Tel-Chai Nation

Newsbusters and Davids Medienkritik report that the German government financed an anti-Semitic movie that "humanizes" Arab suicide bombers. The film is called "Paradise Now" and if there's any problem it's got, it's two-fold: first, that it doesn't make clear whether the Israeli "occupiers" should be dealt with using deadly force or non-violent demostrations. But the most definate problem is that, as Medienkritik points out:

...The only thing certain in the film is the guilt and malice of the Israelis, the “occupiers”. It’s not worth going into detail about the film’s striking polemics against the Israelis. No attempt is undertaken anywhere in the film to explain the Israelis’ position. Almost all of the Israelis appear in the film as soldiers - intimidating, menacing, anonymous, occasionally with sadistic impulses.

I once served in the army myself, and am proud of my service, and while I may not be in the army today, I will say that as someone who once served there, I am simply disgusted by this.

As Newsbusters points out:

The filmmaker, Hany Abu-Assad, told a German website he wouldn’t condemn suicide bombers: "The suicide attacks are a consequence of oppression, which first has to stop...I am against killing people, and I want that to stop. But I do not condemn the suicide attackers. For me, it is a very human reaction to an extreme situation." In their marketing materials, Warner Independent is trying to make "clear that the film is one that carries a message of peace," says spokeswoman Laura Kim. "We are working with many organizations to help get the word out that the film is one to begin a dialogue, to ask questions."

Simply atrocious here is the revolting double-standard being expressed by the filmmaker. As Newsbusters also points out, Hollywood appears to be on the verge of making a ton of pro-terrorist movies, as even Steven Spielberg's next movie appears to be, and defenders of the war on terror (and also the blogosphere) should be ready to deal with this as best as possible.

Many countries in the world are being forced to become more like Israel today, the US included, since the terrorist threat is spreading nearly worldwide, and other countries are forced to adopt measures like those taken by Israel in order to deal with terrorism.

Others on the subject include Democracy Project, Solomonia, Theodore's World, Stupid Random Thoughts.

Labels: germany, showbiz