to get started about. The same thing appears in the argument “Both sides are guilty” with the Palestine/Israeli conflict.

I'm not saying we should remain quite about the mistakes of those involved in a struggle. This is important and necessary however, I'm against equating two sides when the power dynamics are clear.

The conclusion here is:

1- Undermining the real forces that are crushing their people and the international players while giving too much attention to the opposition leads to justifying the oppression on a larger scale.

2- Focusing on and amplifying the violations the (ISIS) is involved in while totally ignoring the atrocities committed by Al Maliki's sectarian regime that used terrorism laws to crackdown on civilians and fulled sectarianism to further its control is unjust.

3- Picking up on the mistakes of the rebels while totally ignoring the role of the American, Iranian, Syrian and other governments which have geopolitical and financial interests in Iraq have responded recently and in the last few years is unjust. 

I have been generally quiet about my opinions regarding what's taking place in the region even in my own country for a multitude of reasons but I felt the need to say something about Iraq especially because we all failed it in many way. As Muslims and Arabs and as anti-war advocates. All the people in the countries that supported the invasion of Iraq which started this all shouldn't act like it's over. Learn and educate yourself before talking. Speak a word of truth against injustice or stay quiet, and everything will be ok. We have so many struggles to deal with to be struggling with orientalist self proclaimed wannabe middle east experts. 

Srebrenica: A story of a Muslim Genocide

The Srebrenica Massacre

11 July 1995

I was five when the Srebrenica genocide happened but I remember. Yes, don't laugh please. Kids here in this part of the world remember things like this. 
My 14 years old cousin Omar remembers his 2 years old memories of the Iraq war. 
I was too young so, I have such vague memories of it, I was a first grade kid in primary school and somehow I still remember a few things.

I still recall the Arabic songs/Nasheed my aunts used to play from an album called "The wounds of Sarajevo".
 A collection of Arabic poems in the form of songs talking about the massacres, about places called Sarajevo, Srebrenica, Bosnia and all these hard to pronounce Slavic names.

Later I found these poems and songs online after years of research and I still love to listen to them often.

I remember she had a bumper-sticker about Bosnia on her radio/cassette device where we used to play these songs. 

I remember a lot of the Modern Standard Arabic vocabulary I picked up and the concepts I learned about through this . I remember asking her as we were watching black and white TV reports and I was having such a hard time understanding why they are killing kids somewhere in the world called Bosnia.

It's so strange how I could clearly remember these details but it also shows what kind of childhood some of us have experienced in Egypt even though we were too far away from these conflicts since the post Camp David era.
 Still none of my peers in school and all the way up to college would relate to these stories or know of them.

"European Muslims", "Non-Arabic speaking people who believe in the same God and book I believe in", Yugoslavia", "Serb and Bosnian" and of course the "Hate/ discrimination crimes" all were things you don't get exposed to if you're a regular Egyptian who grew up in culturally Muslim households in a secular educational system.

As I grew up and while I was exploring my identity I felt a strong connection with these people though, more than just sympathy. I was so curious and wanted to know more about this part of the world and why these white Europeans who don't look like us are Muslim and why they were massacred like that.

When I was introduced to the internet finally in 2003 I did an intensive research on the issue in Arabic ( There wasn't much out there at all back then) and eventually had to do more in English. This was one of the topics that made me want to start blogging when I was 17 or so.
 I didn't think anybody else around me knew or cared and that was hard to understand. 

Later in 2008 I wrote 2 articles on the Bosnian Genocide and until today I still get visits from people searching it in Arabic.

http://so-called-human.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post_11.html

http://so-called-human.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post_9372.html

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Until today I still listen to all the beautiful poetry they wrote about the war/genocide that I memorized growing up in Arabic. 

The wounds of Sarajevo, an album cover 

I can't miss July the 11th without thinking about it and recalling all the Aljazeera documentaries and all the articles and pictures I have in the back of my mind about this horrific event.

I still feel the words on alienation, estrangement, and that Bosnian guy singing about growing up in a non-Muslim country missing the warmth of home, the mosques, the call to prayer, the family and friends, and everything he left behind after becoming a refugee knowing that he can't be back. Ever.

Before the uprising Egypt was pushing me further away more and more and at that time I started to be an advocate of such unpopular/ unknown causes that nobody here cares to learn about.

I started an online educational/awareness campaign on the online forums I used to participate in about this part of the world, the Balkan and central Asia, its history and present, the early Islamophobia in the 1990s.

Nobody I know really cared at that time, but I was happy I got some people excited about the idea online.

I couldn't understand why nobody else was wondering as I did for so long.

