UK Indymedia | BBC forced to eat humble pie and admit to bias against Israel

A campaigning couple have won their battle to have several complaints of anti-Israel bias upheld by the BBC – the first such successful complaint in more than a year.

A campaigning couple have won their battle to have several complaints of anti-Israel bias upheld by the BBC – the first such successful complaint in more than a year.

Lynette and Michael Ordman were infuriated by a BBC2 programme aired on 7 June 2003, entitled Dan Cruickshank on the Road to Armageddon.

The 90-minute documentary centred on exploring the dangers posed to architectural treasures by the conflict.

But after the Ordmans, from Stanmore, took their protest to the programme complaints unit and then to the governor’s complaints committee, the BBC acknowledged the programme had contained both factual errors and misleading footage.

In one section about the 2002 siege of the church of the nativity in Bethlehem, the BBC admitted it had given the untrue impression an IDF tank had fired a tank shell at the church. BBC also failed to point out the destruction to parts of the church committed by the PLO activits.

Later, presenter Cruikshank theorised on the settler’s methods of land acquisition, a supposition the BBC agreed he was not qualified to make.

The show also “failed to provide a clear delineation of the timeframe of reports of damage to historic sites”, meaning that Arab destruction of Jerusalem’s Jewish quarter between 1948 and 1967 was not included.

Lynette Ordman said: “We’re obviously very pleased about it. I want to encourage other people to write and phone the BBC. They only need 20 people to phone after a programme to take it to the next stage.

“People should start realising the BBC has got a charter that says it has to be fair and impartial, and we have a right to complain because we are all license payers.”

as long as Israel occupies the West Bank and Gaza, there will be Palestinian resistance. Israel has peace in its hands (the option for unequivocal withdrawl) and does nothing because it wants more land. Why does it want more land? Religious beliefs and water resources.

The US Media have always been pro-Israeli and Anti-Muslim so have the British Newspapers day-in day-out (pick up a paper tomorrow) and no one challenges them.

Has no-one at the BBC got any willingness know to stand up for the disadvantaged. WE have a large group of European immigrants of Jewish race who having suffered from racist discrimination and genocide in Europe decide to launch a series of vicious terrorist attacks on a country that had nothing to do with their past misery. Europe and the US maybe feeling guilty about the complicity with the past genocidal attacks and murder of Jews in Europe decide to give this relatively peaceful and tranquil country [Palestine} to this group of immigrants/terrorists against the wishes of Palestine and all their surrounding neighbours. The terrorists call their newly aquired country Israel, aquired after what must be one of the most dangerous cave-ins to terrorism ever by the US and Britain. Not only do they give the Jewish terrorists a country (not part of their country of course) they give them billions of pounds worth of miltary equipment to continue their attacks on the vitually defenceless Palestinians and the poorly organised and trained surrounding Arab Countries. The surrounding Arab countries tried their best to protect the Palestinians and their sovereign rights but were hopelessly defeated by the Israelli killing machine having tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of their men massaccured by the Israellis. Israel now have occupied not only the State of Israel but also the rest of Palestine driving and flying over it at will killing any Palestine and supporter of the Palestinians they feel like without any trial or recrimination. Having killed and driven out of Palestine hundreds of thousands of native people they complain about the Palestinians left who have no army, no airforce, no navy and virtually no arms throwing stones at them and suicidally and desperately attacking them with bombs strapped to their own bodies. On the BBC Hammas bombers are called terrorists and are constantly vilified as against Israelli attacks being reprisals by the Army. On Radio5 live a few months ago someone was cut of for saying that he agreed with the suicide bombings, has anyone been cut of for saying they agree with the Israelli"reprisals" where thy kill on average 3 times as many of the Palestinians as Israellis killed by Palestinian attacks . Now some Israelli's complain about bias at the BBC AGAINST THE ISRAELLI’S !!!!!and the BBC apologises. And our goverments say the Arabs have no reason to be angry they just like death not life. Their lot might be happier if they did for that is what we offer them with a good helping of humiliation. Rob

Rob is exposed as very badly informed by Trevor Asserson's conclusive report into BBC anti-Israel extremism... read it all here and get the facts:

http://www.bbcwatch.com/old.html

Needless to say, Rob tripped the bs detector straight away with the comment about the BBC's line on 'terrorism' - it's OFFICIAL BBC POLICY never to call imperialistic Arab killers who deliberately target and murder Israeli children 'terrorists'. BBC presenters are asked not to use the term and it's edited out of scripts, articles etc.

