Die Jüdische Filmwoche und der Schwerpunkt Visuelle Zeit- und Kulturgeschichte, Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Universität Wien present:
THE LAND OF THE SETTLERS
Chaim Yavin IL 2006
Mo 13. November 2006, 18.00-20.00
Vortrag des Regisseurs Chaim Yavin
Hörsaal C1, Campus, Hof 2, Spitalgasse 2-4, 1090 Wien
Di 14. November, 19:15
THE LAND OF THE SETTLERS
Filmvorfühung in Anwesenheit von Regisseur Chaim Yavin
Director Chaim Yavin will be in attendance
Votiv Kino
Das Land der Siedler.
Chaim Yavins Dokumentation über die Palästinensergebiete
Seit fast 40 Jahren bringt Chaim Yavin den Israelis jeden Abend um 21 Uhr die Nachrichten ins Wohnzimmer. Als „Mr. TV“ hat er alle Stationen israelischer Geschichte vom Sechstage-Krieg bis zur geplanten Räumung der israelischen Siedlungen in seiner Sendung präsentiert. Zuletzt hat er seinen Moderatorenstuhl mit einer Videokamera getauscht. Zweieinhalb Jahre ist er durch die Palästinensergebiete gereist und hat berichtet - über radikale jüdische Siedler und über Palästinenser, die unter den Schikanen des Militärs leiden. Weil die Israelis Angst vor sprengstoffbeladenen Autos haben, müssen am Kontrollpunkt Hawara alle zu Fuß über den Übergang. Meist warten die Palästinenser mehrere Stunden - egal ob hochschwanger oder krank. Als Yavin einen Soldaten fragt, ob er einen kranken Mann vorlassen könne, meint der nur: „Nein. Er muss wie alle anderen in der Schlange stehen.“ Chaim Yavin kommentiert die Situation in seiner Dokumentation aus dem Off: „Unsere Väter in Europa hätten gesagt, so ein Jude will ich nicht sein.“
Szenen wie diese bekommen die Israelis normalerweise nicht im Fernsehen zu sehen. Palästinenser tauchen dort meistens als Terroristen auf, nicht als Opfer. Drei Folgen der fünfteiligen Dokumentation sind mittlerweile gelaufen. Die Quoten waren hoch, die Welle der Aufregung noch höher. Medien und Bevölkerung streiten über Yavins krasse Darstellung. Besonders die Siedler fühlen sich ungerecht behandelt. Sie glauben, dass sie unter erschwerten Bedingungen leben. Doch Yavin zeigt stattdessen den mühseligen Alltag der Palästinenser. Zum Beispiel in Hebron. Weil hier einige wenige Siedler leben, ist das Militär allgegenwärtig. Schießereien gehören zum Alltag der palästinensischen Zivilbevölkerung. Viele Siedler finden, dass Yavin als Nachrichtensprecher nicht so parteiisch sein darf. Manche fordern gar seine Entlassung. Doch da Yavins Dokumentation nicht in seinem Sender, sondern beim privaten Konkurrenten Kanal 2 läuft, wird das Ganze wohl keine Konsequenzen für ihn haben - vielleicht aber auf die Sicht der Israelis auf die Siedlungspolitik. Das hofft zumindest Chaim Yavin, wenn er künftig seine Nachrichten vorliest - ganz objektiv.
(21.06.2005 / Julia Haungs für Kulturzeit / hs;
http://www.3sat.de/3sat.php?http://www. ... index.html)
BBC NEWS
Israel's Mr TV blasts occupation
Israel's most respected television news presenter has condemned the occupation of Palestinian territory as "brutal" in a documentary aired on Tuesday.
Haim Yavin, known in Israel as Mr TV, has for decades avoided personal comment on the issue. His documentary Diary of a Journey recounts Palestinian suffering at the hands of Israeli soldiers and settlers. Settlers leaders have called for the 72-year-old broadcaster to be dismissed from state-owned Israel Television. Mr Yavin is a founder of the state television channel and is revered in Israel. He has spent over two years making the film during visits to the West Bank and Gaza. One scene records Palestinian farmers being chased from olive groves by Jewish settlers, who accuse the Palestinians of planning violent attacks. Commenting on long queues of Palestinians waiting at an Israeli army checkpoint, Mr Yavin says: "I cannot really do anything to relieve this misery other than document it."
Tom Segev, an Israeli author and social commentator, said Mr Yavin's reputation as a trustworthy broadcaster could influence some Israelis. "He is Mr Israel, the voice of Israel, the soul of Israel, and if he comes out with this, it means that apparently a lot of people feel the same."
'Unacceptable'
Settlers leaders have been outraged by the broadcast. Settlers Council representative Bentsi Lieberman has complained to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority. "It is unacceptable that Haim Yavin will continue to anchor the news of the national station that professes to be objective." The presenter is taking a stand at time when the Israeli government is preparing to implement its controversial plan to withdraw from Gaza. Israel is planning to evacuate all its 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and the troops who protect them as part of a unilateral disengagement plan. It will maintain full control of the borders, airspace and coastline of Gaza, which is home to about 1.5m Palestinians.
(
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4598965.stm: June 1, 2005)
HAARETZ
`I stole the show'
By Ruta Kupfer (22/07/2005)
"It isn't possible to spend time in the territories and reach conclusions different from those I reached, unless you're lying to yourself." This insight was shared by Haim Yavin, the veteran broadcaster whose documentary series "Land of the Settlers" was aired in recent weeks by Channel 2 franchisee Telad, and caused a big uproar.
Among other things, in the wake of the broadcast, the settlers - including the chairman of the Yesha Council (representing settlements in the West Bank and Gaza), Benzi Lieberman - demanded that "that left-winger Haim Yavin has to be fired from `Mabat.'"
Not only was the veteran, 72-year-old talking head - who has been reading the news on Channel 1's nightly "Mabat" program almost continuously since 1968 - not fired, but reports surfaced this week ("rumors and speculations," he claims) that the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has signed a contract with him for another year. (At
NIS 70,000 a month? "More speculation," he says.) In addition, Channel 1 broadcast a special program on the disengagement this week that he moderated ("It was a statement, a show of faith in me by the authority"). Given the success of Yavin's series on the commercial channel, which yielded a 14.2-percent viewer rating among the entire population, Channel 1 has decided to rebroadcast two films that Yavin
made about the Oslo Accords.(...) "It is now becoming acceptable to include personal opinions in the evening news. It verges on veritable editorials," says Yavin. "I'm
against it. After all, everyone agrees there is no objectivity in news coverage; but there is an aspiration toward objectivity, and therefore when presenting the news there is no justification for taking a personal stand. I compare myself to a night editor who also writes editorials. In my opinion, it is legitimate to carry on a personal
campaign that is subjective and balanced, and is written in the first person." (...) In Yavin's opinion, the media is by definition "leftist or liberal, which is the same thing," because this is integral to the profession. "The press seeks out the irregularities and the distortions in the establishment. It is by definition anti-establishment." As for the
claim that the media in Israel, and particularly the electronic media, are in fact very supportive of the establishment and the official position of the State of Israel, he comments: "We are not a broadcasting authority of the UN. We will not cover the Israeli-Arab dispute through `objective' eyes. We have the Israeli point of view. It
is impossible to compare our coverage to that of Al-Jazeera or the BBC.
(
www.imw.org.il/english/article.php?id=116)