Dear Ted Shen:
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Second, you state that my film contains “images of children convulsing from exposure to nerve gas.” Never in my film is a definite statement made as to the nature of the gas used by the IDF. The assumption that the gas was “nerve gas” is yours, and yours alone. I personally do not assume that the gas used was “nerve gas”–as nerve gas (defined generally as organophosphorus-based gases such as Soman, Sarin, VX, and Tabun) will almost certainly cause at least some fatalities even when improperly prepared, such as in the Tokyo subway Sarin attack. There were no fatalities in the event I filmed. The accusation of nerve gas use by the Israeli Defense Forces is an extremely serious one, and I do not want it to be associated with my film. Please claim responsibility for your own personal assumptions.
Further, you state that the main character, Mohammed Hejazi, curses Jews. In fact, the only people he curses in the film are Sharon, Barak, and Arafat. While he describes what has been done to his friends and family, this is not the same as cursing Jews, as I think you would agree.
Gaza Strip
Packaging for the videotape of Gaza Strip declares, “James Longley traveled to the Gaza Strip in January, 2001, planning to stay for two weeks and collect preliminary materials for a film about the Palestinian intifada. He threw away his return ticket and stayed for another three months….” Longley now maintains that this documentary about ordinary Palestinians under siege is the film he’d intended to make all along.
