Review: New Gaza Salafi group makes boring video threatening Israel

A new Al Qaeda-aligned Islamist group has announced itself in Gaza by releasing an unwatchably boring video filled with threats to Israel.



Nine masked members of "The Victory of the Islamic State of Jerusalem" group tried to act intimidating, by wearing suicide vests and showing off machine guns.

They attempted to make the video exciting by adding introductory graphics that we've all seen before. Frankly, that same style has already been used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad for years.

The director tried to make the video a little more bearable by changing camera angles every once in a while, but he couldn't hide the fact that it was essentially a guy reading a statement that said "Death to the Jews" over and over again in different ways. The spokesperson also reportedly criticized Hamas for not being sufficiently violent against "Crusaders and Arab tyrants and Shiites" which is slightly more interesting but ultimately still derivative of much better jihadi videos we've seen.

Finally, at 6:45 - way after most people will have moved on to YouTube videos of cute kittens frolicking - the nine terrorist wannabes chant something in unison that is meant to scare Jews who can't understand the non-subtitled work. Even this high point of the video isn't convincing; the terrorists appear to be just half-heartedly doing what is expected, in a performance that looks like it is phoned in.

Moreover, after this display we think that we will be treated to some juicy footage of shooting in the air or rocket launches - but no such luck, Instead, the director inexplicably shows the terrorists walking away from their grassy set, in slow motion, using a lens flare effect that does not match the scene.

Altogether, this is a poorly made video,. The handheld camera videos of previous years may have lacked professionalism, but they made up for it with their unpredictability and originality. This "Victory of the Islamic State of Jerusalem" video is a failure in every sense.

I am anxiously awaiting the explosive video that was made a couple of days ago in Iraq.
These guys can learn a thing or two about effective communication from that already legendary incident.

"Victory of the Islamic State of Jerusalem" - Zero stars.