How come 8,000 people were killed in 4 days for being males and Muslims and how come women and girls got raped for being Muslims and females?

How come people were kept in concentration camps starving to death and getting tortured like this?

Why didn't anybody talk about it as much as they talked about other events while it was the most outrageous mass killing in Europe after WW2?

Why do you need to be a Muslim to speak about it and why don't fellow Muslims know about it at first place?

90% of all the mosques, schools and old architecture were destroyed , more than 700 hundred mosques and more than 850 public library.

Only (yesterday) around 500 newly discovered bodies where buried.

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"How can these army generals do it and get away with it?" that was one naive question I had as a first year college student until I saw other army generals doing similar things in my own country.

Looking at the destroyed buildings and the coffins piling up in Syria reminded me so much of these pictures showing green coffins and veiled women crying over them. For some reason it wasn't like Palestine or Iraq's scenes at all, it was more like Bosnia.

Now Syrians have more means to talk about what's going on there. Will that change people's perception to mass killings?
Does it mean that no more massacres will continue to happen, that no more innocent people will continue to die in vain and life will go on like this.

Does it make a difference to educate ourselves about history mistakes and educate those around us in order to avoid it?

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The Bosnian genocide and the way the world responded to it all taught me so many lessons about our world and the reality of things. The racial and religious dynamics in the whole thing have hundreds of lessons on how our world is operating. 

I don't know what could be done to stop the bloodshed around the corner from my house in Egypt to be thinking about solving these issues in other countries.

I just know that this specific event has certainly shaped the political and religious consciousness of so many young Muslims in the world as it did with me. More people should learn about this massacre in this context. 

The least I can do about it is talking and honoring these victims by letting more people learn about what happened to them.

For those of you who still don't know much about it, you can easily google: Srebrenica + Genocide + 1995 and you will find plenty of documentaries and articles. 

These are some of the tweets people posted today on twitter to commemorate Srebrenica Massacre, you still can follow the hashtag #Srebrenica to get updates on it:

Stay Human ‏@Stay_Human1

Imagine whats going through families who only just buried their beloveds today after 17 years ... bodies still being identified‪#Srebrenica

Zbigniew G ‏@Zbigniew_G

In many cases, body parts of one individual have been found in several different mass graves ‪#Srebrenica

Kaya Dee ‏@Kaya_Dee

To this day i remember Bosnians telling me about the pain they suffered at the hands of their neighbours ‪#Srebrenica ‪#Islamophobia@MPACUK

Taji Mustafa ‏@tajimustafa

#Srebrenica massacre: I remember how UN arms embargo

left Bosnian Muslims largely unarmed while Serbia inherited Yugoslav Army's arsenal

Radeyah Why? ‏@TryUmphNow

After the ‪#Holocaust we dealt with ‪#antisemitism After the ‪#civilrightsmovement we death with ‪#racism But we never deal with‪#Islamophobia

MPACUK ‏@MPACUK

‪#Srebrenica, where nearly 9000 Muslims were murdered. They are still finding more bodies 17 years on! We will never forget!

MPACUK ‏@MPACUK

Rape was as much a weapon as bullets & bombs. Women raped in front of their parents, children. Fathers forced to rape daughters‪ #Srebrenica

MPACUK ‏@MPACUK

An estimated 200,000 Muslims murdered, 12,000 children & 50,000 women raped at the end of the genocide. How can we not forget?#Srebrenica

Norman Finkelstein: Arab dignity will bring peace to the Middle East

This  important and highly recommended statement by Dr. Norman Finkelstein was supposed to be published earlier but I totally forgot about it due to the unusual circumstances we are going through right now in Egypt.
Last May I attended his lecture in the American university of Cairo and that was one of the most informative and important lectures about Israeli/Arab conflict I've ever attended. 

If you are a westerner and interested in getting to know about this conflict from a perspective of a Jewish American who's parents died in the Holocaust you have to know more about this man.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Finkelstein


The article as found in his official site.
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/stop-the-presses-an-article-thats-actually-accurate/
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In a lecture that linked Egypt’s revolution to the balance of power in the region, the renowned American academic Norman Finkelstein painted the clear fear change will induce in Israel

Osman El Sharnoubi, Wednesday 18 May 2011

The American political scientist and author Professor Norman Finkelstein, an outspoken critic of Israel, gave a lecture Monday night to a packed auditorium at the American University in Cairo, a day after he demonstrated with Egyptians in front of the Israeli embassy in Giza on the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba.
Finkelstein, the author of The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, started the lecture by speaking about Israeli aggression towards its neighbours in the last five years, starting from Hezbollah’s victory against Israel.

