The Power of Hollywood Movies in the Palestine & Middle East conflicts

Ray Hanania’s podcast is an audio version of his column published Jan. 26, 2017 in the Arab News in Saudi Arabia. It discusses the power of movies and how they can significantly alter, change and impact the beliefs of the American people. Why are not stories of Arab, Muslim and Palestinian suffering told to the American people in Hollywood Movies the way the Israelis use movies to distort and exaggerate their own stories. The Israelis lie but all Palestinians need do is tell the truth through film to make a significant difference in the American understanding of the Palestine and Middle East conflict.

By Ray Hanania

Published in the Arab News Jan. 26, 2017

The battle between the biased American news media and President Donald Trump wasn’t the only thing on the minds of Americans during these past few weeks.

Nearly 20 million Americans went to theaters to watch “Patriots Day,” a dramatization of how two Chechen Muslims killed four Americans and injured hundreds more during a five-day terror campaign that began at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013.

Although the 143-minute movie vaguely presented some of the motives of the two bombers, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the focus was on the suffering of the victims and the people involved in capturing them. In the end, the film brought American audiences together against terrorism by Muslims.

It was a very emotional film, only one of a dozen of movies that define Arab and Muslim terrorism against Americans.

Movies like this strengthen the American resolve against terrorism while reinforcing stereotypes such as the false notion that terrorism only occurs when an Arab or a Muslim kills and American civilian. Most Americans don’t consider it terrorism when an American or an ally like Israel kills Arabs or Muslims. …

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rayhanania

Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News

Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

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