PCG Talking About "Pallywood" (2008)

Back in 2008 PCG's Phillip Nice wrote an article ("Welcome to Pallywood," March 6, 2008) asserting that Israeli personnel could not have possibly killed 12 year old Mohammed al-Dura in September 2000 during the opening days of the second intifada. Let's see what Nice have to say about this.

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This article somehow fails to cite any source for his assertions. Not even one news article. There are no links of any kind. Many assertions are made without any citations, footnotes or evidence to back up his claims. Even if they are true, or just partially true it is not possible for the reader to prove this for him or herself. The reader is essentially being asked to just trust Nice. That is not good enough.

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On the 27th, a roadside bomb fatally wounded Sgt. David Biri, 19, of Jerusalem, near the Gazan village of Netzarim.

Natzarim was an Israeli settlement built by the Israeli government within the Gaza Strip. Only Jews were allowed to live in there. Palestinians were forbidden to live there. It was not just a village that happened to be in Gaza.

In 2005 the Sharon led Israeli government evacuated the settlers out of Gaza. One reason for this decision was to prevent the killing of Israeli soldiers present in the Gaza Strip such as the terrible death mentioned above. The Israeli soldiers were there in order to protect the settlers. By evacuating the settlers Israeli soldiers were no longer in harm's way inside Gaza. Afterwards the Gaza Strip would be controlled by Israeli personnel outside of Gaza. The Gaza Strip is still occupied by the State of Israel to this very day. However PCG condemned this move at the time.

While Nice is careful to describe this Israeli soldier by name will Nice provide similar compassion and regret for any Palestinian who dies?

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Only the France 2 cameraman captures the most climactic, iconic and inflammatory 55 seconds of the day—and the entire intifada.

There were many problems that led up to the start of the second intifada. If this terrible tragedy had not occurred the second intifada would in all likelihood still have occurred.

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Talal Abu-Rahma [the cameraman] immediately contacts Charles Enderlin, a respected French journalist, who is on the other side of Jerusalem in Ramallah.

The tragic loss of life occurred in Gaza, not Jerusalem or Ramallah. Ramallah is another city. Although it is near Jerusalem it is no part of Jerusalem.

Considering this odd expression regarding geography what hope is there that Nice will inform his readers about what is happening?

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Nice then describes what happened after the footage was released.

The footage creates a global firestorm. France 2 releases the segment to other news outlets. Western networks and publishers widely reported the tragedy, and local and regional networks broadcast the images of the al-Duras hundreds of times, elevating Mohammed to martyr status and establishing the ultimate intifada icon: a 12-year-old unarmed Palestinian boy cut down in cold blood by savage Israeli troops. Soon, the agonizing image of the boy’s crouching figure is plastered on everything in the Arab world from gigantic murals to postage stamps. Mohammed al-Dura becomes the name of parks, newborns, and the Cairo avenue where the Israeli Embassy is located. 

After mentioning those events Nice then proceeds to assert that the memory of this terrible loss of life have been exploited by some to commit bad things without bothering to provide even one citation to back up his emotive assertions. 

It is also invoked by Osama bin Laden, by multiple suicide bombers, by the terrorists who beheaded Daniel Pearl, an American Jewish journalist for the Wall Street Journal; and it is chanted by the Palestinian mob that bludgeoned and strangled two Israeli reservists in Ramallah, then beat and dragged their corpses to bits, cheering and holding aloft body parts.

Somehow Nice fails to provide any evidence or footnote that these things occurred. Maybe these things occurred just as Nice said. Or perhaps only in part. But it is not possible for his readers to know this him or herself just by reading this article.

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Nice then recites the footage taken by reporters in the area at the time of the terrible killing. It is asserted that Palestinians behave suspiciously in the footage taken during the time of Mohammed al-Dura's death. It is asserted that some of what is shown makes no sense for a situation in which an deadly armed clash would occur.

But then you realize. You’ve just been to Pallywood.

Pallywood is grittier than Hollywood, less musical than Bollywood, but it has its own actors, directors, props, storylines, sets, special effects, professional film crews—and worldwide audiences. It is a recognized phenomenon in which Palestinians exaggerate or completely fabricate violence and injuries and portray Israelis as bloody, dispassionate aggressors intent on maiming and killing Palestinian men, women, youths and, wherever possible, children.

It needs to be mentioned here that the word "Pallywood" is here used in a racist way. If a Palestinian is lying then call him or her a liar. But why bring up their own nationality to insinuate that they are lying? It insinuates that Palestinians in general lie and that it is to be expected that they will lie. That is a nasty stereotype. And by singling out Palestinians in this way the word "Pallywood" is racist as well. Lying is a problem among people in general. It is wrong and racist to single out Palestinians in this manner.

What if one was to speak of American journalists in such a way? Or Israeli journalists? What if Nice spoke about any other ethnicity in such a way?

If one is lying there is no need to bring up the ethnicity of the alleged liar.

This article is racist.

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Nice then asserts that Israelis could not have killed Mohammed al-Dura.

Several pieces of evidence indicate that the shooting of Mohammed al-Dura itself was a theatrical production brought to you by Pallywood. ...

