You made me write this
I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want to do it
You made me do this
and all the time you knew it
I guess you always knew it.
I know. I’m no Judy Garland. But I really wish I didn’t have to bother addressing the ridiculously biased reporting of yet another publicity stunt by Palestinian activists.
‘Freedom Riders’
Look at that photo! What do they look like? Not Rosa Parks, that’s for sure.
The BBC ‘s report ends thus: “There are around 500,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Settlements are illegal under international law although Israel disputes this.”
Every BBC article has one of these. Israel disputes this because it’s not true. The allegation of illegality is ‘without foundation’. But we’ve become accustomed to seeing it. Should anyone fail to reach the intended conclusion after wading through the article, it’s hammered home at the end.
I was impressed by a speech that was delivered at the conference “The Perils of Global Intolerance: The UN and Durban lll” by Shelby Steele. It’s called ‘The Narrative of Perpetual Palestinian Victimhood’
He does compare the victimhood status of the Palestinians with that of the civil rights movement, but concludes that perpetual victimhood and an obsession with the blame game merely displaces facing a harsh reality, namely acknowledging and coming to terms with ones own shortcomings.
“you are humiliated and you say,”Well you know the real truth is I am not free. Racism still exists. Zionism is my problem. The State of Israel is my problem. That is why I am so far behind and that is why I cannot get ahead.”
His main point concerns what he calls ‘poetic truths’. That is, the Palestinian narrative that has caught the imagination of the media and the ‘liberal left’. No amount of facts can dislodge poetic truths. Once poetic truths have taken hold, real truths count for nothing.
“Poetic truths like that are marvelous because no facts and no reason can ever penetrate. Supporters of Israel are up against a poetic truth. We keep hitting it with all the facts. We keep hitting it with obvious logic and reason. And we are so obvious and conspicuously right that we assume it is going to have an impact and it never does.”
The tone and content of the BBC report is a typical example of the romanticised narrative that is the basis of the BBC’s poetic truth. For the facts, read the JPost report. From the Israeli perspective, certainly. But all the better for that.
So 50 reporters and photographers were there, chasing the poetic truth. The BBC must know that flocks of cameramen regularly hang around Palestinian stone throwers and activists hoping to catch some poetry in motion. If there’s no action they’ve even been known to set some up. But the BBC doesn’t quite tell us that. “The West Bank Freedom Riders punched above their weight, drawing a lot of publicity for what was a relatively small event,” says Jon Donnison, “and I’m helping by spreading the word,” he implied, though no doubt he disputes this.
“Palestinians from the West Bank are not allowed to cross into Jerusalem without Israeli permission.” says the BBC, simplifying the truth so that the restrictions appear discriminatory and unreasonable, adding:
“Israel says such restrictions are for security reasons”
The ‘Freedom Riders’ demand unrestricted freedom of movement. They can surely have it when Israelis have the freedom from fear of being blown up on a bus.
The BBC quotes the freedom activists, so why not also include some Israeli quotes, for balance? I suppose certain people would consider that too “pro Israel”.
JPost:
“It is Israelis who have issues with transportation because of fear of terror attacks,” an Israeli passenger said. “These are buses that are protected against stones and bullets in case of Palestinian violence.”
“It’s not racism, it is security,” she said.
“When I can walk freely in Ramallah with my children, they can ride on my bus.”
“Another passenger, Haggai Segal, who wore a skullcap, said he had asked the Palestinian activists, “‘Can I go on a bus in Ramallah as a Jew?’ They answered: ‘I could not.’” He shook his head at the comparison to the civil rights movement.“This is not a Martin Luther King bus”.
What’s wrong with mentioning these points? I know my words will have no impact on your poetic truth BBC, but if YOU, purporting to be an impartial news organ, make a start by allowing the real truth to reach the public, it might filter through. But in the meantime I have to keep doing what you’re making me do.
You make me angry sometimes, you make me sad
But there are times, Beeb, you make me feel so bad.
You made me sigh for, I didn’t want to tell you
I didn’t want to tell you
I need some news that’s true, yes I do, deed I do, you know I do
Give me, give me, give me what I cry for
You know you ought to tell the public what you lie for
You know you made me loathe you.
Doobedo.
