jones_e_c

=Evaluation of Sources (250-400 words) Tips]= Source A: Munich by Steven Spielberg, 2005.

The film Munich is my first major source and is very useful. The purpose of the film is to entertain but also create controversial views. The origin of this source is based on a book by George Jonas called Vengeance. This was based on the story of Yuval Aviv. Therefore we can say that this is a reliable source but do we know this for sure? George Jonas has written " The Spielberg massacre: My book was all about avenging evil. Then the King of Hollywood got hold of it." [1] George Jonas explains how he occupied the story of what happened after the Munich killings and how Israelis reacted to it. He explains that he was given a very thin outline of what happened and that he had to work with it. “The publishers handed me a few pages containing the outline -- the bare bones, really -- of his story”. So if George Jonas has had little to work with then he must have added huge amount of potential good or bad element. Therefore we can agree that the film has been done the same way. Film directors and producers can base a film on a true story but change it as they wish. They can add what they want and leave what they want out. How historically accurate is the film Munich? "Not very. Very important parts of the campaign to eliminate the planners of the affair including the bungling of the Lilehammer Affair where Israeli agents shot and killed an innocent man they mistook for one of the plotters was completely left out the film. As a work of fiction Munich was good; however, a viewer should realize that this was only a work of fiction."[2] This is just an opinion of "Jan Mixon" so I do not have great confidence in how reliable he is, but he does talk about certain events such as the Lilehammer Affair. He also adds a reference which is "The Israeli response to the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre and the development of independent covert action teams by Alexander B. Calahan" [3] This could also be a reliable source because it is someone who has studied the events of the Munich Olympics in 1972 and someone who had studied a degree of masters of military.

Source B: Striking Back by Aaron J. Klein.

The second source is the book, Black September by Aaron J. Klein. This is a useful source because Aaron J. Klein- an awarding winning journalist, tells for the “first time”, the complete story of the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre and the way Israel reacted. He removes the layers of myth and lies that have been told in previous books, films and magazines. In this book secrets are revealed about who was killed and how it happened. We can determine that Klein is reliable because he is "Time magazines Military and Intelligence Affairs correspondent in the Jerusalem Bureau. He was the recipient of 2002 Henry Luce Award and has been a consultant for CNN. Klein was the military/security correspondent and analyst for Hadashot and Al-Hamishmar, two of Israelýs leading national newspapers. He is a contributor to Malam, the journal for former IDF Intelligence, Mossad and Inernal Security Agency officers. He teaches at Hebrew University and is a Captain in the IDFs Intelligence."[4] However, this is all for the Israeli media and organisations so he will most likely be biased towards Israel. On the other hand, "Klein, however, is equally critical of the Israelis."[5] This means that Klein is talking from both sides and therefore we can determine that he is a reliable source. Aaron J. Klein writes about "the viewpoint of those who directly participated in the assassination plots against the PLO members"[5]. He "conducted interviews with more than fifty individuals, including ex-heads of units in the Mossad and Israeli intelligence; former combatants and senior analysts; and former heads of the Mossad"[6] This is reliable because we know that the author has had direct conversation with people involved in the reaction of Israel and what they thought about it. He has also "spoke with high-ranking officials on the Palestinian side."[6] So we know that he wants to know how both sides felt. This is a reliable source because, he says "for purposes of accuracy, i sometimes, when i felt it necessary, gave individuals described the opportunity to review my account and to comment on it. When possible, interviews were cross checked for accuracy."[6] He also looked at top secret government documents such as the Kopel Report. He also examined "first-hand" the sites described in the book, from Paris to Munich.

[1] http://www.georgejonas.ca/recent_writing.cfm?id=382 //George Jonas writing about his book and Steve Spielberg// [2] http://www.quora.com/Munich-2005-movie/How-historically-accurate-is-the-film-Munich...//Jan Mixon's views of the film "Munich"// [3] http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/calahan.htm [4] http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/aaron-j-klein/striking-back/_/R-400000000000000049483 //Author information, Aaron J. Klein.// [5] http://www.pircenter.org/data/ib/sieng2/eggert_eng.pdf //Aaron J. Klein's Striking Back reviewed by Konstantin Egger// [6] __ [|Aaron J. Klein, translated from the Hebrew by Mitch Ginsburg (2005). //Striking back//]. New York: Random House, (ISBN: 1400064279). __// Page 253, Striking back by Aaron J. Klein. //
 * ANALYSIS (a) Sourcework skills **

▪ Select two sources of different types (e.g. NOT two films or two books - but rather one of each), and assess their usefulness.

▪ This should be approached in exactly the same way as the question in paper 1: "With reference to their __origins__ and __purpose__, explain the __value__ and __limitations__ of Sources X and Y".