Posted on 07/25/2009 10:18:32 AM PDT by SmithL
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival has come under siege after deciding to show a documentary about Rachel Corrie, a Washington state 23-year-old killed in 2003 while trying to prevent an Israeli military bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian's home.
Whether Corrie naively put herself in harm's way in support of terrorists or was intentionally killed by the Israeli military is the nexus of the controversy.
Compounding the issue, festival organizers invited Corrie's mother, Cindy, to speak after today's showing at the Castro Theatre of the film "Rachel." It is one of 71 films at this year's festival, which includes two films profiling kidnapped Israeli soldiers.
The reaction has been outrage. The festival board's president stepped down from her role, opening-night ceremonies were boycotted by some, and Israel Consul General Akiva Tor said it was a "big mistake to invite Mrs. Corrie."
At the core of the debate are questions about how broadly Jews can discuss Israel within their own community - and how Jews represent Israel to the broader world. It is also overlaid with accusations of the "new anti-Semitism," prejudice that is disguised as particular criticisms of Israel, the only Jewish state.
"The furor is much larger than this one film or this one speaker," said Peter L. Stein, the festival's executive director. "It reveals a rift in our community that we all need to help understand and hopefully heal."
The 29-year-old festival is the oldest and largest Jewish film festival in the nation, yet it's also like a small family. The film festival's board includes members with close links to both the accusers and those accused of the new anti-Semitism.
Allegations of new anti-Semitism have been particularly vociferous from the Koret and Taube foundations, longtime backers of the festival.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Nah, she wasn't worth my effort.
Which is completely appropriate for that graphic.
Just as usual as Zer0 telling Jews where they can and can't build in Jerusalem.
That’s a fair point ... let the USA run the USA and the Israeli’s run Israel.
From your mouth to G-d’s ear.
...festival organizers invited Corrie's mother, Cindy, to speak after today's showing at the Castro Theatre of the film "Rachel." It is one of 71 films at this year's festival, which includes two films profiling kidnapped Israeli soldiers. The reaction has been outrage. The festival board's president stepped down from her role, opening-night ceremonies were boycotted by some, and Israel Consul General Akiva Tor said it was a "big mistake to invite Mrs. Corrie."
David Horovitz, EIC Jerusalem Post, just wrote an article called “Financing our own demonization” describing how the Israeli government idiotically helps finance these horrible films.
“My only question is, do we actually have to participate in the more extreme demonization? Do we ourselves have to directly contribute to the kind of dismally skewed, toxic, decontextualized attack that prompts official complaint and widespread frustration when practiced by others? Do we have to finance it ourselves?
For Ir Amim’s Jerusalem Moments was made, in part, with NIS 200,000 of funding from the Cinema Project of the Tel Aviv-based Rabinovitch Foundation for the Arts, which gets its funding, in turn, via the Israeli Film Council, from the Ministry of Culture and Sport.
Jerusalem Moments was relentless Palestinian Israel-bashing, interspersed with near-relentless Israeli Israel-bashing. And we paid for it.”
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277877180&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
“Why should I care what the Israel Consul General thinks? Is it usual for Israel’s diplomats to comment on domestic issues in the USA? “
You are free not to care just as I am free to care.
It is not unusual for Israeli officials to comment on anti-Semitism wherever they find it.
Thanks derv’.
I am not going to defend the Corrie's supreme idiocy, I certainly don't agree with it;
but even offensive speech is protected under the First Amendment ... as the first Jewish, Supreme Court Justice, Brandeis, put it, "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the process of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence." ... or paraphrased, the answer to speech you don't like is more speech...
WOW. This is the first time I've seen a liberal paper acknowledge that she DID support terrorists (whether "naively" or not).
And IF the military DID intentionally kill her (which has not been proven), should they give wide berth to pro-terrorist bigoted radicals?
Treason isn’t protected speech.
Siding with the enemy in a time of war is treason.
Did this rise to the level of treason?
Not unless ties could be shown to connect the group she was shielding to other international terrorist organizations.
Guest of honor at a Jewish film fest. Wonderful.
When the USA is in a declared war against Hamas/Hezbollah/Fatah or whatever you want to call the Palis, let me know.
:’(
yup... somehow I can never get darwin out of my mind when hearing the word rachel nowadays.
Hamas or the Islamic Resistance Movement is the armed branch of Islamic Brotherhood in “Palestine”. As such it is a sibling of Egypt’s Al-Jihad/Islamic Jihad, which is part of Al Qaeda. So why are you shilling for Zawahiri’s group. You might as well argue that war on Guam is not war on the US.
My point was that usually diplomatic aides do not tell their host country was is or is not appropriate when it comes to matters of free speech.
My point was that usually diplomatic aides do not tell their host country was is or is not appropriate when it comes to matters of free speech.
On that we agree. Unfortunately, EU nations disagree and openly fund the suicidal left in Israel.
That said, what is to be done about the Muslim Brotherhood?
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