Human rights groups accuse NBC of deceit about ‘DIG’ filming locations in occupied East Jerusalem

Press Release:

Washington, DC- As Palestinians mark 47 years of Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, human rights groups are accusing NBC of complicity in Israel’s violations of international law and human rights by filming its new series DIG in occupied East Jerusalem, after clearly stating that they would not do so.

The series, which according to Israeli media has already begun to be filmed, has outraged Palestinians and human rights groups, who have been calling on NBC to cancel it since it was announced back in November 2013 because it would give legitimacy to Israel’s policies in the city. Nir Barkat, the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem, and the Israeli Keshet Media Group declared at the time that most of the filming would take place in the “City of David National Park,” an illegal Israeli settlement located in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. In a letter dated December 20, 2013, Cory Shields, Executive VP of Communications at NBC Universal, wrote to the General Delegation of the PLO to the US: “NBC Universal Cable Entertainment reiterates that there are no plans, and there will be no plans, to film ‘DIG’ in the City of David National Park or the village of Silwan.” Subsequently, activists wrote to NBC seeking assurances that the series won’t be filmed in any other East Jerusalem location and were met with silence.

However, according to information recently obtained by U.S. groups working on this campaign, NBC is filming in the tunnel that links the City of David National Park in Silwan with the Archaeological Park and Davidson Center, which is located near the Western Wall. Other filming sites in occupied East Jerusalem include the rooftop promenade and Ma’alot Harav Shlomo Goren in the Old City, and the Tzidkiyahu Cave in Sheikh Jarrah, another Palestinian neighborhood that has been the site of intense Israeli settlement activity.


“Israel has misused archaeology projects in occupied East Jerusalem to strengthen settlements, evict Palestinians, and damage their homes,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “If NBC plans to make a fictional mini-series in East Jerusalem, it should avoid filming in any location that would make it complicit in this illegality.”

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/06/locations-occupied-jerusalem.html