Al-Dura exposes fault lines in Israel’s approach

Note: Philippe Karsenty will be speaking at BMH-BJ on August 20, 2013. More details

How many of you remember a picture from the Second Intifada of a Palestinian boy, huddled in his father’s arm, killed by Israeli gunfire?

There’s a major problem, however, in the sentence you just read, because according to Philippe Karsenty — and as of late, the Israeli government — the photograph is a fake.

Karsenty, a French national who has devoted the last 12 years of his life to exposing the hoax, spoke in Denver last summer under the auspices of ActionIsrael. Last week, he spoke in Bern, Switzerland as part of a panel on media and propaganda.

If you don’t recall Karsenty’s talk from last August, or weren’t able to attend, Andrea Jacobs’ profiled him for the IJN, about his dogged fight in and out of French courts attempting to uncover the truth behind Al-Dura. Along the way, Karsenty was sued for libel by the French television station that initially aired the footage in 2000.

A lot has happened in the months since his Denver visit, though Karsenty is still waiting on a final decision from the courts. The most significant is that two weeks ago, Israel released the report of an official inquiry, which found that Mohammad Al-Dura was not killed in a firefight at the Netzarim Junction in Gaza*. Some might argue that it’s a day late and a dollar short.

Had the Israelis sat down with Philippe Karsenty, it may not have taken them 13 years to reach this conclusion. His presentation, backed up by ample video evidence, demonstrates without a doubt that not only did Al-Dura not die in a rain of gunfire, but that the entire ‘battle’ was staged for the Palestinian PR machine.

So why the delay in holding an inquiry?

One of the biggest culprits in all of this is the Israeli government. Why did they immediately apologize for the death back in 2000? And why did it take so long for them to convene an inquiry – in the face of evidence submitted by Karsenty, among others?

There are no clear-cut answer to these questions, and Karsenty has harsh words for the government, accusing them of not understanding the impact that such myths as Al-Dura have on Diaspora Jewry.

The ‘murder’ of Al-Dura rapidly became a rallying cry for the Palestinian and pro-Palestinian communities, or to put it quite simply, the anti-Israel crowd. It served to escalate the Second Intifada, which, according to Karsenty, was precisely the intention behind the staged killing.

The name of Al-Dura was chanted during the horrific lynching of two soldiers in Ramallah in October 2000, mere weeks after the staged incident in Gaza. Stamps depicting the child and his father were issued across the Arab and Muslim world. A a mural painted with the infamous scene stands in the center of a public square in Bamako, Mali that named after the “Palestinian martyr” (pictured above).

And even recently, Mohammed Merah, the Toulouse killer, said that he murdered children in France to avenge the murder of children in Gaza. Whether or not Merah was referring specifically to Al-Dura is immaterial. His statement to the French authorities demonstrates that events in and surrounding Israel impact Jews worldwide. The line between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism has become so thin to the point of virtually disappearing altogether. And the PR war against Israel isn’t helping.

So why doesn’t Israel do more to counteract these myths that fuel anti-Israel sentiment and activism?

It’s the question of the day. There are many theories — ranging from lack of interest to an over reliance on pro-Israel NGOs — but what there aren’t are any clear answers.

Here’s hoping that Israel is finally learning the lesson. That Karsenty’s tenacity played a role in teaching that lesson is testament to his inestimable contribution to the Jewish community and the Jewish state.

*In fact the report says that the boy was still alive following the incident that appeared on French television.