Israeli Cellphone Ad Stirs Up Occupation Controversy

Over the past couple of weeks, Israeli cellphone provider Cellcom has been running a television ad depicting a game of soccer between a group of Israeli soldiers, and a group of (presumably) Palestinians on either side of the separation wall that separates Israel from parts of the Westbank. The ad has stirred up controversy because the Palestinian side of the separation wall is not shown, leaving their side invisible. The Israeli soldiers are seen having a blast amongst themselves on their side of the fence, giving some the impression that the ad encourages blindness to the Palestinians' plight, that Israelis are happiest when they only think about themselves. You can view the ad here.



The interesting thing is that the distaste and debate over the ad has not arisen amongst Palestinians, but amongst Jewish Israelis who find the ad insensitive and encouraging ambivalence towards the Palestinian perspective. There is even a large Facebook group (all in Hebrew, it seems) that has been formed to express disgust over the ad. I can't read it, but from the translations or interpretations I've read, it's clear that the members see the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a serious issue and that the commercial made light of it, while arrogantly ignoring the Palestinian reality. I'm always encouraged to see how thoughtful and progressive a large number of Israelis are, despite government settlement policies or whatever is going on at any one moment. They're capable of serving in the army and defending their country while being critical of their government and the bad elements of their society. I hope these people prevail and that their creativity and progressive ideas lead to a better reality in the future in the region.

Just as I finished writing this I discovered some parodies of the commercial on Youtube. These are obviously satirical and meant to point out the arrogance they felt was present in the original ad. Note that these parodies were made by Israelis.





What do you think of the commercial and the parodies?