.......... is the basis of the ruling. There are innumerable cases where the BBC can be accused of bias against the Palestinians.

http://www.redress.btinternet.co.uk/edavidsson.htm

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Israel/Media_Cover_Israel.html

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=22&ItemID=4895

http://www.awitness.org/news/july_2001/bbc_israel_assassination.html

http://www.counterpunch.org/rooij0516.html

http://www.zmag.org/meastwatch/fiskmurd.htm

http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/sociology/Israel.pdf

As there are two very different narratives in the conflict, it is nigh on impossible for any media outlet to present balanced reporting that is acceptable to both sides.

However, at the end of the day, I believe it is the Palestinians who come of worst in the media coverage, as a strong zionist lobby is in a position to campaign and launch continual attacks against the BBC - including the Daily Telegraph's BBCwatch.

The Glasgow University Media Group outlines the way in which the media distorts reality and decontextualises actions, making it appear that the Palestinians are the aggressors.

In reality the Israelis are the occupiers, and frequently commit war crimes.

http://www.arabmediawatch.com/ has many more examples of the BBCs anti-Palestinian bias.

the bnp hates the bbc too.

During the Oslo process the Israeli state went on a massive settlement expansion programme.

unbiased lies to say that there was withdrawal, the Occupied Territories were broken into Areas A, B and C - and only Area A was under Palestinian control.

The map at

http://www.poica.org/casestudies/Beit%20Sahour%203-12-03/Oslo%20II.jpg shows what a tiny part of the Occupied territories that compromised.

"unbiased" is (what a surprise) dangerously biased - the "generous offer" turned out to be nothing more than an attempt to turn the PNA into yet another security force for the state of Israel. Here's what Gush Shalom says on views such as those of "unbiased".

"In accounts of what happened at the July 2000 Camp David summit and the
following months of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, we often hear
about Ehud Barak's unprecedented offer and Yasser Arafat's
uncompromising no. Israel is said to have made a historic, generous
proposal, which the Palestinians, once again seizing the opportunity to
miss an opportunity, turned down. In short, the failure to reach a final
agreement is attributed, without notable dissent, to Yasser Arafat.

As orthodoxies go, this is a dangerous one. For it has larger ripple
effects. Broader conclusions take hold. That there is no peace partner
is one. That there is no possible end to the conflict with Arafat is
another.

For a process of such complexity, the diagnosis is remarkably shallow.
It ignores history, the dynamics of the negotiations, and the
relationships among the three parties. In so doing, it fails to capture
why what so many viewed as a generous Israeli offer, the Palestinians
viewed as neither generous, nor Israeli, nor, indeed, as an offer.
Worse, it acts as a harmful constraint on American policy by offering up
a single, convenient culprit-Arafat-rather than a more nuanced and
realistic analysis."

http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/campdavid1.html

Let us never forget that at the beginning of the Oslo process young Palestinian men were literally offering olive branches to Israeli soldiers. At the end of it, Israel responded to demonstrations with totally unacceptable and overwhelming force, killing hundreds in the first 3 days alone.

Tanya Reinhart's "The Peace that Kills" is also useful reading on the matter.

http://www.zmag.org/meastwatch/peacekills.htm

"It is obvious that most posters on here know virtualy nothing about the Middle East conflict."

