Monday, December 20, 2010

Palestinian Media Watch censored by YouTube

DAVID FRANKFURTER

Itamar Marcus and his relentless team at Palestinian Media Watch have been given the strangest of back-handed compliments. In exposing the anti-Semitic hate messages broadcast by the Palestinians - especially by Palestinian Authority television and Hamas. PMW uses YouTube as a medium to "name and shame", throwing a light on Palestinian Authority funded ads, jingles, childrens' shows, musicals, sermons, quizzes, and other entertainment where Palestinians (especially children) are educated and encouraged to hate, extol violence and terror and to steer them away from any possibility of peace. These shows are intended for the Arabic speaking audience in the Palestinian territories. But PMW shows them in all their glory, translated and with commentary, so that the world can see how much pressure they will need to bring to bear to effect real change in the Palestinians if peace is ever to be a possibility.

Palestinian supporters have tried to censor the exposure of their hate and vitriol, and after many years, have finally succeeded - YouTube has closed Palestinian Media Watch's account, claiming that it has breached YouTube policy by uploading hate speech. To me it seems peculiar that YouTube would censor Palestinian Media Watch in its attempt to eradicate Palestinian hate eduction by "naming and shaming".

Now here's the rub. Everyone (including Palestinian supporters) now agree that PA Television is hate speech & incitement to violence. So much so, that it's been banned from YouTube. That same hate speech is directly paid for and closely controlled out of President Abbas' office, which is in turn largely funded by international donors - with the UK and EU leading the pack.

Aside from letting all our friends know of this preposterous situation, protesting to YouTube, and asking your local media why they don't cover this censorship, I suggest that we should ask our elected representatives why taxpayers money is being poured into violence and corruption - including the corruption of the minds of children. Why are governments propping up a regime that pushes hatred and war instead of peace? When will the world show in action that it understands what REALLY stands in the way of peace in the Arab-Israel conflict?

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