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Why Jane Fonda Is Banned in Beirut

[Wall Street Journal] William Marling - A professor at the American University in Beirut recently ordered copies of The Diary of Anne Frank for his classes, only to learn that the book is banned. Inquiring further, he discovered a long list of prohibited books, films and music. This is ironic because Beirut has been named UNESCO's 2009 "World Book Capital City." Even a partial list of books banned in Lebanon gives pause: William Styron's Sophie's Choice; Thomas Keneally's Schindler's List; Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem. In fact, all books that portray Jews, Israel or Zionism favorably are banned. All of Jane Fonda's films are banned, since she visited Israel in 1982 to court votes for Tom Hayden's Senate run. The writer, a visiting professor of American Studies at the American University of Beirut, is professor of English at Case Western Reserve University.
2009-05-01 06:00:00
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