Nah mate, we just reject your one-sided, extremely biased analysis of it.

fed up with the excruciating coverage on - amongst others - the bbc

fed up with seeing quacking zionists - like dor gold - given free range, unchallanged and unbalanced by opposing voices to spout nonsense and vitriol whenever anything happens in Palestine

the bbc doesn't refer to Palestinians as terrorists?

you live on a different planet, or have a mental affliction that turns your ears off at selected moments

and as for the program in question - saw it and observed one man stating his OPINION

since when has stating an OPINION been against bbc regulations?

they seek to silence every voice, make questioning history a crime

a victory for tolerance, free speech, freedom ... how?

by enshrining intolerance?

by censoring free speech?

by removing freedom?

just remember .. war is peace, freedom is slavery, israel is a democracy, dispaced and ethnically cleansed people are terrorists

I want another planet please - this one is mad.

I think the matter of BBC bias against Israel is pretty much now accepted by most people except some fanatics with an anti-Jewish agenda of their own. But perhaps the bigger issue is how this bias is rarely questioned in the mainstream media. The overwhelming majority of people understand how Israel is a victim of unparraleled terrorism on almost a daily basis and yet the views of those who would describe Israel as somehow deserving of this are often broadcast or reported.

The hated of Israel and the Jews by the Hard (and sometimes Soft) Left is manifested is a variety of pro Palestinian stances and "campaigns" that if put forward by the likes of the BNP scum would be seen as the Facist rubbish that they are.

The Left has much to answer for on the Middle East question, perhaps most of all. How much of it is as a result of their own "We in the West are at fault" failed ideology.

Further to Andrew's point:

"The Establishment's fraudulent "United Nations" and other "human rights organizations" are mere comforting facades, used as tools both to divert attention away from the sinister whims of the World Manipulators and to neutralize opposition to their "New World Order." Examination of the record of these "human rights organizations" reveals a very slanted bias toward certain issues and groups serving a clear political agenda. Most obvious is the total lack of genuine censure and effective sanction of Israel's decades of murder and oppression against the indigenous People of Palestine."

Is this from Indymedia? Is it from the ISM?

No... it's from the Stormfront 'National Socialist Primer'.

So whether it comes from the BNP or the ISM, frankly I have trouble telling the difference.

Another article about how the BBC doesn't just excuse Palestinian terrorism... it actively propagandises for it!

The BBC's moral nihilism

Absolutely unbelievable item on the Today programme this morning (0835), which even by the degraded journalistic and moral standards of the BBC was simply marmalade-dropping. The question for discussion was the hoary old chestnut 'what is the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter' in the context of al Q'aeda. To discuss this riveting question, the programme had on what it coyly described as 'prominent figures from the past', which turned out to be none other than Leila Khaled, erstwhile Palestinian plane hijacker, and Danny Morrison, erstwhile Northern Ireland Republican terror detainee.

The result was no less staggering for being so predictable. Both of them declared that the terrorism they supported (which Morrison thought shouldn't be called terrorism at all) was justified while that of al Q'aeda was not. The programme gave them several minutes of prime time to make an unchallenged justification for terrorism. The questioning was pathetic, consisting of mild rebukes which were themselves implicitly morally nihilistic-- sugesting to Khaled that she couldn't just say the US and Israel were guilty of terror without admitting that she had done the same (!!); or when Morrison claimed governments like the US or Britain were guilty of double standards by condeming the killing of innocents while doing the same thing themselves, all the presenter could say was 'but we elect governments'. The fact that there was all the difference in the world between targeting innocents for death and taking action to defend a society against such outrages didn't seem to occur to him.

I kid you not. This is the BBC's idea of balance -- two apologists for terror, in earnest discussion. And this is the orgnisation the public nevertheless still appears to trust and venerates as an icon. Is it any wonder the country is in the grip of so much appeasement, irrationality and ignorance? The fact is that the BBC has become an Augean stables of moral nihilism, responsible in large measure not merely for dumbing down the culture but leading it like lemmings towards a precipice from which it is in increasing danger of committing cultural suicide.

http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/000402.html

AMW analysis of BBC Radio 4 coverage of Israel/Palestine
Posted on Monday, March 08 @ 03:25:40 GMT

An analysis covering March 1-7 by Judith Brown, a member of AMW's executive committee.

This week on the 5th and 6th there are two very good items on Islamophobia, although one was not named as such. Write and thank the BBC as we need more programmes on this very important subject. Anti-Semitism is currently not causing nearly as many problems but it is prominent on the BBC, including the Moral Maze this week.

