Natan Sharansky weighs in on why the Muhammed Dura video and the appeal of Philippe Karsenty both matter:
It is important to note that the al-Dura news report profoundly influenced Western public opinion. When I served in the Israeli government as minister of Diaspora Affairs from 2003 to 2005, I traveled frequently to North American college campuses. I heard first hand how Mohammed al-Dura had shaped the perceptions of young people just beginning to follow events in the Middle East. For many Jewish students, the incident was a stain of dishonor that called into question their support for Israel. For anti-Israel students, the story reaffirmed their sense of Zionism’s innately “racist” nature and became a tool for recruiting campus peers to the cause. . . .
Tragically, there is no way to repair the damage inflicted on Israel’s international image by the France 2 report, much less restore the Israeli and Jewish victims whose lives were exacted as vengeance. It is possible, however, to deter slanderous news reporting – and the violence that often accompanies it – by setting a precedent for media accountability via the handover of Talal Abu Rahmeh’s full 27 minutes of raw footage.
Related reading: Storm Clouds Over Paris
