Director Mohammad Bakri
Photo: Shaul Golan
'Jenin, Jenin' to be screened at TAU
University authorizes screening of Mohammad Bakri’s film as part of Hadash movement’s conference. But not everyone is pleased. ‘We, as students and as a country, must not fall victim to deceptions and lies of cheaters such as Mohammad Bakri,’ write students
The controversial film "Jenin, Jenin" is again making headlines. Activists from the Tel Aviv University branch of Hadash are scheduled to screen the movie directed by Mohammad Bakri on Wednesday with the university’s approval as part of a conference they are holding. This has provoked a wave of opposition among various organizations on campus, including the Im Tirtzu movement.
Controversy
Merav Yudilovitch
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Im Tirtzu’s Director-General Amit Barak said, “As is known, a group of reservists who fought in Jenin and buried their comrades at the end of the fighting filed a civil suit against Bakri for his fallacious film, which slanders and accuses IDF soldiers of executing a massacre and war crimes in Jenin. It has been brought to our attention that Hadash activists plan on screening the film and its fraudulent blood libel as part of an evening of incitement and slander against the State of Israel.”
In order to block the film from being screened, Im Tirtzu students turned to Tel Aviv University President Prof. Yosef Klafter in a letter: “We, as studnets and as a state, must not fall victim to the deceptions and lies of cheaters, in the likes of Mohammad Bakri. The revered principle of freedom of speech has nothing to do with the freedom Bakri took for himself to incite, to make false accusations of blood libels, and to sully IDF soldiers.”
Tel Aviv University issued the following response: “We are screening the film. We are acting in accordance with the High Court decision that has authorized the screening of Jenin, Jenin.”
Only recently did Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decide against issuing an indictment for slander against the film’s director. However, Mazuz noted that he supports the soldiers in their civil suit against Bakri.
