Posts Tagged ‘channel 4’
TV: Going for Gold in Gaza
November 10th, 2011 • News
Tags: channel 4, docu, gaza, london 2012, olympics, paralympics, tv, unreported world
Don’t miss this eye opening documentary on Channel 4 tomorrow night!
Unreported World meets members of the Palestinian Paralympic team hoping to qualify for London 2012. They find athletes struggling to train in the conflict zone. In a territory where those who die fighting the Israelis are considered the true heroes, the Paralympic team goes completely unrecognised by its own people – read more…
Palestinian atheletes have one 3 medals at previous paralympics:
- Bronze – Husam Azzam – 2000 Sydney – Shot put
- Silver – Husam Azzam – 2004 Athens – Shot put
- Bronze – Mohammed Fannouna – 2004 Athens – Long jump
From Porthmadog Back to Bethlehem
January 16th, 2011 • Film & Documentary, News
Tags: Back to Bethlehem, Byd Pawb, Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, channel 4, documentary, Nol i Fethlehem, Porthmadog, s4c, tv, welsh
A moving and informative documentary shown on S4C (Welsh language Channel 4) over Christmas.
WATCH ONLINE AT S4C/CLIC »
Byd Pawb: Nol i Fethlehem (Back to Bethlehem)
Diek Family
A powerful documentary follows a Welsh family as they return to Bethlehem, Palestine in the Middle East. We follow Susan, 48, Tony Diek, 49 and their children Adam, 27 and Natalie, 24 as they travelled from Porthmadog, Gwynedd to Bethlehem to meet their relatives for the first time since fleeing the Palestinian West Bank 15 years ago.The programme provides one family’s unique Welsh perspective on an international conflict, and reminds us at Christmas that it continues to divide families in Bethlehem.
Susan was born and bred in Porthmadog but went to live and work in Palestine 30 years ago where she met and married Tony Diek. Tony is a Christian Palestinian but he, along with Susan and their two children, has a British passport and is an UK citizen living in a truly international home where three languages are spoken – Welsh, Arabic and English.
Trouble in Bethlehem
The Dieks knew that things had deteriorated in Bethlehem and the West Bank since they fled in 1996, with the iron and concrete wall being built by Israel around the West Bank. But nothing quite prepared them or the film crew for what they would witness. While the wall has reduced the number of Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israel by 90%, the Dieks were shocked to see how it has affected everyday life in Palestine.
“We were treated terribly – we all had British passports but that counted for nothing in the eyes of the Israelis. As Tony had been born there, he was a Palestinian in their eyes,” said Susan.
Tony has two brothers in Bethlehem and a sister who lives beyond the wall in Jerusalem, Israel. But Tony was refused permission to travel to her home without a Palestinian ID. Susan and the children had to make the difficult journey through the checkpoints to Jerusalem without him. Jerusalem, a city important to Jews, Palestinians and Christians, is the focal point of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. “We had also hoped to go together to the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem where we were married 30 years ago. But because of the difficulties Tony wasn’t able to come with us and yet again, 15 years on, events had separated us as a family.”
It was an emotional experience for all of them to see their family and friends once again – and realise how difficult life is for all the people living in the shadow of a wall which will encircle the West Bank once it’s completed
- WATCH ONLINE… (in Welsh/English/Arabic with English subtitles)
- Read a review from the Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald: Emotional journey to holy land for Porthmadog family
- Daily Post: Welsh couple stopped from returning to Bethlehem
- Western Mail: Bethlehem … the people feel as if they’re in jail
- BBC, 2002: Relatives’ fear over Middle East war
Dispatches: Children of Gaza
March 16th, 2010 • 1 comment Film & Documentary, News
Tags: channel 4, children, Dispatches, gaza
UK readers can watch Children of Gaza online at YouTube… & Worldwide audience here…
Documentary filmmaker Jezza Neumann writes about his experiences while making The Children of Gaza:
… children have began to move on as best they can and try to put the memories of the war behind them but their daily life is filled with constant reminders. Much of Gaza still lies in a pile of sand and rubble. The winter rains have meant leaks and floods for Omsyatte and Amal’s families and the blockade means that many goods are hard to come by. Currently in Gaza there is a shortage of cooking gas. Power cuts are also commonplace making it very difficult to study at night… – Read more at Channel 4…
To donate to the children in the film, and for information on how to help them and others, please visit this website:
The Independent: Children of Gaza: Scarred, trapped, vengeful
UPDATE: Convoy member Joti2Gaza’s review…
UK TV: Dispatches Children of Gaza
March 12th, 2010 • 1 comment Film & Documentary, News
Tags: channel 4, children, Dispatches, docu, gaza, tv
WATCH: 8pm Monday March 15, 2010
UPDATE The Independent: Children of Gaza: Scarred, trapped, vengeful
Channel 4′s Dispatches: Children of Gaza
In December 2008, the Israeli Defence Force unleashed a campaign to destroy the ability of Hamas to launch rockets and mortars into Israel. Around 300 children were amongst the 1,300 Palestinians that were killed.
After the ceasefire, BAFTA-winning filmmaker Jezza Neumann arrived in Gaza to follow the lives of three children over a year.
Surrounded by the remnants of the demolished Gaza Strip and increasingly isolated by the blockade that prevents anyone from rebuilding their homes and their lives, Children of Gaza is a shocking, touching and uniquely intimate reflection on extraordinary courage in the face of great adversity.
Repeated 4.15am Sunday March 21, 2010
TV: Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby
November 15th, 2009 • Events
Tags: channel 4, israel, lobby, politics, tv, uk
Channel 4: Monday November 16, 2009 @ 8pm
Dispatches investigates one of the most powerful and influential political lobbies in Britain, which is working in support of the interests of the State of Israel.
Despite wielding great influence among the highest realms of British politics and media, little is known about the individuals and groups which collectively are known as the pro-Israel lobby.
Political commentator Peter Oborne sets out to establish who they are, how they are funded, how they work and what influence they have, from the key groups to the wealthy individuals who help bankroll the lobbying.
He investigates how accountable, transparent and open to scrutiny the lobby is, particularly in regard to its funding and financial support of MPs.
The pro-Israel lobby aims to shape the debate about Britain’s relationship with Israel and future foreign policies relating to it.
Oborne examines how the lobby operates from within parliament and the tactics it employs behind the scenes when engaging with print and broadcast media.
