New York — The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has applauded the decision of a French appellate court demanding that France-2 Television release the full, never publicly released 27 minutes of footage surrounding the case of Muhammad al-Durah, the Palestinian Arab boy allegedly killed by Israeli fire on September 30, 2000 in the early days of the Palestinian so-called second intifadah. The Appellate Court Presiding judge, Laurence Trebucq, made the demand in considering the appeal of French journalist Philippe Karsenty, the editor of Media-Ratings, www.m-r.fr, whom France-2 sued for defamation for questioning the veracity of its report on the events presented by its Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Charles Enderlin. Enderlin’s report was distributed free to the international media and seen around the world. It utilized 55 seconds of selected footage, shot by a Palestinian Arab cameraman, Talal Abu Rahmeh, none of which shows al-Durah actually being killed, let alone by Israeli fire. The full footage has been viewed by three journalists — Jeambar, Leconte, and Rosenzweig — who have testified that it consists of 24 minutes of staged scenes, with no images of the al-Durah boy and his father and no trace of the boy’s “death throes” that Enderlin claimed to have been filmed but later edited out because it was “unbearable” ( Pajamas Media, September 20).

France-2’s lawyer Maitre Benedicte Amblard tried to convince the Judge Trebucq that the request to release the full footage was not appropriate, relevant, necessary or even advisable. But the judge disagreed and wishes to see the footage herself. This is the first time the French court has made such a demand, which would be normal procedure in the U.S. legal system. Maitre Amblard was not able to reach her clients to confirm availability of the footage. The hearings in the appeal have been adjourned and are due to resume on November 14 when the footage is supposed to be examined (Pajamas Media, September 19).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “The ZOA applauds the decision of Judge Trebucq in demanding the long-overdue release of the full 27 minutes of footage surrounding the alleged killing of Muhammad al-Durah. The ZOA has been calling for this to be done for some time so that the public can see the evidence which has been suppressed by France-2 until now. A great deal of contrary evidence and doubt has emerged regarding the original France-2 story, which has served as the inspiration and explicit justification for so many acts of terrorism against Jews, including the barbaric murder and disemboweling of two Israeli soldiers by a Palestinian mob in Ramallah on October 12, 2000; several suicide bombings and the attempted suicide bombing in an Israeli hospital by a Palestinian female terrorist. For the past six years, PA television has continuously aired a film showing al-Durah in heaven, beckoning other Palestinian children to ‘martyr’ themselves by becoming terrorists so that they can join him in paradise.

“The impact of this alleged killing goes even beyond Israel. It was cited by the murderers of the Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Pearl. Postage stamps bearing al-Durah’s crouched image have been issued in Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia; a street in Baghdad and a square in Morocco bear his name, while many schools across the Arab world are named after him. His image has even been reproduced on a designer dress in Saudi Arabia. Throughout Europe, and particularly in France, Muslims have used al-Durah as a rallying cry in their attacks against Jews, which broke out shortly after the Durah film was broadcast. It is therefore past time for France-2 to reveal all the evidence in its possession so the truth may at last be known.

“The ZOA thanks all ZOA members and others who have made their voice heard in this case and worked for this outcome. We now urge French President Nicholas Sarkozy to ensure that France-2, a television network owned by the French government, comply without delay to Judge Trebucq’s demand to release the complete footage and that it be examined and analyzed by independent forensic experts.”