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August 1, 2003
BBC film outrages Israel
Documentary criticizes nuclear program and secrecy.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
More than 150 people gathered in the Fletcher Challenge Canada
Theatre in Simon Fraser University's Harbor Centre campus Monday
to watch a BBC documentary that painted an ugly picture of Israel's
so-called secret nuclear weapons program.
Titled Israel's Secret Weapon, the film opened by introducing
Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli who released classified pictures of
a nuclear power plant in Dimona, Israel, to the British press. Found
guilty of treason and espionage in 1986, Vanunu was given an 18-year
sentence.
This set the tone for the film's apparent goal to imply that Israel
is prepared to go to any length, no matter how dirty, to keep its
nuclear weapons program a secret.
The film also included several parts of an interview with former
Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, who was unwilling to divulge
any details about the Dimona facilities.
The film suggested that Israel and the United States have had a
long-standing agreement to maintain nuclear power in Israel, as
long as Israel continues to deny its existence. Israel's Secret
Weapon implied that several former plant workers would fear
for their lives if they spoke to the media.
Completed just days before the United States and Britain invaded
Iraq, the film began with only slight criticisms of Israel as it
attempted to shed light on an Israeli nuclear power plant that has
been kept fairly quiet. However, that tone changed dramatically
when Peres was asked why it was wrong for Saddam Hussein to have
nuclear weapons but OK for Israel.
After Peres explained that Hussein's dictatorship and Israel's democracy
could not be compared, the film proceeded to show gruesome pictures
from Israel's struggles with Lebanon and the Palestinians, portraying
Israel as the evil aggressor. Without any factual base, the film
even suggested that Israel had been using an unidentified gas against
Palestinian civilians.
Since the June 23 release of the film, Israel has restricted visa
entry and reporting by all BBC journalists. They also prevented
the film from being shown on any Israeli networks.
The film's director, Giselle Portenier, who took questions from
the audience after the Harbor Centre screening, said that Israel's
reaction to the documentary has only served to promote her work.
"There have been many stories written about this by the press
all around the world," she said. "As a result of that,
the film is flying off the shelves and broadcasters around the world
are thinking, 'Well, maybe we should show the film after all.' "
Portenier is an investigative journalist and director with BBC Television
in London. Her work has been selected for film festivals around
the world and she is currently serving as the first CanWest Global
visiting professor to the University of British Columbia's school
of journalism.
Prior to Israel's Secret Weapon, Portenier's most recent
work was Ten Days that Shook the World, a BBC documentary
about people whose lives were directly affected by the events of
Sept. 11.
According to Portenier, Israel's Secret Weapon was also shown
in Quebec, but has not been broadcast on any American networks.
The SFU screening was co-sponsored by the Canada Palestine Support
Network, the Canada Palestine Association, the Coalition in Solidarity
with the People of Iraq, Jews for a Just Peace and Stopwar.ca.
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and a graphic designer
living in Richmond.
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