Law & Order Defamation of Israel Repeated
In the polonium poisoning case of a former Russian spy murdered in London in 2006, British authorities ruled that the perpetrator was Russian special services. The fictionalized adaptation for the “30” episode of the “ripped from the headlines” TV drama, Law & Order (aired by NBC and its Bravo and USA cable TV affiliates) altered the true scenario and turned Israel into the villainous suspect in the fatal polonium poisoning of an American investigative journalist.
Underscoring the presentation of Israel as villain, the episode also depicted Israeli brutality towards Palestinians and a New York police detective repeatedly hectoring his Jewish captain with the dual-loyalty canard accusation, which included covering up for Israel.
CAMERA’s article documenting this episode (which originally aired on February 27, 2007) was cited as the source of a March 11, 2007 Jerusalem Post article by Michael Freund . Mr. Freund wrote that NBC “declined to respond to questions concerning allegations of anti-Semitism in the show’s dialogue and plot” when contacted by the Post.
The most recent airings of the episode were by Bravo Network on July 5, 2009 (twice on that day) with a previous repeat on USA Network on Oct. 24, 2008.
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