BY ROHAN PEARCE

John Pilger has come under attack in Britain for his documentary Palestine is Still the Issue, to be screened in Australia on SBS TV at 8.30pm on October 8.

A September 20 article in the British Jewish Chronicle reported that Michael Green, the chairperson of Carlton Television (which had funded and screened Pilger's documentary in Britain), had denounced the film as factually inaccurate.

“There's no doubt in my mind that this program is a tragedy for Israel so far as accuracy is concerned”, Green told the Chronicle. “It was factually incorrect, historically incorrect. Unfortunately, you can't always agree with him. He has a huge reputation but consistently my views are very much opposed to his views.”

Israeli historian Professor Ilan Pappe, Pilger's historical advisor for the documentary, maintains that “the film is faultless in its historical description and poignant in its message”, and believes that the attack is “an attempt to delegitimise any criticism of Israel”.

Pilger defended the documentary in a September 23 British Guardian article: “An unforeseen threat to freedom of speech in British broadcasting emerged last week. It was triggered by the showing of my documentary, Palestine is Still the Issue, on ITV. The film told a basic truth that is routinely relegated, even suppressed — that a historic injustice has been done to the Palestinian people, and until Israel's illegal and brutal occupation ends, there will be no peace for anyone, Israelis included.

“Most of the film allowed people to tell their eyewitness stories, both Palestinians and Israelis. What was unusual was that it disclosed in detail the daily humiliation and cultural denigration of the Palestinians, including a sequence showing excrement smeared by Israeli soldiers in a room of children's paintings. The film was accurate, restrained and fair; the longest interview was with an Israeli government spokesman. Every word and frame was subjected to a legal examination for accuracy and to ensure it complied with the fairness regulations in the Broadcasting Act.”

From Green Left Weekly, October 2, 2002.
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