Sunday, November 20, 2005
In my previous post on the suicide bomber film Paradise Now, regarding the disturbing cultural baggage the film brings with it and its place in the culture wars, there was some controversy over whether the criticism of the director's motives was fair or not.
I think this interview with the director translated from the German at David's Medienkritik removes all possible doubt:
Hany Abu-Assad: Before I thought that assassins were uneducated religious fanatics who’d been brainwashed. While researching for the film though, I’ve discovered a human face bit by bit. Behind every assassin is an individual story – here a Palestinian woman whose husband was killed by the Israelis, there a Palestinian whose house was destroyed by the Israeli army.
What unites the assassins is their resistance to the occupation and extreme hopelessness. They have the feeling that no matter what they do, Israel gets the upper hand. Even though I disagree with the suicide attacks, I don’t condemn them. For me suicide attacks are a human reaction to an extreme situation. Once again: I am personally against the killing – whether for reasons of resistance or military strikes. (...)
„Wiener Zeitung“: Do you suppose that the Palestinians’ situation would have been better if there had been no suicide attacks in Israel.
Hany Abu-Assad: No. . . (corrects himself) . . I’m not sure. Anyway it’s clear that suicide attacks are a reaction. Israel says that it is the victim and accuses the Palestinians of being terrorists. That drives the Palestinians crazy. If they’d just recognize us as equal citizens, the conflict would resolve itself. (emphasis added)
My apologies to David for lifting the whole quote (see his entry for more), but I don't wanta word to be missed. This director and the product he made is propaganda for suicide terror. Package it all you want. Furrow your brow, take an extra breath, speak in solemn, measured tones with all the nuance you want. I don't see how it could be viewed any differently.
Pity the director did not include context.
Less than a year after Arafat signed the Oslo accord with Rabin under Clinton's very nose the suicide attacks started.
Everything going to plan and they have to start blowing up Israelis starting with a car bomb next to a bus stop full of school kids waiting to go home, in Afula.
One thing for sure those murderers and their appeasers are not short of excuses.