The insightful and revealing documentary, “Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land” is a revealing look at the overt pro-Israel and anti-Arab bias inherent in the way in which (most) American news stations cover the Arab-Israeli conflict. The documentary talks about the ways in which both Israel itself and Israeli and Jewish advocacy groups pressure and harass media outlets in order to force them to broadcast stories in such a way that they have an overtly pro-Israel and anti-Arab slant. The techniques by which the media often broadcast pro-Israel and anti-Arab stories include pretending that Palestine isn’t being occupied and using (or not using) certain terms and phrases in order to explain various aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which portray settlements as legitimate and harmless (among others). The documentary also compares and contrasts the heavily pro-Israel and anti-Arab coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict found in the U.S. news media with other more objective media such as the BBC, for example. Viewers also learn about various ways in which Israel has violated various aspects of international law in the name of controlling Palestine. This documentary also talks about how the American media portray the violence perpetrated by Palestinians as random or as if they are somehow evidence that Arabs or Muslims are somehow inherently violent---which, of course, is not true---and that the Israelis are supposedly never violent toward the Palestinians---which is not true either. We also learn about various groups that pressure journalists to provide pro-Israel and anti-Arab coverage. Viewers learn about how if Palestinians die at the hands of Israelis, but no Israelis die at the hands of Palestinians, it is portrayed as a “period of relative calm” (or a related term such as that), yet this is not the case if Israelis die. Viewers also learn about how when Israelis die, no matter who they may be---whether they are politicians, soldiers, or average people---the media devotes tons of coverage to their stories, to their families, to their funerals, etc, whereas if Arabs are killed, American media will simply say “such-and-such a number of Palestinians were killed” and then move on to the next story. The documentary also discusses how the media, in coordination with the government, portrays the U.S. government as approaching the Arab-Israeli conflict neutrally, when in reality, they are not. In fact, as Douglas Little points out in his book, “American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East Since 1945,” while the U.S. has always recognized Israel as a country, it is worth noting that U.S. policy only became overtly pro-Israel and anti-Arab after the Six Day War in 1967. Before 1967, U.S. policy was actually heavily pro-Arab. It was only after 1967 that things changed. The documentary also discusses the other major media angle while reporting on the Arab-Israeli conflict, namely portraying the various paltry offers of miniscule amounts of land and/or sovereignty as a “generous” offer. Viewers will learn about the consequences suffered by Israeli soldiers who were themselves opposed to the occupation and therefore refused to serve in Palestine. Finally, the documentary questions whether peace is really possible at all.
In addition to the main feature it has lots of special features. Disc 1 has additional news clips demonstrating the pro-Israel and anti-Arab bias in American foreign policy, and by extension, in how American news media, particularly TV stations, cover various issues related to what goes in in the Holy Land. In addition to the documentary itself, the DVD has many interesting special features, including ten additional interviews, fourteen independent short films, thirty-one maps, online resources, and subtitles in five different languages---English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Hebrew. There are interviews with all different types of people---from current and former IDF members, journalists, Israeli and Palestinian civilians, and others.
If you liked this documentary, I would also highly recommend that you supplement it with the book, “Pens and Swords: How the American Mainstream Media Report the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Marda Dunsky, who, by the way, was one of my former professors in college. You might also want to read “American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East Since 1945” by Douglas Little. It was interesting that---basically---the massacre at the Sabra and Shattila refugee camps by both the Israelis and their allies in a right-wing militant Christian neo-Fascist theocratic terrorist group in Lebanon known as the “Kataeb” or, under its French title, “La Falange Chrétienne Libanaise”---the Lebanese Christian Falange (who are both named after, and modeled on, the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco’s political party, La Falange Española (The Spanish Phalanx, who ruled Spain from 1939-1975)), and who have also killed and persecuted Muslims during the Lebanese Civil War. I found it interesting that the Israeli press is---ironically---more likely to provide objective, honest reporting in these issues than the American media are. It is also ironic that Israel, and subsequently the American media, have portrayed the Israeli demolishment of Palestinian homes as enforcing a law, when it was Israel who had illegally seized a lot of this land that had originally been controlled by the Arabs.
I only have two criticisms of this film. My first objection is to the fact that NO ATTENTION is paid to the distinct differences between both liberal, moderate, and conservative justifications for the Israeli occupation of Palestine given by politicians, by advocacy groups, and by news outlets. By this, I mean that I really wish that this documentary had gone into depth about how, for example, politicians on the extreme far right---both in the U.S. and in Israel---support the seizure of Palestinian land and other anti-Arab policies for ethnic, racial, and religious reasons. In other words, right wing politicians in Both the U.S. and Israel support the occupation of Palestine pecisely BECAUSE of their hostility toward Arabs and Muslims, and, in the case of those motivated explicitly by religion, both ultra-conservative Jews and Christians, both in Israel and the U.S. believe that Israel has to take full control of the entire Holy Land in order to be prepared for the coming of the Messiah, not to mention the fact that both the extreme far right in both Israel and the U.S. have always been hostile toward Islam and Muslims, an this, too, is reflected in media coverage of the conflict; yet---oddly enough---this is not discussed. My second objection is to the claims made by the British Journalist Robert Fisk of "The Independent," when he---basically---cynically attacked all politicians' press conferences---not just those that have to do with Israel or who involve a president from one party or the other---as nothing more than choreographed showpieces in which reporters always throw softball questions to politicians never ask tough questions about anything. Now, that very well may be true if certain media outlets who might share the same political perspective as the politician who they are interviewing at the moment (such as when people from right wing news outlets like Fox News or The New York Post interview President Trump, or if people from liberal news outlets like MSNBC or The Hill were to interview Bernie Sanders, for example). However, generally speaking, most reporters often ask politicians tough questions regarding all sorts of issues.
This is one of the best resources for a balanced view of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is essential viewing for anyone interested in history, politics, the Middle East, or journalism.
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