Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Sunday 25 November 2012

On Yer Bike, Jon!: More Outright Anti-Israel Propaganda From The BBC's Fauxtography Tweeter Donnison

A human shield in Israel: mother protecting child from Hamas missile
Back in 2002, Jon Donnison, the BBC's correspondent in Gaza, was a reporter on BBC Radio Sheffield.  A BBC article at the time told of keen cyclist Donnison's participation in that year's Tour de France.  The article was headed "On Yer Bike, Jon!"

"On Yer Bike, Jon!" is what the BBC should have told this snide, subjective, smart alec of a reporter following his disgraceful, and now deservedly notorious, retweet of a photograph purporting to show an injured child in Gaza, but which in fact showed an injured child in Syria.

But of course he kept his job, despite that example of shoddy journalism, and despite (some might say because of) his outrageous tendency to act as a spokesman for the Palestinians, thus breaching time and time again the BBC's editorial guidelines on impartiality:
"Presenters, reporters and correspondents are the public face and voice of the BBC - they can have a significant impact on perceptions of whether due impartiality has been achieved.  Our audiences should not be able to tell from BBC output the personal prejudices of our journalists or news and current affairs presenters on matters of public policy, political or industrial controversy, or on 'controversial subjects' in any other area."
Donnison's a keen cyclist still, it seems.  But he's an even keener recyclist by the look of things. 

Online, some Palestine Solidarity Campaign members and sympathisers have claimed that Donnison did not publicise the tragic death of his BBC colleague Jihad's baby son Omar (though in fact Donnison referred to it in broadcast after broadcast, as well as online).

Omar's fate was indeed deplorable, and I like most people sympathise with his distraught family.  However, Donnison has proved his worth to Israel's enemies once again by planting on the BBC website an emotive essay about Omar's death that, despite cursory lip service to the fact that Israeli civilians have died, is a hook on which to hang yet more subjective propaganda against Israel: 
"Despite the evidence pointing towards an Israeli air strike, some bloggers have suggested it might have been a misfired Hamas rocket.
But at that time, so soon after the launch of Israel's operation, the Israeli military says mortars had been launched from Gaza but very few rockets.
Mortar fire would not cause the fireball that appears to have engulfed Jehad's [i.e. Jihad's] house.
Other bloggers have said that the damage to Jehad's home was not consistent with powerful Israeli attacks but the BBC visited other bombsites this week with very similar fire damage, where Israel acknowledged carrying out what it called "surgical strikes".
As at Jehad's home, there was very little structural damage but the victims were brought out with massive and fatal burns. Most likely is that Omar died in the one of the more than 20 bombings across Gaza that the Israeli military says made up its initial wave of attacks.
Omar was not a terrorist....
In Israel, too, there were fatalities: four civilians and two soldiers. There were also many injuries. But the fact the Israeli Ambulance Service was also reporting those suffering from anxiety and bruises is an indication of the asymmetric nature of the conflict."
On Yer Bike, Jon!

(Update: Snap!)

As I remark in a comment on BBCWatch:
"Donnison is so subjective, so obviously emotionally involved with the Gazans, so irredeemably “gone native”, that if the BBC had any scruples and honour at all, let alone concern for objectivity, it would relocate him to another part of the globe."
 (Updated again: First the good news - Donnison's going on leave.  Now the bad news - he'll be back.


Out of for a few days break. Back soon. BBC Gaza old boy Aleem Maqbool holding the fort. 

Some people have already tweeted that he should take as long as he likes ... )

23 comments:

  1. What a contrast is Jon Don's etc obsession to the BBC's neglect of the murder of the Fogels who included a tiny baby.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Veronica - as I recall it was Louise Mensch MP whose formal complaint shamed them into tardily reporting the massacre. It's a pity that Mrs Mensch is no longer at Westminster.
      And as so many people are pointing out on the blogosphere, the BBC and other dodgy outlets are obsessed with the body count: not enough dead Jews for some.

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  2. daphne wait for the fireworks when the anti-semites find out that the new archbishop is Jewish!
    did you see this? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9700923/Justin-Welby-Secret-life-of-my-alcohol-dependent-father.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Given that the Pope is also a Jew I guess this must present a dilemma for certain Anglo Catholics


      http://geofffff.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/is-pope-catholic.html

      Delete
  3. btw, don't forget to sign the petition to release the Balen Report!
    http://www.change.org/petitions/the-bbc-release-the-balen-report-to-the-public

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  4. Is this the same BBC that overlooked the repugnantly predatory behavior of long time child molester Jimmy Saville? And we really expect an honest review of reporting from their management?!

