And the Truth Shall Set You Free

[dmytryp]

I thought for a bit whether to post it and in what way, since I don't know how much of this is known to the people around here. So, I decided to only point to the latest developement and at the end I'll post some links for those who want to read up and watch on the history.

In France, a couple of days ago the french appeals court ruled in favor of Phylippe Karsenty in the case where he was sued for defamation by France2 and Charles Enderlin because of the article he wrote about the case of Muhammed A-Durah (he basically accused Enderlin with knowingly presenting fake footage as a news report). Here (http://www.theaugeanstables.com/2008/05/25/court-decision-i-would-not-like-to-be-charles-enderlin/)is a rouph translation and a small discussion of the verdict.
Maybe there is still hope.

Related links:
A movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXPx5faFA_A) about the signifficance of the A-Durah incident (more relevant movies can be found here (http://www.seconddraft.org/movies.php)).
The account (http://www.theaugeanstables.com/al-durah-affair-the-dossier/) of the relevant events since the incident. And a movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOwZ8wgV7I4).
A documentary (http://www.veoh.com/videos/v63620204zZs2sxf) filmed by Esther Shapira about the case for a German station.
Another movie (http://www.theaugeanstables.com/2008/05/23/better-version-of-my-video-presentation-available-at-youtube/) about the case.

[Bird of Prey]

Dm, just a suggestion. You may want to give a brief summary of the events for those not familiar with the case.

[dmytryp]

Dm, just a suggestion. You may want to give a brief summary of the events for those not familiar with the case.
I'ts a bit long. The links I provided tell the whole story. To make a long story short -- in 2000 at the beginning of the last intifadah there was a disturbance at the Netzarim junction (in Gaza). A french correspondent (a Jew with an israeli citizenship) Charles Enderlin of France2 ran a footage with claims that a boy Muhammed A-Durah was shot in cold blod by the israelis while his father tried to protect him. Israel later ran an informal inquiry lead by a physicist that concluded the bullets couldn't have come from an israeli position, but it was quieted down. Palestinians had a field day with this footage and the boy became the icon of the intifadah. During the years afterwards more and more evidence came up that proved the scenes were staged (and that the boy wasn't dead at all). A german journalist Esther Schapira came to make a documentary about the incident, believing the common narrative (the israelis killed the boy), but during the filming changed her mind and became convinced that the bullets came from the palestinian side. Phyllip Karsenty runs some kind of media watch outlet. He accused France2 and Enderlin in 2004 of running fake footage and presenting it as news. Enderlin sued him for defamation and won in the lower court (recieved 1 euro in compensation). Karsenty appealed and a couple of days ago the judges gave their verdict to overturn the lower court decision.

Edit: during the appeal France2 was forced to present the rushes of that day (that were previously examined by independant specialists). The rushes showed clear evidence of staging.

[Bird of Prey]

Dispicable. I am so glad the truth prevailed.

By in large the media - with the exception of maybe a few honorable outfits - has become a bastion for unethical journalists with personal agendas. These people want to shape world opinion much the same way as political power mongers.

Hillary Clinton's coverage is a perfect example.

I sent an e-mail this morning to a blatantly biased news organization, stating simply that it has lost all integrity. Such a pity; it used to be worth reading.

[sulong]

Yeah, that is disgusting. I call it “the bloody severed head syndrome”. Just look at the wide set eyes, the snarl of the curved lips, the knifing nose. Yep, this woman was retarded. ( Shakes severed head at the cameras).

Luckily, this time there was no armed men storming a hospital nursery, ripping babies from their incubators and smashing them to the cold hard floor.

[dmytryp]

The Wall Street Journal ran a piece (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121183757337520921.html?mod=rss_opinion_main) about the case.


It's hard to exaggerate the significance of Mohammed al-Durra, the 12-year-old Palestinian boy allegedly killed by Israeli bullets on Sept. 30, 2000. The iconic image of the terrified child crouching behind his father helped sway world opinion against the Jewish state and fueled the last Intifada.
It's equally hard, then, to exaggerate the significance of last week's French court ruling that called the story into doubt. Not just whether the Israeli military shot the boy, but whether the whole incident may have been staged for propaganda purposes. If so, it would be one of the most harmful put-up jobs in media history.

...snip

To this day, Islamic militants use the al-Durra case to incite violence and hatred against Israel. They are well aware of the power of images. Mr. Karsenty is, too, which is why he and others have tried to hold France 2 accountable for its reporting.

And another piece (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121183795208620963.html?mod=opinion_main_comment aries):
The media that dramatically reported the killing of Mohammed al-Durra are deathly silent today. They didn't inform the public about the ongoing controversy, didn't attend the trials and have apparently decided to place this story into an artificial coma. As if this judgment against a colleague who placed blind trust in his Palestinian cameraman and, when called to clarify his report, attacked the questioner instead of questioning his own competence were not newsworthy?