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 — Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster

Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.

Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).

Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.

Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.

His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.

Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.

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