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German brochure attracts Israeli criticism

Updated: 14/Oct/2005 17:04

Photo: www.imdb.com

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Israel’s ambassador to Berlin has called on the German government to withdraw an official brochure accompanying a Palestinian film about suicide bombers.

The 24-page publication, created by the government’s Central Office for Political Education (OPE) recommends the film ‘Paradise Now’ as a means of “critically learning about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.

But Israeli ambassador Shimon Stein has heavily criticized the booklet for creating a “one-sided” view of the Middle East conflict.

The pamphlet is to be distributed at all German movie theaters currently showing the movie, which follows the lives of two young Palestinian men who enlist as suicide bombers.

It will also be sent to German schools as an educational tool.

Factual errors

Joel Lion, head of the Israeli Embassy’s public relations department, told EJP that the booklet is full of factual errors revolving around the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Lion said: “The OPE writes that terrorism as a means of aggression against Israel began only after Israel’s 1967 capture of the West Bank and Gaza – when in fact, it began even before the State of Israel ever came into existence.

Israelis remain quasi-invisible, they can only be seen at a distant as figures, not as people

Tobias Ebbrecht, professor at Potsdam’s Film College

“But what is even more crazy is the fact that the OPE says in no uncertain terms that suicide-terrorism as an ancient Jewish invention – referring in the brochure to the biblical story of Samson.”

On page 17 of its brochure, OPE writes, “the suicide attack was already known in ancient times - in the Old Testament (Judges, chapter 16).”

The Office for Political Education (OPE) is a federally mandated organization that “supports all citizens in understanding political relationships”.

Its goal is to anchor the non-partisan democratic consciousness within the German population. The office works closely together with educational institutions and its recommendations are often included in the teaching plans of schools.

Withdrawal call

Joel Lion quoted

“But what is even more crazy is the fact that the OPE says in no uncertain terms that suicide-terrorism as an ancient Jewish invention – referring in the brochure to the biblical story of Samson.”

Joel Lion, head of the Israeli Embassy’s public relations department

Stein as saying that he hopes the OPE would withdraw the pamphlet from theaters and schools.

The ambassador said that what most concerns him is the influence the booklet could have on German youngsters.

The publication means that “children are encouraged to make value judgments without having learned about the Israeli side,” Stein said according to Lion.

“Furthermore, neither the film nor the pamphlet condemns the terrorism - instead it excuses it as a means to an ends,” the ambassador added.

Lion spoke of his concerns about the government intervention. He said: “The main problem is that a federal German institution published a one-sided booklet about such a complex situation. Germany should always keep a fair and balanced approach when dealing with the Middle East.

Unbalanced movie

Academics have expressed concern that the movie ignores the Israeli viewpoint and focuses on the Palestinian cause.

“Israelis remain quasi-invisible,” said Tobias Ebbrecht, a professor at Potsdam’s Film College. “They can only be seen at a distant – as figures, not as people.”

The film won a series of international awards, including Amnesty International’s Freedom Prize for “not accusing or moralizing”

But Alan Poesener, a journalist at the “Die Welt” daily newspaper said he believed the movie is unbalanced.

Poesener wrote: “The film also does not state that it could be morally wrong to kill innocent people en-masse. It avoids showing the results of the terrorist’s actions. As soon as Said blows up, the screen turns bright, white and pure.”