Richard Landes


Richard Allen Landes is an American historian and author of Jewish origin, specializing in Millennialism. He coined the term "Pallywood" for what he considers the practice of staged filming of evidence against Israel for the benefit of the Palestinians. He currently serves as an associate professor in the Department of History at Boston University. Landes was the director of the now quiescent Center for Millennial Studies. Landes is the son of the late Harvard Professor of Economics and History David S. Landes.

Israel and "Pallywood"

Landes is notable for views on the use of film footage related to conflicts in Israel, in particular his use of the term Pallywood, which is described by Ruthie Blum, writing in the Jerusalem Post, as a term coined by Landes to refer to "productions staged by the Palestinians, in front of Western camera crews, for the purpose of promoting anti-Israel propaganda by disguising it as news." Landes himself describes Pallywood as "a term I coined... to describe staged material disguised as news." Landes cites the film of the shooting of Muhammad al-Durrah, the Gaza beach blast and Hamas's alleged exploitation of electricity shortages during the 2007–2008 Israel-Gaza conflict, as incidents of Pallywood.
He maintains two web sites: