Letter to Steven Spielberg about film, MUNICH from retired Israeli General, Moti Gur
Steven Spielberg, Shalom
First I want to thank you. I have enjoyed so many of your pictures and I am grateful for the pleasure you have given so many of us. I am thanking you in advance for taking a moment to read my letter, and hopefully respond.
I was a young Israeli soldier in 1972. Our tiny democracy had overcome many traumas and chronic daily terrorism. So that made us perhaps the proudest country in the world, to be able to send our best friends and family athletes to the Olympic competition. The pain of the terrorist murders at the Munich Olympics was enormous, for Israelis and others.
For Jews all over the world there is still pain today, related to that horrific event.
The murdered athletes were not only Israel's best, they were Israel's pride!! And when Israel sent them to compete with the world in the Olympics we were so proud of them! Furthermore, it was a statement to the world and to the German people that only twenty seven years after the Holocaust, we Jews were standing up to compete there as living equals with the rest of the world.
When the German Government let the terrorists go free only a couple of weeks following the massacre, it was another stab in the back to Israelis and Jews worldwide. It was another blow to our belief that there could be justice in the world when it came to the Jewish People.
Letting them leave was a statement to the world that killing Jews was not a serious crime.
Blithely continuing with the Olympics (uber alles?) at the same time that the terrorists were getting a hero’s welcome in the Arab world, poured salt in our open wounds. No one in the world seemed to care about law or justice.
When you made your film about this painful tragedy - a pain so close to the Israelis and to the Jews of the world, I was hoping that you would take the opportunity to make a strong point that inexcusable barbaric acts of terrorism (which are still supported by many Arab countries and radical Islamic leaders today) will not be tolerated in our modern world, and will not fly by without justice being pursued.
Your movie disappointed me and so many of us by appearing to promote a moral equivalence between Israeli victims and the terrorists in your film. You gave time for a Palestinian terrorist in the film to present his "case" for terrorism, without allowing legitimate, natural rebuttal response from the Israeli side. As though there was no response.
The movie embraced a moral equivalence between justice and international law on one hand and the terrorists on the other.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MORAL EQUIVALENCE WHEN IT COMES TO TERRORISTS!
When you allow the terrorist in your film to make an excuse for his barbaric acts (an excuse which is a lie) without a clear and a strong response, the lie becomes the truth to the millions of people who will see your movie. This may be the only history of that time that they learn!
To hundreds of millions of Arab/Muslims in the world this lie will become a more certain truth, because a JEW, SPIELBERG, said it was so. You have indirectly given them more reason to continue to support terror.
Films shape and create opinion, and Munich contributes to the false idea that Israel "stole" or "took" land from the Arabs.
This movie, with your imprimatur, is supporting the Arab/Muslim basis for destroying Israel: that Israel is illegitimate!
As I am sure you know: thousands of years before the Romans introduced the word "Palestine" in Israel, before Jesus and Christianity. Before Muhammad, Islam or Muslims, Israel was a country with a kings and army, with a religion and a Temple, a system of justice, a Bible, and holidays. "Palestine" is the name the Romans gave to the area where Jordan and Israel sit today. Palestine has never, ever been a country.
The land of Israel is the Jews' ancient homeland! Jerusalem is Israel's capital mentioned in the Old Testament some seven hundred and thirty eight times. In the Koran Jerusalem is not mentioned even once.
The word "Jew" came from the tribe of Judea. Many of the Arabs were mass transferred by other countries or later came to Israel from Arab countries came to find work that the Jewish workers had created---while Ottoman-Turks still controlled the area.
NO! ISRAEL DID NOT STEAL THE LAND FROM THE ARABS!
I am desperately hoping that you will be making needed corrections/additions to the film as you prepare it for DVD. Your film will influence hearts and minds. In its present state Munich, sadly, pulls hearts and minds away from Israel's survival and Jews worldwide.
I am looking forward to your response!
Sincerely
Moti Gur
First I want to thank you. I have enjoyed so many of your pictures and I am grateful for the pleasure you have given so many of us. I am thanking you in advance for taking a moment to read my letter, and hopefully respond.
I was a young Israeli soldier in 1972. Our tiny democracy had overcome many traumas and chronic daily terrorism. So that made us perhaps the proudest country in the world, to be able to send our best friends and family athletes to the Olympic competition. The pain of the terrorist murders at the Munich Olympics was enormous, for Israelis and others.
For Jews all over the world there is still pain today, related to that horrific event.
The murdered athletes were not only Israel's best, they were Israel's pride!! And when Israel sent them to compete with the world in the Olympics we were so proud of them! Furthermore, it was a statement to the world and to the German people that only twenty seven years after the Holocaust, we Jews were standing up to compete there as living equals with the rest of the world.
When the German Government let the terrorists go free only a couple of weeks following the massacre, it was another stab in the back to Israelis and Jews worldwide. It was another blow to our belief that there could be justice in the world when it came to the Jewish People.
Letting them leave was a statement to the world that killing Jews was not a serious crime.
Blithely continuing with the Olympics (uber alles?) at the same time that the terrorists were getting a hero’s welcome in the Arab world, poured salt in our open wounds. No one in the world seemed to care about law or justice.
When you made your film about this painful tragedy - a pain so close to the Israelis and to the Jews of the world, I was hoping that you would take the opportunity to make a strong point that inexcusable barbaric acts of terrorism (which are still supported by many Arab countries and radical Islamic leaders today) will not be tolerated in our modern world, and will not fly by without justice being pursued.
Your movie disappointed me and so many of us by appearing to promote a moral equivalence between Israeli victims and the terrorists in your film. You gave time for a Palestinian terrorist in the film to present his "case" for terrorism, without allowing legitimate, natural rebuttal response from the Israeli side. As though there was no response.
The movie embraced a moral equivalence between justice and international law on one hand and the terrorists on the other.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MORAL EQUIVALENCE WHEN IT COMES TO TERRORISTS!
When you allow the terrorist in your film to make an excuse for his barbaric acts (an excuse which is a lie) without a clear and a strong response, the lie becomes the truth to the millions of people who will see your movie. This may be the only history of that time that they learn!
To hundreds of millions of Arab/Muslims in the world this lie will become a more certain truth, because a JEW, SPIELBERG, said it was so. You have indirectly given them more reason to continue to support terror.
Films shape and create opinion, and Munich contributes to the false idea that Israel "stole" or "took" land from the Arabs.
This movie, with your imprimatur, is supporting the Arab/Muslim basis for destroying Israel: that Israel is illegitimate!
As I am sure you know: thousands of years before the Romans introduced the word "Palestine" in Israel, before Jesus and Christianity. Before Muhammad, Islam or Muslims, Israel was a country with a kings and army, with a religion and a Temple, a system of justice, a Bible, and holidays. "Palestine" is the name the Romans gave to the area where Jordan and Israel sit today. Palestine has never, ever been a country.
The land of Israel is the Jews' ancient homeland! Jerusalem is Israel's capital mentioned in the Old Testament some seven hundred and thirty eight times. In the Koran Jerusalem is not mentioned even once.
The word "Jew" came from the tribe of Judea. Many of the Arabs were mass transferred by other countries or later came to Israel from Arab countries came to find work that the Jewish workers had created---while Ottoman-Turks still controlled the area.
NO! ISRAEL DID NOT STEAL THE LAND FROM THE ARABS!
I am desperately hoping that you will be making needed corrections/additions to the film as you prepare it for DVD. Your film will influence hearts and minds. In its present state Munich, sadly, pulls hearts and minds away from Israel's survival and Jews worldwide.
I am looking forward to your response!
Sincerely
Moti Gur
posted by DiaperHead at 1/28/2006 10:20:00 PM
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