Dismayed by mass-media portrayals of Israel that they felt were incorrect, misleading and show Israelis as ruthless oppressors and Palestinian Arabs as their helpless victims, a group of Peninsula individuals decided to do something about it.
They created “Spotlight on the Middle East” to “dispel the myths” and present what they see as a more accurate view of what’s happening. The one-hour show airs on Palo Alto-based Comcast cable channel 27, and online at http://spotlight.deeperlook.net. The show explores a different current topic every month.
“Spotlight” started 14 months ago and features guest interviews as well as the opportunity for viewers to call in. Middle East expert Daniel Pipes, who served on two presidential commissions and was among the first to warn of the dangers of militant Islam, has appeared as a guest. Another, Larry Weinberg of the Silicon Valley-based Israel21c organization, publicized Israel’s technological achievements, such as the diagnostic “camera in a pill” used worldwide.
The March show focused on Hamas, chosen in light of its victory in the January Palestinian elections. “Spotlight” presenter and historian David Meir-Levi of Palo Alto traced Hamas’ history from the Palestinian arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, an international terrorist organization, to now heading a prestate organization. Meir-Levi cited international newspapers and Arab sources that present Jews in the role of undermining Palestinians.
April’s show will discuss Lebanon’s Christian Arabs who have been brutally attacked and have largely gone unnoticed, according to those involved with the show.
Meir-Levi shares the facts for “pro-accuracy in history” and is adamant that his views are not pro-Israel. “The greatest problem I have is that [those producing anti-Israel propaganda] are not presenting the facts truthfully,” he says.
(However, the public access cable TV show produced at the Community Media Center in Palo Alto, is introduced on its Web site as analyzing “the Arab-Israeli conflict from a pro-Israel, pro-Jewish perspective.”)
An American-born Israeli, Meir-Levi has taught at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and frequently lectures Bay Area audiences on the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He appears as a weekly guest on a Jewish-themed radio show on Stanford’s KZSU-FM and frequently contributes to Frontpage Magazine.
Co-producer Martin Wasserman of Sunnyvale previously hosted public access KCSM-TV and KCSM-FM radio. He frequently contributes to Arutz Sheva, the Israeli radio station that supports traditional Jewish beliefs. On “Spotlight” he works both sides of the camera, though more often behind the scenes.
Lisa Cohen usually hosts. The Menlo Park resident chairs the Israel Action Committee at Conservative Congregation Kol Emeth, and recently traveled to Israel as a “Friend of the IDF,” experiencing the same living conditions as new army recruits.
Producer Phil Smaller and a team of studio volunteers round out the group.
Meir-Levi says that sometimes “Spotlight” is “politically incorrect, because we live in an environment or atmosphere where all ideologies are OK and we must not be condemning; we just have to understand them.
“The West has been unwilling to engage directly even as people fly planes into buildings saying ‘Allah akbar’ (‘God is great’) and defaming Islam.” While Islam is a peaceful religion among the majority of its followers, he notes an $11.5 million bounty on the head of the newspaper cartoonist who is in hiding now for drawing Islam prophet Muhammad.
Differing group members’ views about the Middle East conflict have often spirited internal discussions about what the program’s message should be. Wasserman, the group’s most hard-line member, says that Israel needs to be more decisive and express its message consistently. “When Israel retreats, its allies become nervous … As long as Palestinians are committed to destruction in this shooting war, I don’t see what to negotiate except terms of surrender.
“What gives Israel the right to be there?” he asks rhetorically. “It is not enough to say ‘I am loyal because of the suffering in the past.’ The world is not a sympathetic place. We need to be very clear why Israel is there and has a right to be there.”
But when people say, “the land belongs to the Jews,” he adds, “then that becomes politically incorrect, and it’s ‘don’t come near religion.'”
“Spotlight on the Middle East” airs five times a week at varying times. The schedule can be found at http://spotlight.deeperlook.net.