The Video Turning Point Jerusalem Featuring Peter Jennings - Movie Review Example

The video, “Turning Point: Jerusalem” featuring Peter Jennings of ABC news is a very informative video from a historical perspective. Many of the specifics of the historical claims Islam, Judaism and Christianity make in relation to the city of Jerusalem are explained. It is shown that for Muslims, the city of Jerusalem is sacred due to the special relationship the prophet Muhammad had with the city. Sites such as the Dome of the Rock are very important historically for Muslims. For Jews, the importance of many sites such as the Temple Wall and in fact the historical construction of the city itself is important to the national identity of the modern state of Israel as well as Judaism. Finally, as the city that served as a focal point for the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, Jerusalem is sacred to Christians of all denominations. All of these points are brought out in the video, but the accuracy and fairness of the historical section of the video could be a bit suspect. There didn’t appear to be any blatant bias towards one historical claim or another in the video. It is not as though Peter Jennings indicated that one group had more of a historical claim than another, but the way the story was told seemed to indicate that there is a hierarchy of claims to importance of the city. I felt that more time and detail went into the reporting on the Jewish role in the construction of the original city of Jerusalem. I believe that it is fair that more time was spent on this faith’s dealings with the city of Jerusalem because they are the historical creators of the city. But I think that equal time and more specific reasons could have been included for the Islamic and Christian points of view. I would say that the video is fairly balanced in presenting the claims of the various groups, with just a slight bit of tendency to add weight to the importance of the Jews. I know that many modern political scientists have discounted the idea that religious ideology does not play an important role in the current political climate of the Middle East. The current conflicts that exist there are attributed to struggles over natural resources or secular ideas such as sovereignty or trade agreements. I do not feel that this is a true reflection of the important role religion plays in the current Middle East. I believe that religion is the most important cultural element in play in the modern Middle East. Religion colors everything from interpersonal relationships to public policy in the kingdoms and nations of this region. Several examples help prove my point. One is the continued development of settlements within the occupied territories of the West Bank by Israeli Jews. The ongoing developments are a threat to any peace process that starts and has been the major factor in derailing the most recent attempt sponsored by the United States. If you see interviews with these settlers, one can’t help but realize that the motivation for their continued settlement of these areas goes beyond a strong political will. These settlers believe that in their religion, they have a right to live on and occupy these lands because they were promised to Abraham millennia before. Their actions may manifest themselves in a political manner, but the motivation behind those actions is religious. This block of conservative, religious Jews has a great amount of power because they have the ability to withdraw from the current coalition government formed by Benjamin Netanyahu. Without their support, his government will collapse and a new round of voting would need to occur to build a new government. Another example of the importance of the religion in the politics of the region is that of Saudi Arabia. The ruling family in Saudi Arabia is not only Muslim, but they follow a very orthodox form of Islam known as Wahabi. Saudi Arabia actively seeks to export this traditional form of Islam to other nations in the Middle East through the influence that their petrodollars provide. The fact that Saudi Arabia is influenced by this conservative brand of Islam results in strained relations with other Islamic nations in the region. Less conservative nations such as Egypt and Lebanon have often found themselves at odds with Saudi Arabia because of the influence the Saud family has tried to exert in these nations. I would say that the ABC video is a good primer for learning about the origins of the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The historical foundations are explained well enough, but I am not sure that the amount of detail contained in the video can really convey the depth of mistrust that exists on both sides of this issue. It is so easy to paint the Israelis as the bad guys, by coming in a taking all of this land from the Palestinians, simply because they had powerful friends in the West (America, Great Britain, France, etc.). I do not think it is easy to convey the longing many Jews had for a homeland, a traditional homeland, to offset millennia of Diaspora. The daily strife and depth of emotion that causes the rift between these two peoples can not really be understood by watching a video that presents a few case studies and historical background. In short, the video is a good place to start, but to gain a real understanding of each sides story one must conduct more research and do more reading. I do not feel that the video was intentionally biased against any one group. This isn’t to say that each side probably would not like some of the things that are said. The reality is this is a horrible, protracted conflict that has little chance of being resolved until with side is willing to compromise, cooperate and ultimately forgive. Claims of bias on either side could easily be made. Jews would ask why there was so much focus on the suffering of Palestinians in the camps while there wasn’t enough focus on the destruction caused by the rocket attacks launched from Gaza and the West Bank. The reality is there are dead soldiers and dead children, destruction and mistrust on both sides. The state of Israel was created in an earlier era when Western powers exercised their will with impunity around the globe. The world has changed. The beginning of this tragedy doesn’t begin in the 1940’s as the video makes clear. This is not the real source of conflict. The tragedy is that since the creation of Israel, there has been no real international attempt to create a nation for the displaced Palestinians. Like it or not, the nation of Israel is simply another chunk of land with a long history of conflict that was for a brief period the spoils of war. Those spoils were formed into a new nation-state, giving one displaced group a home while displacing another. These are the facts and they are presented, though not so plainly, in the video so I feel that it is a fairly unbiased attempt to teach about a complex issue. I often feel that media produced by either side in this conflict, or by a supporter of either side is always labeled a biased. Of course there will be bias because each side wants to get their message out to the world. But in a video like this, I believe that any bias is truly the result of producers, writers and directors that may be ignorant of the cultures involved. ABC is an American news organization. This automatically, in the eyes of many people in Palestine, makes the information suspect. America is a major ally of Israel, so this must be the case. Why would an American produce a video critical of an ally? I think that this type of mistrust is at the heart of the problem in Israel and Palestine. The freedoms given to the American press is a great help in producing unbiased documentaries. ABC is under no obligation to agree with the government’s decisions concerning Israel or the Palestinians. In this way, I feel the video is not biased by design. But the fact remains that it was made by Americans, not by Palestinians or Israelis, so it is still going to tell the story from an American point of view. No matter how hard a person tries, overcoming all bias is a very difficult thing to do. I would absolutely recommend this video as an introduction to the issue, but not as a definitive resource. I felt that the historical narrative was neatly package and the information provided was unbiased enough to keep it from being propaganda for either side. I would urge any viewer of this video to continue their study beyond viewing and read, research and if possible, interact with as many people that have first-hand knowledge of the Middle East. I think that videos like this are great for kids in school or for people that truly do not have much background in the cultures or politics of the Middle East. If I were a teacher, I would show this video to my students because it does a good job of presenting all sides of the story. Read More