Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land
Encyclopedia
Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land is a 2004 documentary by Sut Jhally
and Bathsheba Ratzkoff
which—according to the film's official website—"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" and which "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". The film argues that the influence of pro-Israel media watchdog groups
, such as CAMERA
and Honest Reporting
, has led to distorted and pro-Israel media reports. It features Noam Chomsky
, Robert Jensen
, Hanan Ashrawi
, Sam Husseini
, and Robert Fisk
, among others.
In its response to the movie, the pro-Israel JCRC
criticized the film for not discussing the influence of "the numerous pro‐Palestinian media watchdog groups, including FAIR (Fair and Accuracy in the Media, which describes itself as 'A National Media Watch Group'), whose spokesperson played a prominent role in the film".
According to LiP magazine
, the movie "offers a great starting point for thinking about media misrepresentation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and useful analysis of how language is used to manipulate public opinion," but is short on "solid statistics and facts to back up some of its blanket statements". A review in The New York Times
by Ned Martel found that the film "largely ignores Palestinian leadership, which has surely played a part in the conflict's broken vows and broken hearts. And such a lack of dispassion weakens the one-sided film's bold and detailed argument".
The conflict
Documentaries from the Israeli viewpoint:
Sut Jhally
Satvinder "Sut" Jhally , is a professor of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is one of the world’s leading experts on cultural studies, advertising, media, and consumption. He is the producer of 40+ documentaries on media literacy topics and the founder and executive...
and Bathsheba Ratzkoff
Bathsheba Ratzkoff
Bathsheba Ratzkoff is a film director, producer, and editor. She is the co-director of the 2004 documentary Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land...
which—according to the film's official website—"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" and which "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". The film argues that the influence of pro-Israel media watchdog groups
Watchdog journalism
Watchdog journalism aims to hold accountable public personalities and institutions, whose functions impact social and political life. The term "lapdog journalism", for journalism biased in favour of personalities and institutions, is sometimes used as a conceptual opposite to watchdog...
, such as CAMERA
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is an American non-profit pro-Israel media watchdog group. The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to the Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general...
and Honest Reporting
Honest Reporting
HonestReporting is a non-governmental organization that monitors the media for what it perceives as bias against Israel. The organization has affiliates in the United States, UK, Canada, Italy, and Brazil...
, has led to distorted and pro-Israel media reports. It features Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, Robert Jensen
Robert Jensen
Robert William Jensen is a professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin College of Communication. He joined the faculty in 1992 after completing his Ph.D. in media law and ethics in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota...
, Hanan Ashrawi
Hanan Ashrawi
Hanan Daoud Khalil Ashrawi is a Palestinian legislator, activist, and scholar. She was a protégé and later colleague and close friend of Edward Said. Ashrawi was an important leader during the First Intifada, served as the official spokesperson for the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East...
, Sam Husseini
Sam Husseini
Sam Husseini is a writer and political activist. He is the communications director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a D.C.-based nonprofit group that promotes progressive experts as alternative sources for mainstream media reporters...
, and Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk is an English writer and journalist from Maidstone, Kent. As Middle East correspondent of The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years. He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States's war in Afghanistan and the same country's...
, among others.
In its response to the movie, the pro-Israel JCRC
JCRC
Jewish Community Relations Council is a generic term for local public affairs organizations which operate under the Jewish Council for Public Affairs umbrella organization.-See also:* Jewish Council for Public Affairs...
criticized the film for not discussing the influence of "the numerous pro‐Palestinian media watchdog groups, including FAIR (Fair and Accuracy in the Media, which describes itself as 'A National Media Watch Group'), whose spokesperson played a prominent role in the film".
According to LiP magazine
LiP magazine
LiP: Informed Revolt was an award-winning alternative magazine that took on various incarnations after its founding in 1996 by former Britannica.com Books editor Brian Awehali...
, the movie "offers a great starting point for thinking about media misrepresentation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and useful analysis of how language is used to manipulate public opinion," but is short on "solid statistics and facts to back up some of its blanket statements". A review in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
by Ned Martel found that the film "largely ignores Palestinian leadership, which has surely played a part in the conflict's broken vows and broken hearts. And such a lack of dispassion weakens the one-sided film's bold and detailed argument".
See also
The media- Media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict
- Media biasMedia biasMedia bias refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the...
- PropagandaPropagandaPropaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
- SpinSpin (public relations)In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure...
- HasbaraHasbaraPublic diplomacy in Israel refers to public relations efforts to disseminate information about Israel. The term is used by the Israeli government and its supporters to describe efforts to explain government policies and promote Israel in the face of what they consider negative press about Israel...
The conflict
- Arab-Israeli conflict
- Israeli-Palestinian conflictIsraeli-Palestinian conflictThe Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
- Second Intifada
Documentaries from the Israeli viewpoint:
- DecryptageDécryptageDécryptage is a 2003 documentary written by Jacques Tarnero and directed by Philippe Bensoussan. The French film examines media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict in French media, and concludes that the media's presentation of the Arab-Israeli conflict in France is consistently skewed against...
- PallywoodPallywoodPallywood, a portmanteau of "Palestinian" and "Hollywood", is a coinage that has been used by some pro-Israeli media watchdog advocates, among others, to describe alleged "media manipulation, distortion and outright fraud by the Palestinians and other Arabs .....
- Relentless: The Struggle for Peace in the Middle EastRelentless: The Struggle for Peace in the Middle EastRelentless: The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East, also known as Relentless: The Struggle for Peace in Israel, is a 2003 documentary produced by the pro-Israel media watchdog group HonestReporting...
External links
- Movie details, N.Y. Times Review
- Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land on Google VideoGoogle VideoGoogle Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
- Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land: A Critical Review and Analysis (HTML) by JCRC
- Denied Entry: Israel Blocks Noam Chomsky from Entering West Bank to Deliver Speech - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...