Finkelstein moved from this defeat to tell a narrative of Israel’s belligerency in reaction to this defeat, using the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2008, the ensuing blockade and finally the attack on the freedom flotilla, the Mavi Marmara as illustration.
Through such accounts, Finkelstein presented to the audience why he views Israel as a rogue state.
Presenting facts and testimonies, Finkelstein refused to label what happened to Gaza in 2008 as a “war,” insisting that what took place there was a “massacre.” Presenting Israel’s excuse for this massacre as false, for Hamas did not provoke this response from Israel, he moved on to the real reason for the operation against Gaza. Israel, smarting from its humiliating defeat in Lebanon in 2006, wanted to display its military might.


In the same way, the professor undermined the reasons for the Israeli blockade on Gaza, saying that preventing weapons from entering Gaza did not necessitate banning chocolates, potato chips and baby chicks from entering.
He sees the blockade as a form of collective punishment on the Gazans for choosing the wrong leaders in the 2007 elections – Hamas.

pictures from Gaza after IDF attacks in Dec 2008

The final, and most important, part of the lecture covered the Egyptian revolution and its impact on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Posing as a starting point the question of whether or not the revolution would threaten Israeli security, Finkelstein delved into Egypt’s history with Israel since 1952, shortly after the occupation of Palestine, following the free officers’ coup and the revolution that immediately followed.

Finkelstein, again, tried to show that Nasser and other leaders were in fact hoping to avoid a confrontation with Israel, preferring to focus instead on modernising. It was Israel that wanted a war.

Through citing events from 1954 to 1967, the lecture presented the view that an unthreatened Israel carried out the 1967 attack on Egypt in its effort (with the grace of the United States) to destroy “radical Arab nationalism” and eliminate the chances of Egypt becoming a force to reckon with in the future. Instead, with Mubarak in power, it became a country that could “be pushed around.”

From here, the lecture became more inward looking, touching upon issues hotly debated in Egypt since the ousting of Mubarak. Among these is the Camp David peace treaty with Israel.

The treaty, he explained, came about as a consequence of Israel’s desire to remove Egypt from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The concern stemmed from Egypt’s military performance in the 1973 war that temporarily saw Israel pushed back in Sinai.

Sadat unilaterally agreed to peace in return for the Sinai Peninsula, which, according to Finkelstein, “freed Israeli’s military hand” to attack on other fronts. The 1982 invasion of Lebanon and the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank followed.

Finkelstein asserted that under Mubarak, Israel was guaranteed a calm southern front, and it pursued its attempts at cornering Iran with sanctions and mobilising for war against it.

This, the professor stated, is no longer the case. The first thing Israel said after Mubarak was ousted from power is that the attack on Iran is off.

Another consequence of Mubarak’s toppling, believes Finkelstein, is that the popularly rejected Camp David treaty may be renegotiated, although he doubts it will be renounced due to the reciprocal obligations a treaty entails, i.e. Israel left Sinai in exchange for Egypt making peace with it. Israel, Finkelstein said, trembles at the possibility of having to renegotiate with Egypt.

The revolution has brought Israel to face a fear it hasn’t had to contemplate since signing the treaty with Egypt. Israel is “afraid that the dignity of the Arab World, in particular Egypt, will be restored, that’s their problem,” declared Finkelstein. War, on the contrary, fills it with no fear since it has the upper hand militarily.

It was then the turn of Arab leaders to come under Finkelstein’s caustic analysis. Despite knowledge being a crucial asset for leading a country, Arabs – citing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah – don’t generally read, especially their leaders. “The complete guide to chewing grass” he cited as the only book Mubarak had ever read.

For this reason, Finkelstein explained, the Israelis weren’t afraid of Mubarak, but, in contrast, “they know ElBaradei reads,” to which the audience applauded.

His reference to the Nobel Prize winner and presidential hopeful Mohammad ElBaradei lead to him admitting his preference to see him become president because he “wants to restore the dignity and the pride of Egypt.”

It is precisely the prospect of Arab countries rising as powers and modernising, which destroys Israel’s war option, preventing it from having a free military hand in the region to use under the pretext that Arabs only understand the language of force. This, Finkelstein said, is the greatest threat to Israel.

The nullifying of the military option would create a climate in which the prospects for peace between Israel and Palestine have never been better.

Arabs and Muslims: The bad guys in Hollywood

"Reel Bad Arabs": How Hollywood vilifies a people.

I found this outstanding documentary on July 2010 and was impressed by the effort done and the huge amount of information documented in it. It was originally a book by the same author: Dr. Jack Shaheen that I so much admire and respect.

I thought of sharing this movie earlier but it never happened but now is definitely the best time to share such a masterpiece of work for many reasons. 

