"Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence"
Ken A. Bode
March 6, 2007
On January 13, PBS viewer Paul Russell of Overland Park, Kansas, sent an e-mail to his congressman, Rep. Dennis Moore, complaining about a program that was broadcast a few days before on KCPT-TV. The program, which Mr. Russell described as "an alleged documentary," was "Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence," a collaboration of Two Cats Productions and Oregon Public Broadcasting which aired on PBS on January 7, 2007.
Congressman Moore sent a copy of Mr. Russell's letter to CPB requesting the attention of the Ombudsman and in due course it reached my desk.
First, what Mr. Russell found objectionable: "The alleged Documentary was as out-and-out Anti-Semitic as the worst of the modern-day Arab TV telecasts (some inordinately long clips from which were shown on the alleged Documentary)."
Then, what Mr. Russell has done about it: "I will never again support Public TV and I have asked all of my Jewish (and non-Jewish, but nonetheless concerned-about Israel and Anti-Semitism) friends and acquaintances."
Finally, what Mr. Russell wants his congressman, Rep. Dennis Moore, to do about it: "I hereby ask you as my Representative in the congress, to do whatever you can in future to deny funding to the CPB, and, even more immediately, to set the wheels in motion for a House Inquiry to the virulent Anti-Semitism displayed by Public TV and the CPB in last Monday's infamous broadcast."
I have reviewed the program, which was written, produced and directed by Andrew Goldberg of Two Cats Productions and introduced by Judy Woodruff. The purpose of the show was to examine what Ms. Woodruff called a dramatic resurgence of anti-Semitism in some parts of the world, including hate-propaganda, vandalism and attacks on Jews. The main geographic focus was on Western Europe along with Arab and Islamic communities around the world.
The producers combined an array of visual examples of anti-Semitism in various historical contexts. The program moved forward from the roots of this prejudice, including a thorough examination of The Protocols of Zion, to contemporary times. As Mr. Russell pointed out, it did include examples from present-day Arab television broadcasts. The program included a wide range of political and academic experts, representing all sides of this issue. Mr. Goldberg's very interesting technique was to allow these experts to tell the story.
It seems obvious to me that to examine the resurgence of Anti-Semitism it is necessary to give the television viewing audience evidence that Anti-Semitic rhetoric and behavior are on the rise, which the documentary did. The historical and geographic roots of anti-Semitism were clearly developed, and explanations for its resurgence included a variety of opinions, including near the conclusion of the program a discussion of how much of this resurgence is a religious-cultural-racial prejudice and how much is provoked by resentment of Israel itself. Tel Aviv University professor Dina Povat says simply, "Israel now is the collective Jew."
Overall, this is an excellent production, well researched, organized, written, reported and superior in visual presentation. It was especially timely, as the rise of anti-Semitism is a topic of growing interest on college campuses around the country and in the Jewish community itself. I'm pleased that Mr. Russell of Overland Park, Kansas complained to the Honorable Dennis Moore, member of Congress, because I missed this broadcast, and his complaint afforded me an opportunity to give it a serious review.
Congressman Moore, my conclusion is that you can rest easy. No need to cut the funding of CPB. This was an excellent documentary. I tip my newsboy's cap to Andrew Goldberg and Oregon Public Television. Somehow Mr. Russell didn't get the point.