IndyMedia - Vrij Media Centrum Nederland

Waar: NieuwLand, Pieter Nieuwlandstraat 93, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Wanneer: 22/06/2019 - 19:30

De film duurt een uur, is engels gesproken en heeft engelse ondertitels. -- Film is one hour, english spoken with english subtitles.

Door middel van een serie interviews, analyses en getuigenverklaringen onderzoekt WitchHunt de verbanden tussen de aanvallen op Labour, de voortdurende tragedie van Palestina en de bredere strijd tegen raciale onderdrukking.

In 2015, terwijl extreem rechts wereldwijd oprukt, werd socialist Jeremy Corbyn met ruime meerderheid verkozen tot partijleider van de Labour Party in het Verenigde Koninkrijk. Beschuldigingen van antisemitisme begonnen te circuleren. Bekende antiracisten en linkse Joden, zoals Jackie Walker, waren de belangrijkste doelwitten.

De documentaire WitchHunt van Jon Pullman onderzoekt de verhalen en de mensen achter de krantenkoppen en duikt in de achtergrond van de beschuldigingen. Is dit een heksenjacht, zoals sommigen beweren? En zo ja, wie zit daarachter en wat is het politieke doel van een dergelijke campagne? Verzuimen de media de plicht om op eerlijke en juiste wijze verslag te doen van zulke ernstige beweringen?

[english]

Through a series of interviews, analysis and witness testimony, WitchHunt explores the connections between the attacks on Labour, the ongoing tragedy of Palestine and the wider struggle against race-based oppression. It argues that if it is to mean anything at all, the fight against racism must be a shared one that includes all peoples. In 2015, while the far right was gaining ground around the world, socialist MP Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader of the UK Labour Party in a landslide victory. Accusations of antisemitism within the party immediately began to circulate. Well-known anti-racists and left-wing Jews, such as Jackie Walker, were amongst the chief targets.
WitchHunt sets out to investigate the stories and the people behind the headlines, examining the nature of the accusations. Is this a witch hunt, as some claim? If so, who is behind it, and what is the political purpose of such a campaign? Has the media failed in its duty to fairness and accuracy in reporting on such serious allegations?

FILM TEAM
JON PULLMAN
Activist and filmmaker with a particular interest in the Middle East, where he has travelled widely. Pullman has produced several short documentaries on Palestine, including Children in Chains, about child prisoners under Israeli military occupation. WitchHunt is his first feature length documentary.

NAOMI WIMBORNE-IDRISSI
WitchHunt executive producer and media officer for Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), Wimborne-Idrissi worked as a journalist with Reuters for many years before retraining as a teacher and becoming a literacy specialist working with primary age children.