Here's Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's sister-in-law, presenting, for Ahmadinejad's propaganda channel Press TV earlier this summer, a feature on bias at the BBC. Featured are several hardcore Israel-bashers, notably John Pilger and Tony Benn (aka Anthony Wedgwood Benn, the leftwing politician who back in the 1960s gave up his hereditary peerage in order to continue sitting in the Commons) who insist that Al Beeb is perpetually biased in favour of - wait for it - Israel! As Private Eye likes to observe of improbable situations, "shome mishtake shurely?"
Israel's supporters want nothing more than that Al Beeb shall be impartial, as bound by the terms of its Charter, and accurate (not concealing, for instance, as it continues to do, the antisemitic genocidal nature of the Hamas Charter). Occasionally, as with "Death in the Med," Jane Corbin's Panorama programme on the Mavi Marmara, there is nothing objectionable about Al Beeb's reportage. But when a scrupulously fair and balanced programme like that is shown, Israel's enemies are enraged, and the fact that there are, on the other side, those who (inexplicably) argue that the Corporation is institutionally pro-Israel, provides the BBC with a very convenient alibi. It allows Al Beeb to observe that since it receives complaints about its objectivity and coverage from partisans of both sides, it must be "getting things about right".
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)
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)
Wednesday 24 August 2011
Shome Mishtake Shurely? Bias At The BBC (videos)
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