“Digital Martyrdom”

A Tel Aviv area exhibition spotlights how video games are becoming Arab propaganda tools. The Daily Telegraph writes:

The sophistication of these games varies greatly, from little Flash programmes in which the simple aim is to punch an enemy’s face, right up to sophisticated adventure scenarios in which players have to gather information from various shady sources in the Middle East.

But the war games steal the show, not just because they offer unbridled virtual bloodshed and juicy sound effects but also because they demonstrate the chilling potential of games as a propaganda tool….

In one themed room, visitors are faced with two interpretations of the intifada. A Syrian game called The Stone Throwers offers a sort of digital martyrdom, as the player takes the role of a lone Palestinian resistance fighter armed only with rocks against waves of Israeli soldiers.

Why not instead teach kids peace?