Monday, June 25, 2007

Freedom of Speech... in Israel?

Doesn't look like it.

Mohammad Bakri Faces Trial in Israel for Documentary “Jenin, Jenin”
Acclaimed Palestinian actor and director Mohammad Bakri is one Israel’s most
well-known citizens. He has acted in over a dozen films made by Israeli and
international directors including “Hanna K” by Costa-Gavras and is well-known as
a stage actor and director. But since producing a documentary on Israel’s 2002
assault on the West Bank town of Jenin, Bakri has found himself virtually
blacklisted in Israeli cinema, and now he even faces possible jail time for
making the film.

In April 2002, the Israeli military killed fifty-two
Palestinians, flattened over 150 buildings and closed off the camp for two
weeks. Several human rights groups accused Israel of commiting war crimes. The
United Nations suspended its fact-finding mission after Israel refused to allow
them entry. Bakri’s documentary “Jenin, Jenin” was one of the first to tell the
stories of the town’s residents during the Israeli assault.

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