B’nai B’rith International has urged ABC-TV to reject any bid by a United Nations unit to substitute ABC’s documentary “Terror in the Promised Land” for a film prepared by the UN itself, “Palestinians Have Rights,” for its “International Day of Solidarity With the Palestinian People” on Nov. 29.
Writing to the chairman of the board and the president of ABC-TV, B’nai B’rith president Jack J. Spitzer asked them “not to accede to any request to make available your documentary for obviously hateful purposes.” B’nai B’rith had also previously questioned the “objectivity” of the ABC documentary.
Spitzer observed that the UN Committee on Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which suggested the “Solidarity Day,” had been embarrassed by public disclosures of the “blatant biases” and “pro-PLO apologetics” of the original UN-prepared script for the Solidarity Day film.
He said a revised script “did not achieve the bias desired by the PLO.” The UN committee has indicated that it is considering substituting the ABC-TV documentary for its Solidarity Day ceremonies. “I am certain that the irony of this perspective is not lost upon you,” Spitzer told the ABC executives.
The film originally intended for viewing was first denounced by Yehuda Blum, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, for glamorizing the Palestinian terrorists in general and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat in particular. He noted that the film was basically a glorification of the PLO ideology of wanton murder of innocent men, women and children.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
