The other day Susie Kneedler noted that the Tennis Channel is owned by a man who was a star at AIPAC last year and that it ran a pro-Israel propaganda piece–complete with Auschwitz memories from her grandmother–on behalf of Shahar Peer, the Israeli tennis star who in 2009 was nearly prevented from playing in Dubai. The channel thereby links BDS to the Holocaust. Breaking news: because she follows tennis, Susie Kneedler has now watched the piece twice:
Tennis Channel just ran the Peer film again; I made a point of seeing Peer play to discover whether the announcers would "play" it the same way.
Sure enough, Justin Gimelstob mouthed Ted Robinson’s exact lines, "Well, Israel’s number one-ranked tennis player has earned world-wide reputation for standing up for herself versus the forces of injustice and, as this tale reveals, this remarkable young woman’s ability to thrive in the present is in many ways a result of her keen awareness of the past." The fact that another commenter recited this script means that the Tennis Channel wants us to see Peer’s–and thus Israel’s–past and present as conjoined twins, while neglecting the roots of "Arab" actions. The explicitly "political" piece images "Jews and Israelis" as a trio of mutually exclusive opposites: simultaneously eternal victims, perpetual survivors, and transcendent victors. That extraordinary combination is supposed to make Peer "remarkable," particularly because she is "Well, an incredible story of overcoming adversity."
This time round, viewers were treated to Martina Navratilova venting about the impossible challenges Peer has faced. But the biggest revelation from this repetition is that the Tennis Channel depicted the Peer family visit to Auschwitz as "beautiful": Leif Shiras tells us that a lot of work went into that tribute and that Loy Maxon (of Fox Sports) was involved in putting those "beautiful pictures together, very telling."
Peer won her match against Bartoli. After Bartoli’s gracious embrace, Navratilova effused, "Nice gesture from Marion Bartoli: she’s a bit of an underdog herself, so she can relate to what Shahar Peer is going through, and the whole country I think will be sitting and watching TV when this woman plays Serena Williams in the next round."
What’s Peer enduring now? Which country? Where’s the exquisite video romanticizing Bartoli’s struggles? Meanwhile, why does professional tennis enjoy no Palestinian players?
Update: grandiose Tennis Channel promo about Peer, announced by Bill Macatee: "The women’s 18th seed from Israel continues to excel on the court, but it’s the stand she made off the court that has changed the way tennis is played. We’ll have that incredible story for you today…. on a special early edition of French Open Tonight at 3:00 Eastern, noon Pacific."