Last week, an independent ballistics expert corroborated earlier investigations that found that the angle of the Israeli position and the situation of the concrete obstacle made it impossible for Israeli troops inside the outpost to have hit the al-Duras anywhere except in their extremities, which were unharmed. 

Nice names the investigator later but he fails to provide any other way for the reader to verify this assertion. Not even a single news article is cited to support Nice's assertion. The reader is asked to just trust Nice in this article.

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Nice then tries to link outrage over the death of Mohammed al-Dura with Osama bin Laden and the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He brings up 9/11 in order to inspire loathing, disgust and fear of Palestinians among his readers.

But even Nice himself seems to somewhat hesitate making this comparison. Perhaps even he can dimly sense something wrong with making such an inflammatory association against Palestinians. If that is the case he should listen to that pang of conscience.

While it’s true that Bin Laden probably didn’t abruptly conspire to murder thousands of Americans simply upon seeing Enderlin’s report, there’s no denying an indirect connection between that explosive log on the fire and Bin Laden’s subsequent calculation that the Muslim world was ready for September 11. 

It’s hard to say such an impression would have been miscalculated. As the World Trade Center appeared on television screens in Gaza, Ramallah, Israel and the world, Palestinians filled the streets, old women and young children cheering and smiling along with men and youths, expressions of relief and delight on their faces.

It is indeed true that some Palestinians did react in such a perverted way. But in fact most Palestinians were horrified about 9/11 and condemned it as was noted in a previous post. 

Meanwhile, the idea among U.S. viewers that the Palestinians - and Arabs and Muslims in general - were celebrating the attacks belied the reality that most Palestininans, like others in the region, were shocked by the bombings and fearful of what they might bring. Arafat himself issued a statement on September 11 condemning the attacks and declaring, "It's not only against the American people and against America, it's against the international humanity."

"How few cameras have caught the spontaneous sorrow, despair, tears and heartache of the vast majority of Palestinian people," Rev. Sandra Olewine, the Jerusalem liaison for the United Methodist Church, later recalled. "My phone rang and rang as Palestinians from around the West Bank called to express their horror and their condolences." The U.S. consul general in Jerusalem received a 12-inch-thick stack of condolences from Palestinians - which he ordered sent to CNN. (Lawrence Pintak, Reflections in a Bloodshot Lens, 2006, p. 79.)

The fact that most Palestinians loathed and condemned Al Qaeda's terrorist attacks is ignored in Nice's article.

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By focusing so much attention on one particular horrific death Nice obscures the fact that Palestinians endured about 300% more fatalities than Israelis. 3179-3354 Palestinians died during the second intifada (2000-5). Meanwhile during the same time 945-1010 Israelis died. This wider perspective of the situation is willfully ignored in Nice's article.

(Once in 2006 PCG's Ron Fraser mentioned that about 4000 people had died during the Second Intifada but he did not mention that about three quarters of those deaths were of Palestinians.)

This does not mean that Israelis' deaths are somehow "less" than those of Palestinians. One death regardless of religion or ethnicity is as terrible as any other. But what this fact does reveal is that during the Second Intifada Palestinians were as a matter of fact more vulnerable to being killed than Israelis. But this fact is ignored in Nice's article.

This indicates that during the course of the second intifada Palestinians were far more vulnerable to being killed than Israelis. While PCG is sympathetic towards Israeli Jews (because PCG thinks they are white) perhaps they should take a moment to consider that the Palestinians suffered more fatalities compared with Israelis.

The State of Israel has an advanced military. It imposes military conscription. It even has nuclear weapons. Meanwhile the Palestinians have far less. So it should be no surprise that Palestinians endured far more fatalities than Israelis.

This trend is also true in regards to the terrible wave of violence currently afflicting the Holy Land. Over 100 Palestinians have been killed since October 1 while about 23 Israelis have been killed so far. Once again Palestinians are as a matter of fact more vulnerable to being killed than Israelis.

But it is doubtful that those in the COGs have been informed of this situation.

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Nice's article was promoted in another PCG article.

In further evidence of the massively successful propaganda campaign Palestinians and their media supporters have waged against Israel, an independent ballistics expert has corroborated earlier investigations that found that the child martyr icon of the second intifada was not killed by Israelis. Images of this supposed Israeli crime poisoned international opinion toward Israel and inspired dozens of Palestinians to commit murder. (The Week in Review, March 15, 2008.)

PCG teaches British Israelism and thus believe that Jews are white like themselves (PCG in America is predominantly white) while Palestinians are viewed as not white.

Many authoritarian religious groups teach their followers to view matters in black and white. It is easier to manipulate people if one can view the world in black and white terms. PCG has done this to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well. 

Consequently the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is viewed by PCG in a simple way. One side is good. One side is bad. One side is white. The other is not white. One side is justified and thus inherently innocent. One side is not justified and therefore is always blamed.

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Considering how dreadful this situation is at present it is good to call for peace. By advocating for peace one is supporting everyone's right to live in peace and safety. It is most unfortunate that many within the COGs are told that there can be no peace in the Holy Land until Christ returns. It is wrong that the hope for peace is destroyed in their hearts. We need peace now.