Iran’s Sahar 1 TV station is currently airing a weekly series titled “For You, Palestine,” or “Zahra’s Blue Eyes.” The series premiered on December 13, and is set in Israel and the West Bank. It broadcasts every Monday, and was filmed in Persian but subsequently dubbed into Arabic. The story follows an Israeli candidate for […]

Under the title “Relations with Israel,” columnist Hazem Abd Al-Rahman, in the leading Egyptian Government daily Al-Ahram, calls for developing Egyptian-Israeli relations and dropping the negative attitude towards Israel. The following are excerpts from the article: [1] “Egyptian-Israeli relations occupy an important place in Egypt’s foreign policy and the first serious signs of openness in […]

According to documented evidence gathered by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook of Palestinian Media Watch, the worship of Death for Allah (Shahada) continues to be a central theme transmitted to Arab homes via the TV station controlled by the Palestinian Authority. In a recent broadcast, the mother of an Arab suicide terrorist talks about how […]

President George W. Bush’s re-election and the Republican Party’s victory elicied diverse reactions in the Arab media. While some columnists expressed their disappointment with the election results or their hopes that President Bush would change his policy during his second term, others articulated their satisfaction with Bush’s re-election and even called on the Arab world […]

Palestinian columnists have recently published articles assessing the four years of the Intifada, in which they admitted that the grave harm caused to the Palestinians stemmed from their choice of suicide/martyrdom operations as the primary method of struggle. In addition, the PA’s status as the leader of the Palestinian people has been undermined, and signs […]

Over the past few months this column has discussed how the Arab and Iranian media have been following the upcoming presidential campaign. One common theme in the media has been to explicitly call on Arab and Muslim voters in the U.S. to vote for John Kerry. For example, in Egypt’s Al-Ahram Weekly on April 18, […]

In a recent opinion piece, the progressive author and journalist Dr. Shaker Al-Nabulsi condemned the growing support for terrorism and extremism in the Arab world, and the rejection of moderation and reason. The following are excerpts from the article: [1] ‘We have become the Most Terrorist Nation and the Greatest Spillers of Blood in the […]

While PA Chairman Yassir Arafat dispatches diplomats to promise peace in exchange for Israeli concessions, his TV station broadcasts a clear message to his Arab constituents: Kill the Jews. This brief comparative study presents video footage released today of Mr. Arafat’s primary spokesperson – Dr. Hanan Ashrawi – addressing an overseas audience in English alongside […]

An alarming television segment strongly promoting child martyrdom has returned to official Palestinian Authority TV. The clip has been aired repeatedly in recent weeks after being taken off the air over a year ago following widespread outrage. At a US Senate Hearing in October 2003, Director of Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) Itamar Marcus displayed extensive […]

Introduction The following are clips from MEMRI’s TV Project on support for suicide attacks. They include TV segments from leading Muslim religious figures such as Sheikh Tantawi, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sudayyis, Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, and Sheikh Qaradhawi, one of the prominent leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement. Grand […]