THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, July 8, 1983 15
Film Hits NBC Coverage of Lebanon War
By HELEN SILVER
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
A 60-minute documentary
which was previewed here
and in New York last week
was sharply critical of NBC
News' coverage of the war in
Lebanon last summer and
accused the network "of vio-
lating all principles of re-
sponsible journalism," ac-
cording to the film's director
and writer, Peter Goldman.
Goldman, who is director
of the Americans for a Safe
Israel, a New York-based
organization that believes
Israel is essential to West-
ern security and interests
and supports retention of
the territories occupied
since the 1967 war, accused
NBC of indulging in the
"practice of advocacy jour-
nalism."
"NBC held a point of
view, shaped the news to fit
this viewpoint while omit-
ting or minimizing news
which did not fit its bias,"
the documentary charged.
"The network ceased being
an observer or an effective
source of information, but
became a protagonist for.
one side — the PLO."
The documentary, ti-
tled, "NBC in Lebanon: A
Study in Media Misrep-
resentation," examined
the NBC Nightly News
programs between June
4 and Aug. 31, 1982. Ac-
cording to the documen-
tary, nearly 600 minutes
of news coverage was
dedicated to the war in
Lebanon during this
period with less than 30
minutes of this time given
to the Israeli view or the
factual background of
the war.
"Pro-PLO Lebanese lead-
ers were interviewed 14
times while anti-PLO
Lebanese leaders were
interviewed only twice,
while Lebanese opinion was
strongly against the PLO.
Ten non-official Americans
were interviewed on the
NBC Nightly News, all of
them anti-Israel, while the
views of the many impartial
Americans (including mili-
tary officials, Congressmen
and clergymen) who visited
Lebanon during the fight-
ing and discovered that Is-
rael's interpretation of
events was essentially cor-
rect, were censored by the
network," the documentary
charged.
A spokesperson for NBC
said the network would
have no comment at this
time since it has not had an
opportunity to view the
documentary.
The documentary used
film clips of reports from
Lebanon as well as com-
ments by the anchormen
and commentators for NBC
News to demonstrate "that
Yasir Arafat and the PLO
were consistently presented
in a favorable light and
glorified by NBC while Is-
rael and its leaders were
denegrated. Israel was ac-
cused of being the aggressor
in the Middle East conflict
and the Arab version of
events was presented as
fact. Grossly exaggerated
civilian casualty figures
based on PLO sources were
broadcast and not corrected
when they were shown to be
patently false. Pertinent in-
formation was withheld by
the network and falsehoods
were commonplace," the
documentary charged.
Furthermore, the
documentary said, "NBC
did not inform its viewers
that its reporters were
not free to tell the truth
because of the PLO's
reign of terror against
journalists." The
documentary said NBC
provided "only cursory"
mention of the back-
ground of the war "pre-
ferring instead to portray
the conflict as a relentless
and deliberate Israeli at-
tack on the civilian popu-
lation of Lebanon."
documentary
The
charged NBC with having
"misled and deceived" the
viewers "by denying to the
public the objective news it
has the right and need to be
shown." The documentary
showed clips of the humane
medical care of the
Lebanese wounded by the
Israelis and jubilant
Lebanese returning to their
homes under Israeli occupa-
tion in southern Lebanon as
examples of pro-Israeli
news clips which Goldman
maintained could have been
contained in the NBC News
broadcasts to add to a more
balanced presentation.
While NBC was selected
for the documentary,
Goldman said, "NBC's
coverage of the war was
only marginally worse than
ABC or CBS. The three
networks and PBS have all
been guilty of misrepresent-
ing the news about the Mid-
dle East and other issues."
Goldman told a press
conference after the
Washington preview,
which 100 persons
attended, that "If NBC
and the other networks
continue to misrepresent
issues and practice advo-
cacy journalism, public
reaction and legal action
to prevent further abuse
of the First Amendment
will become necessary.
We hope that this film will
make the public opinion
makers, journalists and
government officials
aware of this very serious
problem."
