The government didn’t like the film’s depiction of an Israeli attack on a refugee camp in Palestine and banned it.
Background
The documentary Jenin, Jenin depicted the aftermath of a raid by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Jenin, a Palestinian refugee camp in the disputed West Bank territory. The West Bank territory is part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a centuries old land rights struggle between both countries. It is tied into deeply held religious beliefs about sacred rights to the land, historic foreign conquest and exile, and larger political issues in the region.
During the fighting in Jenin in April 2002, about 50 Palestinian combatants and civilians were killed along with 23 Israeli soldiers. The IDF launched the offensive following several suicide bombings by Palestinian militants in Israel in March.
The film was shown in Israel three times before the country’s film ratings board banned public screenings of it. The government board called the documentary “one-sided propaganda” and said that it showed a “distorted presentation of events in the guise of democratic truth which could mislead the public.” The board said the film could give the public the impression that Israeli soldiers had committed war crimes. Jenin, Jenin was the first film to be banned in Israel in 15 years.
The film’s producer, Mohammed Bakri, appealed the ratings board decision to Israel’s Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of Bakri in November 2003, finding that banning the film, “infringes on freedom of expression above and beyond what is necessary.” Although freedom of expression is not formally recognized in Israel, the country’s courts have affirmed the principle repeatedly in their decisions involving press issues, according to a report by Freedom House.
Five Israeli soldiers also filed a libel lawsuit against Bakri saying the film slandered them and other soldiers who fought in Jenin. The lawsuit reached Israel’s Supreme Court, which ruled in July 2011 that the film focused on IDF’s overall operations in Jenin and didn’t focus on specific soldiers. The court dismissed the case.
“In the final analysis, it is my belief that a reasonable person viewing the film would not recognize any slander against any single soldier belonging to the group of soldiers fighting in Jenin,” wrote Judges Miriam Naor, Yitzhak Amit and Yoram Danziger in their opinion.
Israeli censors ban film about battle of Jenin The Guardian, December 12, 2002 Israel Bans Movie on West Bank Offensive December 12, 2002, Reuters Israel court lifts Jenin film ban BBC News, November 11, 2003 Israeli court ends ban on `Jenin' film Los Angeles Times, November 12, 2003 Soldiers face 'Jenin, Jenin' director in court Jerusalem Post, March 7, 2011 Top court rejects soldiers’ appeal over ‘Jenin Jenin’ Jerusalem Post, July 27, 2011 Freedom in the World report, Israel, 2011 Freedom House Freedom of Press report, Israel, 2010 Freedom House Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Israel Central Intelligence Agency Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Palestine Central Intelligence Agency |