‘Censoring Palestine’ was aired at Blackburn Central Library last week in an event organised by the Blackburn and District Trades Union Council.
The documentary investigated the numerous ways ‘censorship’ is having a toxic effect on society.
A spokesperson for the organisers said: “The restrictions on free speech, publishing and social media are only a part of the story.
“Hard-won freedoms of assembly and protest are becoming more and more restricted as government agencies try to micromanage huge demonstrations of angry citizens who want to speak out against ethnic cleansing and genocide.
“Jewish people supporting the rights of Palestinians are accused of being ‘antisemitic’.
“Non-violent campaign groups are proscribed as ‘terrorist’, while academic institutions ban meetings and discipline students for protesting against the ongoing carnage.”
Media North editor Granville Williams said the BBC, accused by the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) of ‘systematic underreporting of Israeli Government war crimes’, had then banned the broadcasting of its own film, Gaza Medics Under Fire.
This will now be shown on Channel 4.
He said: “On every criteria; coverage, omissions, context and terminology, this rigorous CfMM report finds the BBC coverage of the war against the Palestinians inadequate and distorted”.
Neelam Hussain from ‘Blackburn for Palestine’ described a wide variety of activities that people could join, including the weekly 6pm Friday support demonstrations on Barbara Castle Way.
She said: “The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is escalating. Your participation matters.
“We must raise our voices and together we can organise protests, boycotts and fundraising events to support the Palestinians.”
Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain described ‘how the horrendous death toll among men, women and children had led to a major change of attitude among fellow MPs’.
He congratulated the local campaigners and called for an immediate and indefinite ceasefire.
The screening came as the Government is planning to make the Palestine Action group a proscribed terrorist organisation after activists broke into an RAF base and vandalised military aircraft, and police said they were investigating chants during certain performances at Glastonbury relating to the conflict in Gaza to see if any offences have been committed.
