Dear Advocates,
On 30 September 2000, just days into the Second Intifada, a twelve-year-old Gazan boy, Muhammad al-Dura, was shot, caught in crossfire between Palestinian snipers and the IDF. The images, taken from footage by Charles Enderlin from France 2 Television network and his Palestinian cameraman, Talal Abu-Rahma, were dispatched worldwide, spurring international outrage directed at the IDF.
At the time, and over the next few years, various stories came out about the incident, with some international media outlets claiming that the entire event was staged, and others from the Israeli camp suggesting that with all the facts on the table, there was enough evidence to suggest that the fatal shot could not have come from the IDF. For an example, click here.
Abu-Rahma’s footage was around 55 seconds, but there is another 27 minutes of footage that has never been publicly release. Now, the French Appellate court has ordered France 2 Television to produce the original tapes of the death of al-Dura. Apparently only four people have viewed this footage. The release of this footage could potentially bring an end to seven years of speculation about what really happened on that day.
In the meantime, Israeli Government Press Office Director Danny Seaman has written a formal acknowledgement that France 2 Television staged the footage.
To read more, click on the articles below:
GPO head: Death of Gazan aged 12 was staged – Haaretz
GPO: France 2 faked al-Dura footage – Jerusalem Post
Israeli Government Official Confirms Al-Dura Footage was Staged Blood Libel Against IDF – Shurat Hadin (Israel Law Center)
Israel officially denies responsibility for death of al-Dura in 2000 – Ynet
Al-Dura’s father: Israel’s claims ridiculous – Ynet
IDF demands uncut al-Dura tape – Jpost
I will be interested to see if and how our local papers will cover this story in the coming days and weeks.
In other news, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni addressed the 62nd General Assembly United Nations in New York in the presence of the families of Israel’s abducted soldiers. In her speech she called on the international community “to adopt at the global level what democracies apply at the national one” and for the world to “stand up to those who have no respect for human life or human liberty”. To read the full text of her speech, please click here.
Finally, while much has been written about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the US over the last week, I wanted to send you a fantastic article by Alan Dershowitz that appeared on FrontPageMagazine.com on Friday 28 September entitled ‘Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust Myths’.
On 20 September, Dr. Danny Lamm participated in a debate on the topic: The Israel- Palestine Conflict: Causes and Consequences. To read a Press Release on the debate, click
here.
Best Wishes,
Emily Chrapot
State Zionist Council of Victoria
9272 5507
www.szcvic.org
www.szcsolidarityrally.blogspot.com