Make no mistake, David Hosley is still no fan of the documentary “Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence.”
He just doesn’t think his personal critique should keep everyone in the Sacramento area from doing something virtually every other urban television viewer in the nation had the chance to do — see the film.
In November, Hosley, general manager of PBS affiliate KVIE Sacramento, decided not to run the documentary, produced by Andrew Goldberg and narrated by journalist Judy Woodruff. He felt the film was “not well-made” and had issues with several graphic scenes.
“What I did not know when I made that decision is that it would run on every other public TV station in the country,” he said. “It seemed inappropriate for me to not have this program available here when every other market in the country played it.”
After a series of dialogues with the Sacramento-area Jewish Community Relations Council, Hosley changed his mind and slated the film to be shown at 11 p.m. March 14 and in prime time, at 8 p.m. April 19.
“We met with Mr. Hosley twice and he devoted a great deal of time to hearing our concerns,” said Len Feldman, a member of the JCRC’s media committee. “He came to understand the crucial importance of letting the Sacramento community see the type of everyday anti-Semitism that can be found on television programming in the Middle East.”
Hosley told j. in January that he had concerns about several scenes, including one in which young, unnamed Arab interview subjects defame Jews. To Hosley, it seemed unclear if the children were stating their heartfelt views or being told to recite stories they had heard.
He also felt that a scene from a Syrian television drama in which fiendish Jews slit a boy’s throat to cull his blood for Passover matzah was overly gory and would do more harm than good for interfaith viewers in the Sacramento area — a view that was backed up by a panel of local religious and community leaders he convened.
Feldman, along with Yitzhak Santis, the S.F.-based JCRC’s director of Middle Eastern Affairs, differed, noting that gory scenes like the above on popular TV programs demonstrate how deeply entrenched anti-Semitism has become in that region of the world.
The JCRC convinced Hosley that “the topic was more important than the problems with the journalism and the way it’s made.”
He opted to show the film next month along with “Not in Our Town,” a local documentary about the Sacramento community’s response to the firebombing of three area synagogues in 1999.
In April, “Anti-Semitism” will be shown as part of a lengthy series detailing life in America following 9/11. Other in-depth programs in the series include interviews with soldiers returning from Iraq, an exploration of American Muslim life and a Muslim journalist’s quest to reclaim the religion from extremists.
“I have received a number of letters from people who tell me they appreciate that the film will be shown in the area,” Hosley said.
However, “I’ve also had some people telling me I was right the first time.”