Michael Morpurgo and the children of Israel and Gaza

Ray Cook
As I See It – Israel, Zionism and the Media
18 February '11

(Very well-written piece. Y.)


Children’s author Michael Morpurgo published a book called ‘The Kites are Flying’ two years ago, apparently an uplifting story of how children across the divide between Israel and the Palestinians find friendship in the common pursuit of kite-flying across the Separation Barrier.

It’s an extraordinarily political thing to do to write about an ongoing conflict and present it to children who probably understand little of the origins of that conflict.

Putting that thought aside, a few days ago, Morpurgo appeared on BBC’2 Newsnight where he presented a short documentary film he had made in Israel and Gaza and discovered the the real world either side of the divide.

The film and visit was sponsored by the NGO Save the Children. The documentary showed Morpurgo to be a humane man, desperate for children in this conflict to give us hope that they can live in peace in the future. It was optimistic and idealistic with a smattering of realism. There were also one or two problems with it which I want to discuss.

(Read full "Michael Morpurgo and the children of Israel and Gaza")

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