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March 1
'Today' programme - nothing.

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March 2
'Today' programme - nothing.

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March 3
'Today' programme - nothing.

PM.
Item on PM about the barrier - a photo shoot for a fashion show in front of an 8-metre-high wall. The BBC commentator pointed out that the shoot is at the place where three Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army whilst demonstrating against it last week. Two Arabic-speaking Palestinians interviewed who were not positive about it, thinking the luxurious fashion world had nothing in common with starving Palestinians. Models interviewed were surprised at the location.

6pm news.
Short item saying 3 Palestinians travelling in a car were killed, 2 of them belonging to a Palestinian militant group.

8pm.
Moral Maze - Anti-Semitism discussed again, the second time in the last few months. Racism and Islamophobia by contrast have not been discussed at all. Melanie Phillips was particularly offensive towards Stephen Rose.

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March 4
'Today' programme - nothing.

10.45am
Stereotype - The L Shaped Room has been read out on Woman's Hour this week and last week, and the lover of the main character is a Jew.

4.15pm.
Stereotype - The Afternoon Play - 'The Bringer of Sweets'.
This play was set in the Second World War and the main male character was a Jewish refugee who had escaped from Europe. At the end he heroically died in the blitz as a fire-fighter.

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March 5
'Today' programme - nothing.

9am - Repeat from Sunday. Desert Island discs with Judith Kerr, a Jewish author who escaped from Nazi Germany.

10.45pm.
Stereotype - The L Shaped Room finishes, Toby the lover is verbally abused by a racist bigot who calls him 'Jewboy'. Toby ends up as a successful writer. Next story is called 'My wounded heart' and is the story of Lilli Jahn, a Jewish doctor in Hitler's Germany. This will be read from 10.45am to 11am every day for the next two weeks. The stereotype analysis was started after the Kilroy episode. The BBC drama department and Desert Island discs show marked imbalance between the presentation of positive Jewish characters and the lack of positive Arab stereotypes.

11am
Islamophobia - A documentary called Mosque on the Mendips. Describes Yeovil as having a history of racial intolerance. An appeal recently started for permission for Islamic Cultural Centre. This caused a great racist outcry from the local people. The media was used to oppose the plan, with very extreme, ignorant views expressed. This then attracted attention of the BNP. Shockingly racist views were expressed on the programme. A Church of England adviser on racial tolerance says these views are surprisingly widespread. She says if the local people are asked if the area is racist, they say 'No it isn't, because 'they' are not here'.

One Muslim restaurant owner says local people regularly made racist comments and the restaurant was once attacked. Harassment of Muslims is common, for example when some Muslims had been in the gym no-one would go in afterwards for an hour because they said it 'stank'. Muslims are frequently accused of being responsible for September 11 by a variety of people as if they are personally responsible. Four Indian Muslim nurses working at the hospital were attacked on their way to work and no-one was charged. Unkind remarks are made about nurses working in the hospital by patients: 'Those Pakis, I can't understand what they say'. A local councillor did not think there were any problems and he said the mosque issue will soon calm down. He was complacent about the significance and belittled it, demonstrating his lack of empathy and understanding.

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March 6
7.33am 'Today' programme.
5-minute item.
A long overdue item relating to Islamophobia on 'Today' programme, although it was dressed as a discussion on over-zealous policing that might push young Muslims into the hands of extremists. Under cover of the fight against terrorism the police have been involved in many Islamophobic acts. For example, they enter houses and brutally and insensitively deal with Muslims. One gave an example of being forced into a praying position and mocked 'Your God can't help you now'. 550 Muslims have been detained but only 6 were found to have any involvement with terrorism - it was felt the victims were targeted simply because they are Muslim. Muslim and legal spokespersons presented a case of systemic, institutionalised Islamophobia backed by politicians and the law. A police spokesman defended their position. This form of Islamophobia equates with a form of anti-Semitism in Europe before the Second World War.

8pm news item.
Brief news clip of 6 Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip in mysterious circumstances. Apparently a suicide bomber disguised a jeep as an Israeli military vehicle.