The film was financed by
the Americans for a Safe Is-
rael which lacks- the funds
to buy air time for it to be
shown on television,
Goldman said. He added
that the tape will be dis-
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Widow of Dutch Nazi Wants
to Promote Klan in Holland
AMSTERDAM (JTA) —
Mrs. Florry Rost Van Ton-
ningen, widow of one of Hol-
land's most notorious Nazi
leaders before and during
World War II and herself an
unregenerated Nazi fana-
tic, has proposed the estab-
lishment of a Dutch equiv-
alent of the Ku. Klux Klan
as the best way to promote
race hatred in The Nether-
lands.
She claims to have estab-
lished contacts with the
American Klan through
U.S. soldiers stationed in
West Germany. On June 26,
she celebrated Germany's
Midsummer Fest by
entertaining a coterie of
neo-Nazis and older Nazis of
the Hitler era from Holland
and West Germany at her
villa in Kelp, a village near
the town of Arnheim.
The gatherings have be-
come an annual event at the
Van Tonningen summer
home where one of the main
themes is "the Jewish con-
spiracy" which is supposed
to be the "real power" be-
hind Communism and
capitalism, and ways to re-
vive Nazism.
Mrs. Van Tonningen is
in her 60s. Her husband,
Herman Rost Van Ton-
ningen was deputy
leader of the Dutch Nazi
Party (NSB) in the 1930s
and during the German
occupation of Holland
from 1940 to 1945. She
was, at the time, leader of
the NSB's "Girls Guide."
Their wedding was
attended by top Nazis
from all over Europe.
Herman Van Tonningen
was arrested as a war crim-
inal immediately after the
liberation of Holland in
1945. A month later, he
committed suicide in his jail
cell.
Reward Set in Vandalism
The Deerfield Commu-
nity Association has estab-
lished a $500 reward for the
arrest and conviction of the
persons responsible for de-
facing several homes on
Edinborough June 26.
John Crimmings of the
association board said the
fund included $200 from the
association and $300 in pri-
vate contributions.
Crimmings said the re-
ward plan is being pub-
lished in area newspapers
and in the Deerfield Village
subdivision's newspaper
which will be sent to every
home in the subdivision.
Two homes owned by
Jewish residents were
defaced with spray paint
during the incident, an-
other home had a win-
dow broken and two
lawns were torn up by
automobiles.
Crimmings said anyone
with information should
call the West Bloomfield
police. If anonymity is re-
quired, the witness can put
a six-digit number on a
plain piece of paper with the
information and send it to
the subdivision's Secret
Witness Plan, 6747 Post
Oak Dr., West Bloomfield
48033.
Israel Tour
for U.S. Scouts
IRVING, Tex. — Ameri-
can Boy and Girl Scouts of
various religious and ethnic
backgrounds will spend five
weeks visiting Jerusalem,
Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, haifa
and other spots of interest
beginning July 17.
Rabbi William H. Kraus,
director, Jewish Relation-
ships, Boy Scouts of
America, said the group will
participate in camping as
well as sightseeing and
learning about Israel's
people and their customs.
The trip is a joint venture
of the Boy Scouts and the
National Jewish Girl Scout
Committee of the
Synagogue Council of
America.
Shopping for a "good buy" has be-
come one of America's favorite pas-
times. It's always fun to find new
things; see the new fashions and
perhaps pick up something new for
the house or family.
Another favorite pastime is to come
home from shopping, kick off the
shoes and relax with a good cup of
coffee. Maxwell House Coffee. The
full-pleasant aroma and great-
tasting, satisfying flavor is
the perfect ending
to a busy shop-
ping day. Espe-
cially when
relaxing with
K Ce -titled Kosher
a close friend. The good talk. The
good feelings. The warmth are some
of the things that go along with
Maxwell House Perhaps that's why
many Jewish housewives don't 'shop'
for Maxwell House' They simply
buy it. It's the "smart buy" as any
balabusta knows!
So, no matter what your prefer-
ence—instant or ground—when
you pour Maxwell House,'' you pour
relaxation. At its best...consis-
tently cup after cup after cup.
Gr mow/
F..Z
,rp,rat ion
A living tradition in Jewish homes or over half a century.