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Beyond The Hurricane of Propaganda

Robert Jensen Professor of Journalism at University of Texas-Austin says in the documentary: "Israel is really fighting a war on two fronts. The first is a military campaign being waged in the occupied territories against the Palestinian people, and the second is a PR campaign being waged here in the US through the American media to ensure continued support for Israel's occupation...Israel is also involved in an attempt to ideologically occupy American media."

January 7, 2009 at 7:33AM

Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land is a documentary that compares U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. The documentary explores the ways that U.S. journalists 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.

Israel is occupying a people against international law, demolishing their homes, and settling Jewish people on illegal settlements. It besieges Gaza, denies its people humanitarian aid violates a truce and attacks a tunnel in Gaza killing 6 Palestinians, and the media reports Israel is defending itself.

Noam Chomsky professor of linguistics at MIT states in this documentary: "You can't defend yourself when you are militarily occupying someone else's land. Call it what you like, it is not self-defense."

Even as the truth emerged that Israel has clearly broken the truce and attacked, it is still portrayed as defending itself. This is what propaganda is about. Hiding the facts or twisting and distorting them and then hurling false information like a hurricane at the world so that even if the truth emerges - it is taboo to stand with the side that the facts support.

Robert Jensen Professor of Journalism at University of Texas-Austin says in the documentary: "Israel is really fighting a war on two fronts. The first is a military campaign being waged in the occupied territories against the Palestinian people, and the second is a PR campaign being waged here in the US through the American media to ensure continued support for Israel's occupation...Israel is also involved in an attempt to ideologically occupy American media."

In this latest attack on Gaza Israel has mounted an emergency international PR effort including a YouTube channel. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to check the facts and information, lest we unintentionally support war crimes that bring destruction and death to other people that we never found the courage to listen to or understand their pain and suffering.

Many facts have been distorted and many voices have been silenced. These are not the voices of Hamas, but journalists, UN humanitarian aid groups, doctors, witnesses on the ground who have no personal interest or gain from presenting the facts. It is essential that we allow them to be heard.

After every grave massacre against Palestinians, Israel rages a ferocious fight to prevent an investigation. A case in point is in 1996, more than 100 civilians died after Israel bombed the UN compound where they were seeking refuge. A UN soldier videotaped five minutes of the shelling showing an image of an unmanned Israeli spy plane flying overhead. UN soliders spotted two helicopters in the area. A UN report said it was "unlikely" the deaths were the result of technical errors. The Jenin massacres, the 2006 bombing of Lebanon are other examples. In these cases, and all others - Israel fights with a livid rage against an independent and transparent investigation. Like in Jenin and in other massacres, Israel has banned foreign journalists and human rights monitors.

All that is required from you the reader is to think, verify, analyze, research and look for voices of reason that have nothing to gain from this Gaza catastrophe. Please use GazaSiege.org as a starting point on the current situation.

Call your senators and congressperson and demand an immediate end to the massacre. Support Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio for a thorough transparent investigation by independent groups and hold people accountable to international law.

"All this was, and is, disproportionate, indiscriminate mass violence in violation of international law," Kucinich said in a statement. "Israel is not exempt from international law and must be held accountable."