Monday, September 23, 2013, 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Location: St. John Fisher College, Basil Hall 135, 3690 East Avenue, Rochester NY ~ Free; no tickets required
Film run time: 0:47 ~ Style: documentary ~ Languages: narration in English; local language with subtitles ~ Format: video projection ~ Year released: 2013
This documentary focus on writer and journalist Gideon Levy, someone who evokes strong emotions from fellow Israelis.
He has made weekly visits, over the past three decades, to the occupied Palestinian territories, describing what he sees – plainly and without propaganda.
For some Israelis, he is seen as a brave disseminator of the truth. But many others condemn him as a propagandist for Hamas. And his columns for the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper have made him, arguably, one of the most hated men in Israel.
“When I joined Haaretz newspaper, I started to visit the occupied territories,” Levy says. “I immediately realized this was what I wanted to do; to understand the brutality and inhumanity of the Israeli occupation.”
“I figured out three things. First, this was the biggest drama facing the state of Israel. Second, this story was not being covered by the Israeli media. And third, this was going to be my life mission – to report about the Israeli occupation to Israeli readers who did not want to know what was really happening there.”
Over the years, Levy’s stories have shed light on the realities Palestinians face on a daily basis.
This Al Jazeera World Report, “Going Against the Grain,” follows Levy on one of his assignments in Hebron, and meets some of the ordinary Palestinians whose lives he has described in his regular column for Haaretz.
Panelist
Gideon Levy
Gideon Levy is a columnist and a member of the editorial board for Haaretz, a major Israeli newspaper. Levy joined Haaretz in 1982, and spent four years as the newspaper’s deputy editor. He is the author of the weekly Twilight Zone feature, which covers the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza over the last 25 years, as well as the writer of political editorials for the newspaper. Levy was the recipient of the Euro-Med Journalist Prize for 2008; the Leipzig Freedom Prize in 2001; the Israeli Journalists’ Union Prize in 1997; and The Association of Human Rights in Israel Award for 1996.
He’ll participate with us through Skype.