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)

Wednesday 19 September 2012

"I Did Know It Was Jewish New Year": The BBC's Jeremy Bowen Escapes Jewish Questioners

"Over the past few years I have noticed how religion as a subject has crept into more and more debates and festivals with one exception, the media.

TV festivals in particular have a strange ostrich-like relationship with the subject but the country as a whole doesn't seem to agree. For them it's here in our lives and it needs to be understood, debated and packaged in a way best suited for their changing needs and tastes.

That's the genesis of BBC RE:THINK 2012. It's an attempt to fuse the growing interest in the subject if not necessarily the practise of religion with how it's reported on television, radio and online.....
 Religion and belief in the UK and how we portray it on television and radio is evolving. Old fashioned arguments about broadcast hours twenty years ago or how many ex theology students worked on a show are largely irrelevant to today's audience."
So blogged Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC's controversially-chosen Head of Religion and Ethics, ahead of that event, which took place last week.  He further explained:
"Taking part in and attending BBC RE: THINK 2012 will be other broadcasters, independent producers, journalists, academics, clergy, opinion formers and members of the public. It's a unique opportunity to bring all of us together for the first time.
Across the two days there should be something for everyone. From a must-watch conversation between the Chief Rabbi and Richard Dawkins, festival specials of The Moral Maze and The Big Questions to standing room-only master classes from Bettany Hughes and Jeremy Bowen there should be something for everyone...."
A master-class from Jeremy Bowen?  In a conference concerned with religion?

A talk entitled "Rethinking the Arab Spring" in a conference concerned with what Britons believe?

Nobody would be cynical enough to suggest that this was an opportunity for Bowen to plug the book he's just written on the so-called Arab Spring.

And nobody would be cynical enough to suggest that despite Al Beeb's bend-over-backwards attempts at inclusiveness and accommodation of all sorts of minority groups a much-touted-by-the-BBC question and answer session on Twitter regarding the Middle East with the pally title "Ask Jeremy" took place on the first day of Rosh Hashana in order to evade pesky Jewish questioners:
If you want to ask me anything about the Middle East or my BBC job I'll be live tweeting answers between 1600-1700 GMT today.
Well, nobody except the guy who tweeted:
"Why are you holding this on Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days in Jewish calendar? So Jews can't participate?" 
prompting the following exchange with Bowen:
"not trying to avoid qs from religious Jews. agree timing could be better. will be doing this again."
"why was the Balen report not published?"
 but his question would appear to have been overlooked.

Evidently, Bowen (either blissfully unaware or dismissive of expert warnings that Iran's top leaders believe that strife and chaos is necessary for the coming of the Twelfth Imam) takes a phlegmatic view of the prospect of a nuclear Iran.

For the man who, as this post reminds us, described the Muslim Brotherhood as being "conservative, moderate and non-violent" until 'he got caught and quickly deleted the word “moderate”,' responded to the question "Could the West live with a Nuclear Iran?":
"West lived with nuclear Soviet Union. Would deterrence work with Iran? Quite likely. Iranians are rational actors. But deterrence works both ways. Nuclear Iran would be strengthened, and so would its allies. One reason why Israel so worried."

Some of the rest of Bowen's profundities may be read here

But that's a poor substitute for his Twitter page

Meanwhile ...

All the news deemed suitable for licence-payers to know.

Half the story all of the time.

Obscuring or omitting facts that fail to fit the editorial agenda.

That's the BBC for you.

True to form, it appears to have "forgotten" to report this not insignificant event in London at the weekend, though Sky News and other media outlets did so.

And note the way the BBC  in its list of most popular stories viewed on its website categorises  this statement by Romney as a "gaffe" ("Romney taped in Middle East gaffe")

12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Aw shucks, thanks, Teddy. I admire your website forum, btw.

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    2. Here's the relevant link for anyone interested

      http://biasedbbc.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=israel

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  2. To be fair there are no sane Jews who would bother asking him any questions. Let him rant and rave and scream for new pogroms. With Jews without any in attendance. It makes no which never mind. The only germane question is "Where do you live Jeremy and if it burns down will any other people get hurt?"

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  3. Ah! I see a complaint has been made against Bowen by the Tweeter I refer to in the text! Good in yer, mate.

    http://notasheepmaybeagoat.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/jeremy-bowen-responds-as-do-i.html

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  4. I just don't get it why you think Rosh Hashanah should be held a holy day for everyone. Are you expecting the the BBC, the world to bend over backwards to accommodate your new year celebrations? Please...

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    1. Hardly. However, we do expect Jeremy Bowen, an employee of the oh-so-PC-in-most-things BBC Left, to exercise a little more courtesy and sensitivity when holding a Q & A session that pertains to the topic at hand.

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  5. Your comment will be visible after approval.

    I VERY MUCH DOUBT IT.

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    Replies
    1. Rod Froilan, San Francisco.8 December 2013 at 11:01

      I came across this blog by accident and I became fascinated by the invective against Jeremy Bowen. May I say that you typify many people's view of Jews. Completely self obsessed, unable to see any point of view other than your own, incredible arrogance and, basically, not the sort of people one would like to mix with. Israel is not a model of self-liberation - it's a rather vile little nation surviving purely through 'donations' from the American taxpayer. Of course, theft is part and parcel of the history of Israel: Theft of land from Palestinians, theft of water from Palestinians, attempted theft of land and water from the Lebanese and Syrians. You are detested by millions and you only have yourselves to blame. You'd think that after your history of persecution and attempted genocide that you might show just a little bit of compassion for your fellow human beings but, I suppose, as you see yourselves as God's chosen people you might have a bit of a problem with that. Still, what else would you expect from people country founded on the basis of a 4,000 year old myth?

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    2. Thank you for as clear cut an example of antisemitism as it is possible to have. btw, please check up on that "Chosen People" concept. It doesn't mean what you and other antisemites think it does.

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