First of all to remind Arabs of the way we have always been considered and portrayed in the western media and consequently on the western mentality _and may be still are_ in order to work on changing this by clearing these misconceptions up.

I'm afraid the subconsciousness of us is being fed all the time by nonsense that become facts later on in a gradual process. 

(Advice number 1: Watch out for messages sent to you throughout media. All the time)

Secondly, when the map of the Middle East is being redrawn literally, policies towards the Middle East should be reconsidered again as well. This is the role of the educated open-minded westerners who are willing to co-operate.

Although seeing Americans jumping like crazy and chanting CIA in front of the red house oh, sorry I mean the white house made me think twice before talking about rationality and the definition of triumph I still have faith in the smart minority out there.

(Advice number 2: Power comes from people for people who are the makers of their fate, if they neglected this fact they should blame no-one but themselves.)

I'm not going to write much and will just quote from the official site of the movie that you might find here:

http://www.reelbadarabs.com/

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"This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged from the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs--from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists"--along the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today. "

"Shaheen shows how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture, in the process reinforcing a narrow view of individual Arabs and the effects of specific US domestic and international policies on their lives.

By inspiring critical thinking about the social, political, and basic human consequences of leaving these Hollywood caricatures unexamined, the film challenges viewers to recognize the urgent need for counter-narratives that do justice to the diversity and humanity of Arab people and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture."

About Dr.Jack Shaheen:

Dr. Jack Shaheen (born 1935) is Professor Emeritus of Mass Communication at Southern Illinois University. He was also a consultant on Middle East affairs for CBS News.

He studies portrayals of Arabs and Islam in American media. Being a committed internationalist and humanist, Dr. Shaheen addresses stereotypical images of racial and ethnic groups. His presentations illustrate that stereotypes do not exist in a vacuum, that hurtful caricatures of Asians, blacks, Latinos and others, impact innocents. He explains why such portraits persist, and provides viable solutions to help shatter misperceptions.

Among Dr. Shaheen's awards recognizing his "outstanding contribution towards a better understanding of our global community" are the University of Pennsylvania's Janet Lee Stevens Award, and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition for "his lifelong commitment to bring a better understanding towards peace for all mankind."

Shaheen, a recipient of two Fulbright teaching awards, holds degrees from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Missouri. 

He regularly appears on national programs such as Nightline, Good Morning America, 48 Hours, and The Today Show. Also, he has worked with several television series: The Lucy Show, Twelve O'Clock High and The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.

To watch the full movie on Top Documentary Films:

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/reel-bad-arabs/

Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land: Media & the Israel-Palestine Conflict

السلام و الدعاية و أرض الميعاد:

الإعلام الأمريكي و الصراع الفلسطيني الإسرائيلي

Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land:

Media & the Israel-Palestine Conflict

  

A film introduced by: Media education Foundation

Written and directed by:

Sut Jhally & Bathsheba Ratzkoff

*********

I've seen a part of this documentary dubbed into Arabic on Aljazeera documentary channel and I liked what I've heard and seen in it. 

Not to mention that I didn't really need to watch the whole film to judge it, I'm quite impatient so watching an 80 minute long documentary is more than I can take especially when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict for many reasons.

In addition, I'm not yet to decide about this issue since I've already had my point of view regarding it that I'll never change. Now I'm just enhancing it's validity even more.

Speaking from a standpoint of an average person living in any country allover the Middle East who has some interest in politics, the film doesn't offer something brand new.

However, it could be used as a very good argument in several occasions due to the nature and background of the interviewees and the speakers in it who are respectful scholars and journalists, former Israeli soldiers and also bright individuals such as the linguist Noam Chomsky, a worldwide reputed Jewish thinker that I appreciate myself.

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Taken directly from the official website:

Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported.

Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one.

The documentary also explores the ways that U.S. journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out Israel's PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics.
 

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Interviewees include Seth Ackerman, Mjr. Stav Adivi, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Hanan Ashrawi, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Neve Gordon, Toufic Haddad, Sam Husseini, Hussein Ibish, Robert Jensen, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Karen Pfeifer, Alisa Solomon, and Gila Svirsky.

Sections:

Intro | American Media: Occupied Territory | Hidden Occupation | Invisible Colonization | Violence in a Vacuum | Defining Who Is Newsworthy | Myth of U.S. Neutrality | Myth of the Generous Offer | Marginalized Voices | Is Peace Possible? 

 

 

Terms of camp david proposal and how it was covered in American media are one of the most interesting
parts of the documentary

You could watch the full version in English on google videos via this link:

Click here

Enjoy!