Trying to formulate a simple opener for this post–”The latest conflict in Gaza…” “Israel’s recent war with occupied Palestine…”— I stalled, worried that my word choice itself will be a reflection of the powerful media filter through which so many of us experience the catastrophes, tragedies, and atrocities of war. That filter is the subject of Peace, Propaganda and The Promised Land: Media and the Israel-Palestine Conflict, a documentary that takes a critical look at the way that particular conflict has traditionally been represented in the American press. (more plus full video after the jump)

Robert Fisk, Noam Chomsky and a host of reporters and media scholars offer their thoughts, but perhaps most striking is the way the film backs up many of its assertions with examples from major outlets like CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Their look at the simple phrase “Palestine attacks, Israel responds,” for instance, is fascinating. Some of it is media literacy 101 stuff, but how often we forget the basics, how much easier it is to swallow the message whole. I did learn something new: When the Israeli Consul General for New York is quoted as saying of this most recent war that “a big part of winning the conflict is a successful PR campaign” I leaned in a little closer. About eight months ago I began receiving semi-weekly emails from the Israeli Consulate in NY, much to my bewilderment. I didn’t unsubscribe immediately, as I would usually do with unwanted bulletins; something about their showing up in the first place intrigued me. They are full of wonderful news of all things Israeli going on in the city, and continued turning up in my mailbox throughout the latest conflict, making little-to-no note of it. The film goes on to say the Israeli government has enlisted some of the biggest American PR firms to wage its PR campaign to win our hearts and minds, and several of their names are scrolled on the screen. One of them is a firm I deal with regularly because they represent a film festival and individual films that I write about for several outlets. Huh. It’s an 80-minute film and is really, urgently well worth watching; if you only have a few minutes, I recommend the segments beginning at 8:30 and 51:15.
Part 1

Part 2

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