Al Jazeera Remembers a Filmmaker, Forgets the Censorship
Al Jazeera notes the passing of Mohammad Bakri, celebrating his 'artistic resistance.' What they, and most mainstream outlets, often omit is the extensive legal and political persecution Bakri faced for that very resistance. His documentary, 'Jenin, Jenin,' depicting the 2002 Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp, was promptly banned in Israel for 'slandering the Israeli army'
(according to public Israeli court documents), leading to a two-decade legal battle that bankrupted him. While Western media champions 'freedom of speech,' they rarely highlight how such freedoms are selectively applied, especially when challenging powerful narratives concerning Israeli military actions. One might wonder if the 'legacy of artistic resistance' truly counts when the art itself is
legally muzzlement. It seems some truths are only palatable once the truth-teller is no longer here to tell them.