During a broadcast on IDF Radio last night (Wednesday), one of the broadcasters announced the death of anti-Israeli director and actor Muhammad Bakri, the creator of the film 'Jenin Jenin', which slandered IDF fighters - while praising and glorifying him.
""During our broadcast, the beloved, amazing actor, Muhammad Bakri, who is truly one of the greatest of the greats, passed away. A huge, big hug to the Bakri family. Truly, the greatest of the greats," said the broadcaster.
MK Avichai Boaron attacked and said that it is now clear why the military station should be closed. "Bakri, the director who portrayed IDF soldiers as war criminals, who the court ordered to pay compensation to IDF soldiers for the slander he published against them, while stating that Bakri's film includes 'lies and fabrications, constitutes a biased defamation of the fighters and slanders IDF soldiers,' Bakri who joined Holocaust deniers when he said: 'They did not investigate whether what the Holocaust survivors said was true and they did not investigate the side of the Germans who did it' - this Bakri was praised on Galei Tzahal by the station's broadcaster who said of Bakri: 'From the greatest of the great - a big hug to his family.' Anyone who needed a justification for why it is right to close this station - got it.".
Minister Shlomo Kari added: "The 'Soldiers' House' mourns and honors one of the greatest supporters of terror who was here. The one who said: 'Attempts at normalization with the Zionist enemy are tantamount to treason.' The one responsible for one of the most anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist films ever made here, which slandered the country and the IDF throughout the world. May his name and memory be erased. Soon our heroic fighters will have no reason to be ashamed of their 'home.'".
Galei Tzahal issued a clarification in response, in an attempt to minimize the damage: "This is a statement made casually by a magazine show host, while acknowledging the news for the first time and during a live broadcast. The statement did not address the full picture and the host only referred to Bakri's work as a film and theater actor, and from that perspective only. In a conversation with the host, he regretted the things he said.
""We would like to emphasize that the statement does not reflect the station's position. Other coverage made by the station addressed the issue in a different and critical manner and also addressed the fact that this is a person who slandered IDF fighters. We regret the use of a single statement to defame the station's activities and all of its broadcasts.".
Bakri frequently spoke out against Israel throughout his life and sparked disgust and a severe storm when he released the film "Jenin Jenin," which criticized the IDF's activities in Operation Defensive Shield. The film was banned from screening in Israel, a decision that was overturned by the High Court of Justice, but after a defamation lawsuit by a reserve soldier who appeared in it, the film was banned from screening again.
He previously told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, affiliated with Hezbollah: "Attempts at normalization with the Zionist enemy are tantamount to treason. This is a shameful and unacceptable act. The government of the Zionist entity practices racism and suppresses any attempt by Palestinian artists living within its borders.".
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