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)

Friday 30 November 2012

The BBC: Pride & Prejudice & The Pooh Bah

Jon Donnison and Paul Danahar.  What a pair!  These two BBC journalists, respectively Gaza/West Bank correspondent and Jerusalem-based Middle East Bureau chief, were carpeted by the Israeli Government Press Office on Wednesday regarding Donnison's notorious retweet of a child injured in Syria which purported to be a child injured in Gaza.  As well as retweeting the image, sent to him by a Palestinian contact, Donnison had described the image as "Heartbreaking".

It appears that the Government Press Office told Donnison that if he offends again he could be deprived of his press card.

So he got off with a warning, much to the disgust of many BBC viewers, who, concerned at his perceived pattern of prejudice against Israel, had hoped to see the back of him and were convinced that he'd be expelled.

Ah, but that's Israel for you.  Imagine the fate that would await a reporter who had fallen foul of the authorities in, say, Hamastan.

And if he had been expelled, what an instant hero he'd have become in certain circles!

There have been reports that Donnison and Danahar apologised to the Government Press Office for the fauxtography retweet.

But the pair, otherwise silent (as far as I can tell) regarding what transpired on Wednesday, have hastened to state that this is not so.


Danahar led the way, and Donnison followed.

Little wonder that some Twitter watchers are aghast at the pair's apparent pride in their failure to apologise.

Meanwhile, regarding yesterday's UN vote (138 in favour, nine against, and 41 abstentions) regarding the upgrading of Palestine to "observer state" status, Danahar (retweeted by Donnison) has made this seemingly non-objective remark:
"Voted No: Canada, Czechs, Palau, Nauru, Micronesia, Marshall island, Panama, US, Israel. Looks like cast list of 'Coalition of the Willing' "
What a pair!  Isn't it time the chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, threw the Corporation's rule book on impartiality at them?

Speaking of the portly and pompous Lord Patten (himself with a history of pro-Palestinian partisanship), who's dubbed Pooh Bah by some elements of the press, here's highly satisfying footage of the drubbing he took recently on a separate matter from Conservative MP Philip Davies:


If only Philip Davies, blunt Yorkshireman and stormy petrel that he is, would ask Patten why he allows BBC reporters to flout the BBC's Charter again and again and again.

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