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March 7
'Sunday' programme - nothing.

8pm/9pm/10pm news item.
Short news clip saying 14 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza due to Israel entering 2 refugee camps to prevent attacks on Jewish settlements. Note the routine use of Israeli justification rather than using the international law perspective or reporting both Palestinian and Israeli viewpoints.

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Not reported this week:

Palestinian journalist killed by Palestinian militant group in Gaza. This event prompted warnings of chaos in Nablus and Gaza as the Palestinian Authority loses control. Britain has promised military advisers (not troops) to the PA after Israeli pullout.

March 2 - Palestinian shot dead in Hebron.

March 3 - Palestinian dies in hospital, injured last week by an Israeli bullet whilst demonstrating against the barrier.

March 6 - Palestinian shot dead in Nablus.

Many Palestinians injured by IDF activity, including 81 injured during the incursions in Gaza.

Sharon in another scandal re prisoner swap - his popularity is falling.

Israel increases 'anti-terror' activities in Palestinian territories, and sealed off West Bank and Gaza from March 4-8. Many Palestinians who had travelled to work could not get back to their homes during this period. Palestinians use non-violent action to protest - 200 tried to walk through a closed checkpoint at Ramallah to Jerusalem and tear gas was used by the IDF to break up the demonstration.

Funds from last weeks' bank robbery frozen as some Israelis are claiming the money following a court case in the US that awarded damages against Hamas.

Item from BBC online about the increase of settlement building in the occupied territories, with corresponding decrease of building inside Israel. This was not covered in 'Today' programme although it deserved a high profile.

Strange case of two Israelis detained by Mexico in October, now released. The two included a retired IDF colonel and they were foiled in an attempt to blow up Mexico's legislature, made to look like Arab terrorism. This was designed to make Mexico's oil industry take a strong stand against Islamic militancy and thus raise support for Israel. Apparently the US hushed up the case and was also involved in arranging their release.

Although briefly mentioned on news items, no discussion on the assassination on March 3 and the incursions into Gaza on March 7 resulting in 17 deaths. These are war crimes but again they are excused by the BBC news team who use Israeli propaganda to describe the Israeli actions.

Excellent! According to freethepeeps, unless every BBC outlet has 24 hour propaganda about driving Jews into the sea, it must be biased against Arab extremists!

I imagine he/she writes into the BBC on a regular basis, in green felt tip pen:

"On Eastenders today, there was no mention of the glorious martyrdom operation the Palestinian resistance carried out against Jew infants."

"On A Question of Sport, there was no discussion of the glorious intifada or the great leaders in Hamas who, even as we speak, are bringing death to Jew civilians in the form of bombs packed with rusty nails and rat poison."

Perhaps you should try reading the posts again slowly. You might understand them.

Now your kind of rhetoric, if directed at you would be anti-semitic. Right?

I have been using the browser Firefox for several years now and have always enjoyed not only its independant open source philosophy but also its security. However it tried its best to block me from this site... and then did the same again when wanting to make a comment. This is the first time these messages have appeared. Is it just co-incidence that the site concerned uncensored comment....or was this the censorship? Id just like to add vis-a-vis the 'credit crunch' {I try to say that at least three times a day} that in the last global depression bankers et al at least had the decency to jump out of their skyscraping windows and this seems to be to me the problem that is at the root of modern global problems.The present day plutocrats are somehow avoiding Darwinian selection and causing genetic greed problems for future generations by not doing the honourable thing and getting out on those ledges.

BBC forced to eat humble pie and admit to bias against Israel

Comments

What is your point here?

Why don't the US Media and British Newspapers admit to "Israel" bias ?

BBC Bias against Israel?????

BBC anti-Israeli hatred has been proved beyond doubt

One story ...................

zionists aren't the only ones...

Israel offered a dependent bantustan

another planet

Bias ? Of course

nazi rhetoric adopted by the left

BBC Terror Apologists

Judge the bias for yourselves

the wacky world of Jew hating loonies

Kev

Firefox making it hard to get on this site

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