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)

Thursday 17 October 2013

"If You Only Look At Israel Through The Prism Of The Palestinian Conflict You Don't Understand Israel [and] Its Motivations": BBC Man (video)

Like colleague Jeremy Bowen before him, the BBC's Paul Danahar has written a book in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring.  A few days ago he spoke to an audience at the left-leaning journalistic Frontline Club in London about his impressions of "the new Middle East" and afterwards answered questions from the floor.


Naturally, the talk focused largely on Egypt and Syria, but inevitably Israel was mentioned at some length, notably from about 27:47 when Danahar was invited to discuss "the impact of all this change on Israel" and then en passant at about 1:07, 13:03, 47:00, and right at the end of this 82-minute video.

Knowing that, as the BBC's Middle East Bureau chief, Danahar (who's now moved from Jerusalem to Washington) has sometimes evinced that bias against Israel which characterises the BBC, I was prepared for the worst, but (praise where it's due) I was pleasantly surprised.  Unlike the pedestrian Jeremy Bowen, Danahar obviously possesses an incisive mind, and, again unlike Bowen, he made what appeared to be a genuine attempt to be fair.  He noted that Israel is "genuinely nervous and has got genuine reasons why it's nervous," observed that Israel is (unfortunate phrase, this) "not a bunch of Europeans plonked" in the region but in many respects strongly Middle Eastern, and that in his book he tries to show readers aspects of this "very very interesting country" that go beyond the one that's usually presented.

See what you make of it!

3 comments:

  1. With the solemnity of the Nazis who planned on building a museum about all the Jews they exterminated.

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    Replies
    1. As John McEnroe might say: "You cannot be serious!"

      Delete
  2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mustafa-barghouthi/palestines-guernica-and-t_b_153958.html

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