PALLYWOOD

'Pallywood' (a portmanteau of "Palestinian" and "Hollywood") is a neologism used to refer to news events alleged to have been staged by Palestinian and other cameramen to portray Israel in an unfavorable light.Carvajal, Doreen. "The mysteries and passions of an iconic video frame", ''International Herald Tribune'', Monday, February 7, 2005.^[1]Cambanis, Thanassis. "Some Shunning The Palestinian Hard Stance." ''The Boston Globe'', September 6, 2005

Contents

Origin of the term

Use of the term

Media in the Gaza Strip

Alleged examples

Muhammad al-Durrah

Other events

See also

Notes

Further reading

Origin of the term

The word "Pallywood" appeared in a Usenet forum debate in 2002,^[2] but Professor Richard Landes of Boston University is credited with having given the term currency in 2005, with his 18-minute documentary ''Pallywood: According to Palestinian Sources''.Landes, Richard. ''Pallywood, According to Palestinian Sources'' (Windows Media Video), SecondDraft.org.^(VIDEO)
In his documentary, Landes shows Arab-Israeli conflict-related footage, mostly taken by freelance Palestinian video journalists but utilising different camera angles to those which were broadcast by the mass media. He argues that Palestinian video journalists have staged scenes for propaganda purposes to create bias against Israel by presenting the Palestinians as helpless victims of Israeli aggression.Landes, Richard. "Pallywood: History", SecondDraft.org. He believes that what he describes as systematic media manipulation (which he dubs "Pallywood") dates back to at least the 1982 Lebanon War, and argues that broadcasters are too uncritical of the ''bona fides'' of Palestinian freelance footage..

Use of the term

The term has been used by bloggers, particularly during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict where assertions of media manipulation were made.Zerbisias, Antonia. "And Now It's Reutersgate". ''Toronto Star'', August 9, 2006.
Political commentator David Frum has described Landes' work as an exposé of political propaganda, arguing that the footage Landes has compiled reveals "a startling series of faked funerals, staged gun battles, and professional weeping grandmothers. They dub the Palestinian propaganda complex, 'Pallywood,' and ask hard questions about the readiness — eagerness — of much of the world media to be deceived."^[3]
Other media sources have also used the term. Israeli broadcast channel Arutz Sheva stated in 2006 that "Pallywood" is becoming a "household word," along with "infotainment," to refer to media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict.^[4] The Mackenzie Institute, a Canadian think tank, has written that given "a long history of posing for the cameras...the cynical "Pallywood" nickname from once-deceived journalists for PA news services becomes understandable." ^[5]

Media in the Gaza Strip

German journalist Thorsten Schmitz writes that the world's large news organizations, CNN and ABC News, and news agencies such as Reuters and Associated Press, work almost exclusively with Palestinian cameramen when reporting from the Gaza Strip.Schmitz, Thorsten. "Der Krieg der Bilder", ''Sueddeutsche Zeitung'', June 16, 2006. Working as a cameraman for the Western media is regarded as one of the most lucrative jobs in the Palestinian areas, Schmitz writes, with some cameramen in the area earning up to $250 U.S. per day, as much as some Palestinian families might earn in six months. Schmitz states that the images intended to portray suffering in Gaza and broadcast by the international media are produced primarily by Palestinians. Richard Landes has argued that the mainstream media are too quick to accept this freelance footage.Stevens, Chris. "A conspiracy theorist's paradise", ''The Daily Telegraph'', April 14, 2007.

Alleged examples

Muhammad al-Durrah

Muhammad al-Durrah, a 12-year-old Palestinian, was widely reported to have been killed by Israeli gunfire in the Gaza Strip on September 30 2000 at the beginning of the Second Intifada. The shooting was recorded by a local freelance cameraman and the footage became internationally famous. In ''Pallywood'', Richard Landes questions the authenticity of the footage and disputes whether al-Durrah was killed by Palestinian gunfire or was killed at all"Al-Durah: What happened?", ''Second Draft''. - a hypothesis that a number of other commentators have also supported."Film Focus: HR in Hollywood and 'Pallywood'", Honestreporting.com.Gelernter, David. "When pictures lie", ''Jewish World Review'', 2003."Photo of Palestinian Boy Kindles Debate in France, ''The New York Times'', February 7, 2005.

Other events

Landes also describes the Battle of Jenin in 2002 as an instance in which "Pallywood" footage has been shown, and Schmitz has made similar arguments regarding an Israeli rocket attack on June 13, 2006 on a car carrying members of Islamic Jihad.

See also

★ 2006 Lebanon War photographs controversies

★
★ Adnan Hajj photographs controversy

★ Journalistic fraud

★ Media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

★ Ouze Merham

Notes

1. Poller, Nidra. "Al-Dura: The Trial", ''PoliticsCentral'', September 13, 2006.
2. "French Election Upset", rec.arts.sf.fandom, May 15, 2002.
3. Frum, David. "From Gaza, tragedy and propaganda". ''National Post'', June 17, 2006.
4. "There's Something About Qana," ''Arutz Sheva'' (Channel 7), Israel, August 3, 2006.
5. ''Lies, Damned Lies and Footage'', The Mackenzie Institute, Newsletter July, 06.

Further reading

★ "Second Draft.org", website of Richard Landes with films and analysis from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

★ Landes, Richard. "Pallywood: According to Palestinian sources" (video).

★ Landes, Richard. "Al-Durah: What happened? (video).

★ "The Reuterization of War Journalism", ''The Conservative Voice'', August 9, 2006.

★ "And now it's 'Reutersgate'," ''Toronto Star'', August 9, 2006.

★ "Wie Palästinenser manchmal die Wahrheit verbiegen", ''Israelnetz'', June 19, 2006.

★ Cambanis, Thanassis. "Some Shunning the Palestinian Hard Stance," ''The Boston Globe'', September 6, 2005.

★ Gordon, Philip H. & Tasponar, Omer. "Why France shouldn't legislate Turkey's past," ''The New Republic'', October 30, 2006.

★ Kaplan, Lee. "Some PLO doctored photos: A visit to 'Pallywood'", ''Canada Free Press'', May 28, 2006.

★ Kaplan, Lee. "Pallywood revisited: A new fake atrocity by the PLO", ''Canada Free Press'', June 24, 2006.

★ Von Wussow, Philipp. "Israelische Bomben auf Kana: Massaker oder Hisbollywood?", ''Telepolis'', August 3, 2006.