Opinion Editorials, June 2007
June 2007 Opinion Editorial Links
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Omeish's Film, "Occupation 101"
By Hassan El-Najjar
ccun.org, June 12, 2007
Sufian and Abdallah Omeish have produced and directed a documentary film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a focus on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1967.
As the title tells, the film provides basic information about the conflict, which started by a decision of European Zionists in 1897 to colonize Palestine. The interviews dispel the Zionist myths and propaganda such as the claim that Palestine was uninhabited before the coming of Zionist illegal immigrants from Europe.
It also points to the sources of the Israeli power in the US and Europe, which have enabled the Zionist state to dominate the Middle East since 1948. The British colonial power assisted the Zionist movement in establishing the state first, by providing it with weapons and training, then by allowing immigration of Zionists to Palestine.
The film also sheds light on the three major constituents of the Zionist state in the U.S., who support the Israeli occupation government blindly. These are AIPAC, Christian Fundamentalists, and the Zionist corporate media, in addition to the major beneficiaries of wars in the Middle East and around the world, namely the oil industry and the military-industrial complex.
A very successful and persuasive feature of the film is that many of the interviewees who lead the discussion are Israeli and US Jews. So, nobody can claim that the film is anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic, which are the two labels used usually by Zionist propagandists against anybody telling the truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The interviewees also include prominent experts about the conflict. Among the many names viewers will remember are Noam Chomsky, Amera Hass, Phylis Bennis, Arik Ascherman, William Baker, Peter Boukert, Jeff Halper, Paul Findley, Rashid Khalidi, and Drew Christiansen. A full list of them is provided on the film DVD cover.
The strongest aspect of Omeish's "Occupation 101" is the story as told by the Palestinian victims themselves grieving over killed relatives, crying injured loved ones, lamenting demolished homes or destroyed property.
The film is a welcome addition to education about the roots of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It shows the horrors of Israeli occupation of Palestine, how Israelis abuse Palestinians, kill them, injure them, destroy their property and livelihood in order to force them out of their homeland. It also include footage from various wars.
It runs about ninety minutes, English and Arabic, with English subtitles. It's recommend for education of families, members of congregation of all faiths, students at schools, and libraries.
I recommend it, in particular, to peace activists and anti-war groups to show it to their public audiences, followed by discussions and question-answer sessions. It is on the same level of John Pilger's, "Palestine is Still the Issue."
For more information, readers can go to:
www.occupation101.com and www.myspace.com/occupation101
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