What should have been an interesting and enlightening interview about a Gaza documentary was wrecked by Noelle McCarthy's dreadful ignorance
RNZ National, Saturday 25 May 2019, 11:10 a.m.
Andrew McConnell is a serious and decent Irishman, who has made a compelling documentary about life in the blockaded and terrorized Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, he was interviewed about this fraught subject by Noelle McCarthy. Short of Dr David Cumin or Dame Lesley Max, it would be hard to select a harsher, less sympathetic interviewer. This was typical McCarthy: crass, indolent, ignorant. Masochists might like to listen to the whole thing [1], but here's a selection of the lowlights….
NOELLE McCARTHY: One of the most intractable conflicts on Earth… Places where there are, y'know, intractable situations….. Israel on one side, Egypt on the other, Hamas in charge. …. Gaza is full of fashion, and cafes full of poetic men saying "Hello my pomegranate"…..
ANDREW McCONNELL: Growing up in Northern Ireland, in Fermanagh and Enniskillen, has given me an empathy for other people who live under conflict… The Irish have an affinity with the Palestinians. …
NOELLE McCARTHY: It doesn't engage with BOTH SIDES, Andrew. Israel is just seen from afar. Hamas is NOT CLEAN. The men you see with machine-guns….
ANDREW McCONNELL: It's not a political movie.
NOELLE McCARTHY: It's indivisible from the political context, isn't it.
ANDREW McCONNELL: We stand by the film.
NOELLE McCARTHY: How has it played in America? You played it at Sundance, didn't you?
ANDREW McCONNELL: Most people were surprised, and shocked. They asked why do we not see more of this on our media? [2]
NOELLE McCARTHY: There were moments when I wanted to see the other side. Would it have been possible? Or was that always gonna be outside of your scope? All we see is young men throwing stones, it's always described as "asymmetric warfare"…..
[2] ANSWER: Because the American media are full of people like Noelle McCarthy.