By Lawrence Mosqueda PhD, Professor Emeritus, The Evergreen State College
While it is possible to read many books (another list will be provided for that) on the current situation in Gaza, many people do not have extra time to read those books quickly. Therefore, the following list of documentary movies, that are freely available, can provide a relatively quick learning curve, individually or in groups, with a minimal amount of time. They are listed in approximate order when they could be watched but, of course, any order is useful. There are many, many other films, of course, but these are a beginning recommendation.
At the end of this film list there is a very solid list of alternative sources to the mainstream media. Some are Jewish sources, some are Arab, and some are neither. All are time tested for credibility and historical reliability.
Imperial Geography- Palestine and Israel with David Barsamiam
(Available Free On You Tube, 2002 -28 minutes)
Short, concise history of the region by the founder of Alternative Radio
“To grasp the complexities of the struggle between Arabs and Jews in the region, we need to know the maps…. The media often say that the clash between the Palestinians and the Jews is "as old as the hills." This is a fabrication. The conflict is really less than a century old and really develops with clarity after World War I. The role of the Great Powers, especially Britain and France in engineering the current situation is the focus of this program.”
Edward Said: On Orientalism, Sut Jhally and Sanjay Talrejo
(Available Free on YouTube – 40 minutes, 1998)
Based on his book Orientalism, “Said argues that the Western (especially American) understanding of the Middle East as a place full of villains and terrorists ruled by Islamic fundamentalism produces a deeply distorted image of the diversity and complexity of millions of people who live in such a vast region…. such perceptions, and the consequent cultural representations, have served, and continue to serve, as implicit justifications for the colonial and imperialist ambitions of the European powers and of the U.S….”
Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land, Bathsheba Ratzkoff and Sut Jhally
(Available Free on YouTube, I hr. 20 minutes, 2003, Age verification needed)
“This video shows how the foreign policy interests of American political elites-working in combination with Israeli public relations strategies-influence US news reporting about the Middle East conflict. Combining American and British TV news clips with observations of analysts, journalists and political activists, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a brief historical overview, a striking media comparison, and an examination of factors that have distorted U.S. media coverage and, in turn, American public opinion.”
Five Broken Cameras, Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
(Available Free on YouTube, 2013- 1hr. 26 minutes)
“Nominated for an Oscar, 5 Broken Cameras is a deeply Personal first-hand account of life and non-violent resistance in Bel’in, a West bank village where Israel is building a security fence….”
Roadmap to Apartheid, Anna Nogueira, Eron Davidson, and Alice Walker
(Available Free on YouTube, 2012, 1 hour, 34 minutes)
Ana Nogueira is a white South African and Eron Davidson a Jewish Israeli…the producers take a close look at the apartheid comparison often used to describe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…. There are many lessons to draw from the South African experience relevant to conflicts all over the world. This film is as much a historical document of the rise and fall of apartheid, as it is a film about why many Palestinians feel they are living in an apartheid system today, and why an increasing number of people around the world agree with them.
Checkpoint: The Palestinians After Oslo, Tom Wright and Therese Saliba, two members of the Rachel Corrie foundation (Available Free on YouTube, 1997, 58 minutes). Also see Tom Wright’s Video Archive, also Free on You Tube)
“1997 Documentary about Palestinian life in the wake of the Oslo "peace" agreement, as settlement building expands, the Palestinian Authority takes over some areas, and the Israeli occupation worsens.”
Current Information Sources:
PALESTINE CHRONICLE - www.palestinechronicle.com
Daily news, articles, and YouTube channel.
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA - https://electronicintifada.net/
Daily news, articles, and YouTube Channel.
JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE - https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
Excellent Jewish Website for actions and analysis. Read “THE WIRE”
IF NOT NOW - https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org
Excellent Jewish Website. See especially the “Liberation Syllabus” for many books for adults and children and various works of art.
MONDOWEISS - https://mondoweiss.net/
Excellent Jewish website for analysis and podcast.
ALJAZEERA - https://www.aljazeera.com/
First (1996) independent Arab news channel based in Qatar. News on Middle East, Global Politics, and other issues.
COMMON DREAMS - https://www.commondreams.org/
Daily news articles and commentary on global and U.S. domestic issues
DEMOCRACY NOW - https://www.democracynow.org/
Available on-line and on Olympia KAOS radio 89.3 at 9am M-F
Daily news program that has hundreds of articles and stories in its internal website since October 2023 and thousands of articles that are archived to the 1990s.