It is a tragic fact of life that Israel is the master of public relations and communications spin, while the Arabs have almost nothing in response. That fact has reinforced — even more than its ability to wage war — Israel’s dominance over the Middle East, given it the upper hand in the public debate and, most importantly, provided the ability to make its crimes look like justified acts of self-defense to the Western audience specifically, while Palestinian defensive acts are portrayed as violent, anti-Semitic acts of terrorism. Israel’s overwhelming superiority in public relations, and the Arab World’s utter failure, has arguably caused more grief than all of the wars that have taken place between the two sides. It plays out at every level, including in courtrooms, where Israelis have initiated numerous lawsuits against Palestinians with consequences that include: Extracting punitive compensation; silencing Israel’s critics; avoiding their responsibilities for war crimes; and winning the support of the American public, which has the greatest influence in determining Middle Eastern outcomes. The PR advantage also allows Israel to define the public debate. Every discussion about Israeli violence always begins in a context favorable to Tel Aviv and at a disadvantage to the Arabs, especially the Palestinians. For example, Palestinian movie director Mohammed Bakri has faced numerous defamation lawsuits over his powerful 2002 documentary “Jenin, Jenin,” which have tied up his funds and movie-making talents in court fights. The latest of these is likely to be completed in the next few weeks. The documentary focuses on the large-scale military operation waged by heavily armed Israeli forces in April 2002, which saw more than 50 Palestinians massacred. It was named best film at the Carthage International Film Festival and won the International Prize for Mediterranean Documentary Filmmaking and Reporting. But the real impact of “Jenin, Jenin” was to expose to the world Israel’s war crimes and violence against Palestinian civilians. Israel had prevented any independent media from covering its violent assault against the Jenin refugee camp or any of its widespread violence throughout the West Bank during what it dubbed “Operation Defensive Shield.” The actions of the tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers involved in the operation were anything but “defensive.” They committed terrible war crimes, including murdering men, women and children during an 11-day rampage through the Jenin refugee camp. However, Israel used its propaganda power to define the Jenin assault as an unavoidable defensive effort to protect itself from Palestinian terrorism. According to Israel, the West Bank invasion and battle for Jenin were prompted when a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 30 people at a Passover celebration at the Park Hotel in Netanya. The truth is that the violence didn’t start with the suicide bombing, but rather with Israel’s crackdown on the peace process. Then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon launched a series of attacks against Palestinian political leaders in 2001 in a bid to destroy the peace process Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had begun in 1993. Rabin was murdered in 1995 by a follower of Sharon and his successor Benjamin Netanyahu. In the seven years that followed, Sharon’s violence incited Palestinians into retaliatory attacks, leading to the Passover bombing. Bakri’s documentary compiled interviews with dozens of Palestinians and showed footage that exposed Israel’s lies and brutality. Witnesses claimed in the movie that Israeli snipers targeted civilians and the disabled. The film also alleged that many more were killed but their bodies were disposed of by Israeli soldiers. “Jenin, Jenin” does not name any of the Israeli soldiers or commanders who engaged in or led the terrorist violence, but that didn’t stop them from suing Bakri to block public performances of the film and, more importantly, prevent him from releasing any more documentaries that might expose Israel’s racist and violent policies. The real impact of “Jenin, Jenin” was to expose to the world Israel’s war crimes and violence against Palestinian civilians. Ray Hanania Truth is always the first victim in the Israel-Palestine conflict, murdered by Israel’s propaganda. Tel Aviv’s PR distortions craft false perceptions of its innocence and victimization that are based on lies. “Jenin, Jenin” has most likely not been seen by the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who have watched the 1960 Israeli propaganda movie “Exodus,” which is based on lies and exaggerations. But for those who have seen the interviews and the footage of the Israeli assaults, it is hard not to sympathize with the Palestinians. This is why Israel spends millions of dollars on propaganda, public relations and communications spin, while censoring any media that is sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. PR allows Israel to prevent the truth — such as what happened in Jenin — from being fully exposed. Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist. He can be reached on his personal website at www.Hanania.com. Twitter: @RayHanania Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point-of-view