Senator slams ‘The Promise’
CALLS for controversial TV series The Promise to be pulled from air have won support from West Australian Labor Senator Glenn Sterle.
The series, which follows a young English woman’s journey to modern day Israel and her grandfather’s experiences as a British soldier in pre-state Palestine, has been slammed as biased and a distortion of history.
Writing to the SBS ombudsman, Sterle described the series as “at the very least derogatory” in its portrayal of the Jewish people and would be “viewed as anti-Semitic by any reasonable person”.
“I understand that the situation that exists between Israel and the Palestinian territories is a complex one. However, it is because of this that depictions of this relationship, whether in a historical or contemporary setting, must present a balanced and well informed representation of the issue.
“During the series’ original airing on Channel 4 in the UK there was considerable criticism of the manner in which the program portrayed Jewish people both during the 1940s and in 2005, the two eras depicted in the series,” he said.
“I have been contacted by representatives of the Friends of Israel (WA branch) who also wish to make clear their concern towards SBS’s decision to broadcast this program, despite the controversy it created upon its original airing in the UK.”
AJN STAFF
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