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  5. Bianca Jagger (among others) has tweeted praise for Donnison's piece ...

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  6. Pat Condell nails it
    Peace in the Middle East
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNNhG0zDtA8

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  7. Anyone who has not seen BBCWatch's outstanding article re this latest Donnison episode, please don't miss it:
    Inter alia:
    "As angry and upset as Donnison and his colleagues may be, they have clearly crossed a line which has led to a professional and ethical conflict of interests. The tragic story of Omar Masharawi is now no longer being reported: it is being used and abused to advance a very specific narrative of Israel as a killer of children.

    It is in danger of rapidly turning into a ‘journalists’ blood libel’ – if it has not already done so – and that is because of the fact that despite a number of deaths of children in the Gaza Strip during the recent hostilities, the BBC fails to make clear that none of those children (or any other civilians) were deliberately targeted by Israel and fails to present the events in their true context – part of which is the fact that not only does Hamas deliberately target Israel’s civilian population, but it also intentionally endangers its own in order to reap exactly the kind of images and stories the BBC is now running so enthusiastically."
    http://bbcwatch.org/2012/11/25/bbcs-jon-donnison-displays-a-professional-and-ethical-conflict-of-interests/comment-page-1/#comment-2167

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  8. Donnison's been visiting the West Bank.

    One of his latest tweets:
    Jon Donnison ‏@JonDonnison

    Met Palestinian doctor yesterday who told me he'd once spent 17 days being tortured by #Arafat's men. And he wasn't a #Hamas man.

    Perhaps Donnison would like to work that (the man's experiences) up into a story for the BBC News website - would make a change from his silly stories re Arafat lookalikes, and his proclivity to demonise Israel...

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  9. look at this
    http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1353591236.html

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    Replies
    1. I wonder what's behind that, Shomer!

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    2. Oh no! your neat little theory is ruined!

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    3. No it isn't. What that is all about is anyone's guess. I don't expect Donnison to be a propagandist for Israel, just objective in his reporting.

      Delete
  10. This is of interest:
    http://hurryupharry.org/2012/11/25/who-killed-jihad-masharawis-son-omar/

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    Replies
    1. That site has been 504ing for me since yesterday?

      BBC’s Donnison May Lose Press Credentials After Blaming Israel for Syrian Child Victim in Tweet
      http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/11/26/bbcs-donnison-may-lose-press-credentials-after-blaming-israel-for-syrian-child-victim-in-tweet/

      EOZ has also covered Omar Mishrawi
      How did the baby Omar Mishrawi die?
      http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/how-did-baby-omar-mishrawi-die.html

      Follow-up on Omar Mishrawi's death and the BBC
      http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/follow-up-on-omar-mishrawis-death-and.html

      Delete
    2. I heard it's been under cyber-attack!

      many thanks for the links, Ian.

      Delete
  11. Going a little overboard Daphne?

    How do you get from someone expressing compassion over the injury of an innocent child, and a mistaken re-tweet with a swift apology to disgrace?

    And where is your claim that he is a spokesperson for the Palestinians coming from? Do you have any examples to back that up?

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    Replies
    1. He should have checked his sources, Anon. It is incumbent upon him, as a BBC reporter, bound by the BBC's Charter and editorial guidelines, to be scrupulously objective.
      Of course he isn't literally a spokesman for the Palestinians, but too frequently his reports appear one-sided.

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    2. The point is he only feins compassion for children when it suits his political agenda, the fact that the child in the picture was killed in Syria, just makes that point more obvious. As for being a Palestinian spokes person, while he might not hold that position officially, his endless repetition of terrorist propaganda with a complete absence of scrutiny, means he’s no journalist.

      Re: Omar Masharawi, he was most likely killed by a terrorist rocket that feel short, one of more than 100 that are responsible for several deaths, but the truth may never be known. But at the BBC who can be blamed is more important than the death of child.

      BBC’s Jon Donnison Displays a Professional and Ethical Conflict of Interests
      http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/11/26/bbc%E2%80%99s-jon-donnison-displays-a-professional-and-ethical-conflict-of-interests/

      But on the bright side the BBC has slightly higher standards than the UN. Khulood Badawi has never apologized or been disciplined for this lie.
      U.N. Media Employee Caught Tweeting Misleading Photo of Bloody Palestinian Child — From 2006
      http://www.theblaze.com/stories/u-n-media-employee-tweets-bloody-photo-of-palestinian-child-from-2006-but-attributes-it-to-current-airstrikes/

      Delete
  12. http://bbcwatch.org/2012/11/29/bbcs-jon-donnison-gets-yellow-card/#comments

    ReplyDelete

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