[ Taking over the culture and media industry by the government
goes hand in hand with efforts to limit the power of the courts. One
cannot maintain a democracy for its citizens along with military
dictatorship for its noncitizens, without consequences.]
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ISRAEL’S GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO TURN THE FILM INDUSTRY INTO A
PROPAGANDA ARM  
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Noam Sheizaf
February 1, 2023
New York Times
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_ Taking over the culture and media industry by the government goes
hand in hand with efforts to limit the power of the courts. One cannot
maintain a democracy for its citizens along with military dictatorship
for its noncitizens, without consequences. _

Israeli soldiers on Shuhada Street in Hebron passing by Palestinian
children. A film still from “H2: The Occupation Lab.”, Credit:
Philippe Bellaïche / H2: The Occupation Lab

 

The West Bank city of Hebron, less than an hour’s drive from
Jerusalem, is a unique place: the only Palestinian town in which
Jewish settlers live among the local residents, and not in separate
communities.

This is why, after the Israeli military pulled out of other West Bank
cities in the mid-1990s as part of the Oslo peace accords, it kept
control over Hebron’s ancient center, which includes the holy site
of the Cave of the Patriarchs, revered as the place Abraham himself
was buried. Known as H2, it is an urban area under one of the longest
direct military occupations in the world, a fact that is immediately
visible to any visitor: The shops are closed; Palestinian movement is
heavily restricted; and concrete walls, wire, security cameras,
roadblocks and checkpoints are everywhere.

Having served in Hebron as a young infantry officer in the 1990s, I
feel a special connection to this city. I returned to it in later
years as a journalist, and more recently I worked, along with the
veteran Israeli documentarist Idit Avrahami
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on a film chronicling its recent history, using the voices of Israeli
generals who have governed the city to tell the story of Israel’s
military control over the West Bank. Titled “H2: The Occupation
Lab,” our film premiered in Tel Aviv last May and was broadcast on
the Israeli documentary channel. In recent weeks, however, our
documentary has come under attack; screenings have been canceled; and
an online smear campaign against us began. Since the new government
under Benjamin Netanyahu took power in December, things have become
worse.

The new culture minister, Miki Zohar, has accused our film
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another new documentary, “Two Kids a Day,”
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arrests of Palestinian minors by the military, of smearing Israel and
hurting the military’s reputation. Before reportedly even watching
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films, he announced that his office is examining possible actions
against them
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including forcing their creators to pay back any government funding
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a demand that would amount to a heavy fine on the production
companies, since the money in question has already been spent.

Mr. Zohar also hopes to prevent any similar projects by
requiring filmmakers seeking government grants to pledge
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their works won’t harm the country’s reputation. Given the right
wing’s new hold on Parliament, Mr. Zohar’s proposals could soon be
a reality — and the dependence of the Israeli film industry on
taxpayer support could very well force many filmmakers to sign such
loyalty oaths, or risk not being able to complete their projects.

As a whole, Israeli society doesn’t like to debate the occupation,
and domestic news reports about it have become rarer in recent years.
More often than not, these accounts are told through the perspective
of the “security issue,” and refrain from dealing with human
rights or the absence of political rights for Palestinians.

Still, the thriving Israeli documentary scene has remained a major
venue for exposing the public to the reality in the occupied
territory, and for the price both societies pay for it. Not only do
filmmakers continue to document what’s happening in the West Bank,
they sometimes succeed where other methods of public engagement fail.
Films create a world of their own, so they have the power to avoid
dominant narratives and ideologies; they connect on an emotional
level, not just an intellectual one; they tell a story: and they often
offer an opportunity to adapt a new perspective.

And so, acclaimed documentaries produced over the last 15 years, like
“The Law in These Parts
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“Advocate [[link removed]]” and the Oscar
nominees “The Gatekeepers
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and “5 Broken Cameras
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brought to light harsh practices used by Israel in the West Bank and
set off fierce public debates. Other works, like “Blue Box
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and “Tantura
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went even further, critically examining the formal narrative of the
roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Unsurprisingly, these documentaries generate discomfort, and backlash.
Now the Israeli right, which long sought to delegitimize or even
criminalize criticism of the occupation, is seeing an opportunity to
kill off such films.

A few weeks ago, screenings of our film scheduled for a public hall in
Pardes Hanna-Karkur, north of Tel Aviv, were abruptly canceled by the
city council
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the peculiar pretext that public spaces can’t host politically
controversial events.

City council members in Jerusalem threatened to cut
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budget of the Jerusalem Cinematheque if our documentary was shown.
(The film center screened it anyway.) Protesters demonstrated at
cinematheques in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Herzliya and Holon that
showed “Two Kids a Day”; the private phone number of Holon’s
mayor was posted in WhatsApp groups
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a right-wing activist. Memes and messages circulating in right-wing
groups
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my co-director and me of antisemitism
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of being B.D.S. activists
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As stressful as personal attacks can be, the more troubling
developments are far greater than our own lives. Israel’s culture
and creative industry rely on government assistance for its
productions. Several funds, along with the national lottery, give
grants to filmmakers. By politicizing the allocation of funds,
threatening to bar leftist filmmakers from receiving grants and
placing projects under political supervision, it seems the new
government seeks to turn the film industry into a propaganda arm for
the state, the occupation and the government.

And the problem goes well beyond film budgets. The new minister for
communications, Shlomo Karhi, is seeking to shut down
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the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, one of the largest
investors in original content in Israel. According to
common estimates in the industry
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the government’s intention is to divert at least some of Kan’s
budget to commercial networks, and especially to one small hard-right
news channel that is widely regarded as a mouthpiece for Mr. Netanyahu
and his supporters.

Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition has also introduced proposals that would
make critical journalism and documentary work close to impossible. One
bill would forbid
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airing of recordings done without the consent of the participants,
while another would forbid
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even the online sharing of such videos. The taking over of the culture
and media industry by the government would go hand in hand with
efforts to limit the power of the courts
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It is not a huge leap to say these are the first steps in the populist
playbook, the likes of which the world has seen in Turkey and Hungary.
Nothing guarantees that Israel will not follow the same path.

At the heart of our film lies the idea that what happens now in Hebron
can and will take place elsewhere — first in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem, and then within Israel proper. That’s why we named it
“The Occupation Lab.” Indeed, the reception to this film and the
recent efforts to suppress it have added weight to this idea.

But the story here is bigger than the fate of a film, or even the
entire industry. One cannot maintain a democracy for its citizens
along with military dictatorship for its noncitizens, without
consequences. Israel managed to avoid them for a long time, but now
its moment of truth has come.

_[NOAM SHEIZAF is a documentary filmmaker and journalist.]_

The taking over of the culture and media industry by the government
would go hand in hand with efforts to limit the power of the courts.
One cannot maintain a democracy for its citizens along with military
dictatorship for its noncitizens, without consequences. Israel managed
to avoid them for a long time, but now its moment of truth has come.

* Israel
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* Palestinians
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* Occupied Territories
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* Gaza
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* Israeli films
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* Netanyahu government
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* Benjamin Netanyahu
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* Israeli politics
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* Films
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* Propaganda
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* Film and propaganda
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