[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 26 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S2428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              EDUCATION CHIEF DECLARES WAR ON TV VIOLENCE

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, the problem of television violence, 
which I have addressed on a number of occasions in committee and on the 
floor of the Senate, has recently been addressed by a group of 
psychiatrists and other social leaders in Great Britain, where the 
standards are appreciably tighter than ours. And in reading the 
Jerusalem Post the other day, I came across an article titled, 
``Education chief declares war on TV violence.''
  The reaction in Israel to too much violence on the television screen 
is like ours and the British reaction.
  At this point, I ask that the Jerusalem Post article be printed in 
the Record. The article follows:

              Education Chief Declares War on TV Violence

                           (By Liat Collins)

       Education Minister Amnon Rubinstein last week declared war 
     on TV violence, telling the Knesset that if networks do not 
     demonstrate self restraint in screening movies, he would 
     submit a bill to the cabinet.
       Rubinstein's statements came at the end of a discussion on 
     the distribution of ``snuff'' and violent movies in Israel. 
     ``Snuff movies'' document the deliberate torture and murder 
     of a victim for ``entertainment.''
       ``This type of film goes beyond all acceptable moral 
     boundaries; we're talking about an evil and sick phenomenon. 
     Therefore we must enforce the existing laws, and if need be I 
     will equip myself with extra penal measures,'' Rubinstein 
     said.
       ``Freedom of expression and civil liberties do not stretch 
     to filmed murders and violence as entertainment,'' he added.
       The discussion was initiated by MKs Anat Maor (Meretz), 
     David Mena (Likud), Elie Goldschmidt (Labor) and Shlomo 
     Benizri (Shas), who filed motions for the agenda following an 
     interview in Yediot Aharonot with two youths who collect and 
     view these films.
       The two adolescents laconically describe how victims have 
     been disembowelled and dismembered alive. One noted that one 
     of the two teenaged killers of taxi driver Derek Roth had 
     seen such movies. He also said he regretted not being awake 
     in time to see the screened footage of the Dizengoff bus 
     bomb.
       While condemning the movies, Rubinstein warned of trying to 
     turn two adolescents into representatives of an entire 
     generation.
       Benizri, on the other hand, called the phenomenon ``the 
     result of a sick society.'' All the MKs spoke of the need for 
     police cooperation in rooting out the films, and called for 
     strict punitive measures against both distributors and 
     viewers of these movies.
     

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