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May 17, 2013
Exposing antisemitism
VisionTV airs Martin Himel’s Jew Bashing.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
“The politically correct formula for peace in the Middle East is Israel giving up occupied territory in return for peace with the Arab world. But that plan is ignoring the elephant in the Mideast living room – antisemitism is making a big comeback in the region. Jews are now responsible for every calamity, from disease in Pakistan to putting a spell on [Osama] bin Laden so that he’ll attack America.”
So begins the first episode of veteran journalist Martin Himel’s four-part documentary series Jew Bashing: The New Anti-Semitism, which aired May 6 on VisionTV. Himel’s introduction offers only a hint of what’s to come. For anyone who doubts that antisemitism is a serious problem, Himel takes viewers to the Middle East (Pakistan, Egypt, Iran and the Gaza Strip), Europe (France, Sweden and the United Kingdom), the United States and Canada. He not only interviews proud and open antisemites and racists, but his film team also capture with hidden cameras what has gone on in, for example, Amnesty International offices and during the Occupy AIPAC conference. Not one prone to panic or assume the worst, it was intense to watch such hatred and ignorance, and to see just how much of both exists.
Himel’s biography is extensive and impressive. As a foreign correspondent for more than 20 years and as a documentary filmmaker, he has reported from around the world, his work appearing on international news outlets too numerous to name. His film company Elsash Productions Ltd.’s credits include the documentaries Persecuted Christians, North Korea: Desperate or Deceptive, Angels with Broken Wings and Jenin: Massacring Truth, and television series Infidelity, Twist of Faith and Foreign Correspondent. On the usually taboo subjects of politics and religion, Himel is obviously not shy.
“Faith is a universal motif in our world,” Himel told the Independent about what draws him to such topics. “Wherever you go on the globe, people believe in something, someone, some concept. Faith drives politics, arts, even love relationships. I have explored the impact of faith on the sick in America, the oppressed Muslims in China, the spirit women in Thailand trying to defend their hill tribe. In our series on infidelity, we have explored the interplay of theological belief and infidelity – where do morals conflict with the dilemmas of love and loyalty.
“Certainly, belief also plays a role in the new antisemitism,” he continued. “Antisemites may not be active believers and may not necessarily look at God as the ultimate arbiter anymore, but the legacy of thousands of years of antisemitism fueled by theology leaves an impact to this day.”
What’s perhaps unique about the Jew Bashing series is that it goes beyond exposing the words of antisemitism, and shows in stark images antisemitic views being acted upon – in angry protest, in violence, in harassment – and its effects: fear, high security, etc.
“I have seen many documentaries on antisemitism,” explained Himel about how the idea for Jew Bashing came about. “Most are boring, highbrow, and show no antisemitism. They have analysis and victims of antisemitism.
“This spawned my idea of documenting and capturing antisemitism, showing it on camera, and let the hatred permeate. This project took two years. So far, we have versioned a four-part series for Canada. We have also created a one-hour version that has now broadcast in Israel on the main Channel 2 network.”
In Jew Bashing, some people interviewed are unabashedly antisemitic and racist, while others express their views openly only behind closed doors, in a meeting of like-minded people, for example. A faint-hearted reporter might be concerned about the reaction to the documentary by those whose hateful views were filmed covertly.
“I am not worried,” said Himel. “I have accurately portrayed these people. Their comments simply speak for themselves. They have not been taken out of context. We made sure of this.”
It is interesting in this respect, given the changes in technology, that anyone would think that something they say behind closed doors will not be broadcast to a wider audience. It is also interesting to see how so many people become righteously indignant and dismissive when asked politely to explain their views. Himel and his crew receive a violent reception more than once when filming a rally, and rocks are thrown at the car, breaking their back window and almost injuring one of the crew, when they try to enter a neighborhood that has been having problems with antisemitism.
“I worked for over 20 years as a foreign news television correspondent for CTV, Global and Fox television in the U.S.A. I have covered wars in the Mideast, the Balkans revolution, and upheaval in Romania and in South Africa, and managed to get into North Korea to do a documentary,” offered Himel when asked how investigative journalism has changed over the course of his career. “In the 1980s, before the Internet and before technical capabilities enhanced missiles and roadside bombs, conflicts were violent but more manageable to cover. Today, weapons are far more deadly and, with the Internet, combatants can know much more about a journalist than before. That can make him/her into a vulnerable target. On the other hand, with smartphones, there are tens of thousands of camerapeople in every conflict. Take the Syrian civil war – the most astounding visuals come from the people who live in the cities and simply point their smartphones at the turmoil and upload the videos online. This has changed everything with coverage. Nothing can be hidden anymore from public scrutiny.”
In Jew Bashing, Alan Dershowitz mentions fighting bad ideas with good ideas, but otherwise the series is mainly descriptive of the enormity of the problem rather than prescriptive regarding potential solutions.
“You have to manage antisemitism,” Himel told the Independent. “It cannot be eradicated. It is totally illogical. The best way to manage antisemitism is to expose it, and for people not to stand silent when they experience antisemitism. The concept of ‘don’t make waves,’ ‘this nonsense will pass,’ ‘these are only marginal idiots,’ has proven wrong. That is what they said about a funny little man with a moustache who mounted the failed Munich Putsch in the 1920s and was sent to jail. He ran an oddball group called the Nazis in cultured Germany. If you still don’t get it – that was Adolph Hitler.”
The second episode of Jew Bashing – dealing with antisemitism in Europe – aired May 13. Still to come are the episodes on the United States (May 20), in which Himel interviews some ardent antisemitic and racist webmasters, all of whom, perhaps coincidentally, live in small, predominantly white American towns; and on Canada (May 27), where Himel travels across the country, interviewing both antisemites and those who are trying to counter such views within the United Church, on the Internet and in Montreal and Vancouver, where antisemitism and anti-Zionism mix in attempts to shut down via protest retail stores that sell Israeli products.
Jew Bashing is part of a VisionTV focus on exposing extremism, which also includes other programming, including Persecuted Christians, The War on Faith: Religious Persecution Around the World, Facing Extremism and Jews and Money: Investigation of a Myth. For more information, visit visiontv.ca/jew-bashing.
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