The Palestinian
| The Palestinian | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Roy Battersby |
| Produced by | Vanessa Redgrave |
| Narrated by | Vanessa Redgrave |
| Cinematography |
|
| Edited by | Tom Scott Robson |
| Music by | Abu Jaffer Mustapha Kord |
Production companies |
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Release date |
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Running time | 66 minutes |
| Languages |
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The Palestinian (Arabic: الفلسطيني) is a 66-minute TV documentary from 1977. It was produced by and starred Vanessa Redgrave, and directed by Roy Battersby.[1]
Plot
The documentary is about the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The film features an interview with Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the PLO, as well as testimonies from the survivors of the Tel al-Zaatar massacre.
Production
In an interview with Adam Higginbotham for the Daily Telegraph in 2012, Vanessa Redgrave revealed that she funded the documentary by selling her house that she shared with her three children, Natasha Richardson, Joely Richardson, and Carlo Gabriel Nero.[2]
Release
The documentary was first screened for television producers in New York City in October 1977.[3]
Controversy
When attempting to put The Palestinian on television, Redgrave contacted Joey Adams for some assistance. Adams, who was Jewish, was reportedly so upset that he not only hung up on Redgrave, but told outlets such as The New York Post and The Jewish Week about the phone call.[4][5] Adams alleged that Redgrave said Israel was a "fascist nation and must be dismantled if peace is to come to the Middle East". In a call with the Chicago Sun-Times, Redgrave said those were Yasser Arafat's words and not her's.[6] Alfred Lilienthal, in his book The Zionist Connection, noted that the first part of the quote was her lingo – but the second part of the quote wasn't.[7]
Upon release, the documentary was perceived by some critics as anti-Israeli.[3][8] The Anti-Defamation League's honorary chairman criticized the film, stating that some of the responses of the people she interviews weren't translated from Arabic, that the film showed children training with guns and that the phrase, "Kill the enemy!" kept being repeated.[3] The president of Actors Equity in the United States criticized the film's interview with Arafat, in which he said that the only solution to the Middle East problem is the liquidation of the State of Israel, and Redgrave responded with, "Certainly".[9]
Redgrave at the 50th Academy Awards
Redgrave won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Julia. Her nomination drew attention and criticism, and the ceremony was picketed by both the Jewish Defense League (JDL) and counter-protesters waving PLO flags.[10][8] In her acceptance speech at the Oscars, Redgrave made a short speech, saying "In the last few weeks you have stood firm and you have refused to be intimidated by the threat of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums, whose behaviour is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world, and to their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression".[8] Regarding her use of the phrase "Zionist hoodlums", the Daily Telegraph later said, "It's clear now that she was referring to the extremists of the Jewish Defense League who had offered a bounty to have her killed. Academy Award winner Paddy Chayefsky responded later during the ceremony while presenting an award, saying "if I expect to live with myself tomorrow morning" he had to address the ceremony being exploited for politics.[11][12]
Theater bombing
Later that year, at 4:26 a.m on 15 June 1978, a bomb exploded in front of the Doheny Plaza theatre in Los Angeles, where the film's scheduled opening later that evening was postponed a day.[9] A member of the Jewish Defense League was later convicted for the bombing, and sentenced to a three-month "thorough psychological examination" with the California Youth Authority.[13]
References
- ^ Valdez, Jonah (16 January 2024). "Kate Beckinsale mourns death of Roy Battersby, a British TV director and her stepdad". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ Higginbotham, Adam (16 April 2012). "Vanessa Redgrave: 'Why do I work? I'm mortgaged up to the hilt'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b c Shepard, Richard F. (10 November 1977). "Redgrave Film on P.L.O. Stirs a Controversy". The New York Times. p. 70. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Vanessa Redgrave Is Center of Raging Film Controversy". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 5 February 1978. p. 125. Retrieved 14 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Vanessa Redgrave, Julia star, asks help for Arafat". The Jewish Week. Vol. 187, no. 19. 16 October 1977. p. 3. Retrieved 14 January 2026 – via National Library of Israel.
- ^ Kupcinet, Irv (14 October 1977). "Kup's Kolumn". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 11. Retrieved 14 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lilienthal, Alfred M. (1978). The Zionist connection: What Price Peace?. New York: Dodd, Mead. pp. 223–224. ISBN 9780396075646.
- ^ a b c Spiro, Amy (29 August 2018). "Vanessa Redgrave doesn't regret 'Zionist hoodlums' speech". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b Harmetz, Altean (16 June 1978). "Theater for Redgrave Film Bombed". The New York Times. p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ Fretts, Bruce (11 January 2019). "Oscars Rewind: The Most Political Ceremony in Academy History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Paddy Chayefsky and Politics at the Oscars Awesome (Video). MrRhoman952. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Higginbotham, Adam (17 April 2012). "Vanessa Redgrave: 'Why do I work? I'm mortgaged up to the hilt'". The Daily Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ^ "The Jewish Defense League". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 5 February 2022.