When is Louis Theroux going to make a documentary where he embeds himself with Hamas in Gaza? Or Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm, or Qalqilya? Probably never, because he’d most likely come to a sticky end.
His attempt to make a show about British Muslims who were sympathetic to Isis “fizzled out”
Instead, Theroux is once again making a film about Jews in Judea and Samaria – the region known as the West Bank – focusing on so-called “settlers.” His last foray into this subject was The Ultra Zionists, in 2011, a documentary criticised by some for cherry-picking the most extreme and controversial voices from the settler movement to create a caricature of violent, religious fanatics. Many felt it ignored the historical and security-driven reasons behind Israeli settlement policies, overlooked the very real threats posed by Palestinian terrorism, and failed to present any real balance.
The BBC has just announced that, with his next film, The Settlers, he is back at it again. The documentary is being produced through Mindhouse, the company co-founded by his wife, Nancy Strang, whose views on Israel appear to be anything but impartial.
Strang has signed an open letter absurdly accusing the BBC of failing to hold Israel to account, despite the broadcaster’s long history of hostility towards the Jewish state. Her name also appears on a ‘Palestine coalition statement’, which criticises police – who were concerned that Jewish worshippers at a nearby synagogue might be intimidated – for rerouting yet another furious anti-Israel march past the BBC. This is the person whose company the BBC has entrusted to produce a supposedly “impartial” documentary on Israeli settlers?
I, for one, would be enthralled by Theroux’s signature brand of sneering, awkwardly bemused questioning if he were to go and live with members of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades. Picture it: over breakfast in a darkened Gaza safe house, he nods along as his interviewee explains how their “martyrs” are sent to murder Jews in their homes, all while playing up his trademark discomfort for the cameras.
He could ask about their proud history of abducting civilians, their systemic use of rape and torture, or their policy of executing political rivals and suspected homosexuals. But, of course, that documentary will never be made.
Or how about one where Theroux embeds himself with the Iranian regime’s hardline Shia clerics? He likes to gently mock unusual religious beliefs, so the Twelver Shia rulers of Iran would be perfect: they believe they are governing under the direct mandate of God until the return of the Hidden Imam, who has been in occultation since 874 CE and will reappear when the world is filled with tyranny and oppression.
Just picture Louis’ eyebrow raising sarcastically as they explain how all of that will be preceded by major signs, including widespread corruption, the rise of a great deceiver (Dajjal), internal chaos in the Muslim world, and an apocalyptic war!
In the meantime, he could go out on trips with them as they arrest women for the crime of wearing a hijab improperly, imprison and torture dual nationals who visit their families, and abduct foreign citizens for ransom. Yet another group of religious fanatics Theroux could study up close and personal.
No? Then perhaps he could take a trip to Yemen to meet the Houthis, Iran’s favourite proxy army. Sipping black coffee and dressed in a Ma’awaz and Thobe, he could casually observe as they chant their catchy slogan of “Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews.” Then he could drive them round in his famous Fiat 500 as they kidnap and torture people, from UN workers and women to human rights activists. Or join them as they recruit even more child soldiers, many of whom will die on the battlefield, and launch missiles at Israel to kill innocent people. Now that would be an interesting documentary. But maybe they’re just not kooky enough for the Louis Theroux/ BBC treatment.
Of course Theroux won’t make a film about any of those things. His attempt in 2016 to make a show even about British Muslims who were sympathetic to Isis “fizzled out”. I wonder why.
Instead, Theroux will once again get a platform to shape a narrative about Jews living in Judea and Samaria. The BBC has said that the documentary will fully comply with its editorial guidelines on impartiality. But as we saw in 2011, and throughout the last 16 months, when it comes to Israel, the BBC’s commitment to impartiality seems to be entirely negotiable.
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