Glenn Beck’s ‘The Blaze’ has:
“Palestinian Bus-Riding Gimmick to Prove Israeli ‘Apartheid’ Ends up Showing…No Apartheid”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/palestinian-bus-riding-gimmick-to-prove-israeli-apartheid-ends-up-showing-no-apartheid/
‘there were many more photographers on board than passengers taking part, despite the advance advertising on pro-Palestinian websites. AFP reported 100 reporters were either on or outside the bus’
Hence one’s focus must turn to the media complicit in this stunt, their motivations and professional integrity in accurately conveying the actual facts.
That I have to co-fund the BBC to the tune of £4Bpa to NOT do this seems worthy of explanation and correction.
Another gem of a post Sue.
“The BBC must know that flocks of cameramen regularly hang around Palestinian stone throwers and activists hoping to catch some poetry in motion.” – great line, the jewel in the crown.
And, if I may say so, you have a great voice!
Ruben Salvadori
Thank you Davieboy.
I swear I hadn’t seen this piece before I posted, but Adam Levic at CiFWatch has come up with a similar comparison between this stunt and Shelby Steele’s speech.
Also, I had intended to link to this, but in my haste to publish I forgot.
Excellent, Sue.
Sue hits the nail on the head yet again
Thanks for posting this Sue…along with Shelby Steeles article.
This poetic truth is a fine concept…as if Boyzones “no matter what they tell you, what you believe is true” was the watchword of all these angry victims of -isms who “identify” as identity victims.
It`s all that they can agree upon, and their race to the bottom starts afterward-who is most discriminated against, most vulnerable etc.
That these useful idiots can be persuaded to sacrifice their lives so that Arafats widow gets a pension is a sign od their not being the full shekel…angry, entitled and stupid.
Edward Said must be laughing from one of the circles of hell at just how stupid these anti-Israel people are. As Shelby said, they could clean up Saudi and come into some inheritance AND pay for some kind of education that doesn`t force feed them anti-Semite bile from the wetnurse onwards.
They would rather be angry and ignorant all too often. Gets them onto the BBC without the need to riot in Salford first.
Sue, I don’t know who you are or where you come from but you write brilliantly and I wish I could thank you in person.
You speak for a generation of people. Believe me.
Thank you for the kind comments, they are very much appreciated.
Excellent post Sue – as always.
I notice Honest Reporting has also picked up on this ‘media scoop’, and naturally BBC receive ‘(dis)honorable mention’.
Regarding the ‘victim’ mentality of the Palestinians, it occurs to me that without outlets like the BBC who perpetuate it and give it value, it would probably cease to exist. Much like unemployment benefit has created a society where many prefer to leech off society rather than know the pride of honest employment.
Seems to me that prior to the intifada starting in 2000, Arafat must have known that many media outlets like the BBC were going to twist history in his favour, as they do. In it’s way, the BBC is every bit a terrorist organisation as the worst of them, and are responsible for many deaths, woundings and resulting misery for most of those affected on BOTH sides of this conflict.
SHOOT THE LYING MESSENGER!
Splendid post as usual Sue.
The ‘Freedom Riders’ who try to compare themselves with Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King have obviously never read what MLK had to say about Jews, Zionism and antisemitism.
“Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism”
The BBCs own ‘Palestinian’ agitator John Donnison is claiming a three fold increase in jewish settler violence AGAINST ‘Palestinians’.
That is the headline and that is the basis of the racial attack by the BBC, yet the strange thing about these supposed attacks is that it is the ‘Palestinian’ mobs doing the attacking and the only fatalities are Jews, among them children. In the perverted world of the BBC it is the victims of violence who are the perpetrators and the actual victims being smeared as the attackers when the evidence direactly contradicts this warped view.
So the facts are very different to the BBC claims with Donnison only interested in asking his ‘Palestinian’ friends loaded questions and taking their word alone. The viewer is left with the distinct impression that Jews alone are going out to attack innocent ‘Palestinians’. Funny thing is though the pictures showed mobs of ‘Palestinian’ young men throwing stones and doing the attacking with the IDF going in an stopping the thugs from reaching Jewish villages.
“Against international law” squeaks Donnison, but the fact is there are no borders as yet defined by international law in the West Bank because the so called ‘Palestinian’ side rejected them at the beginning of the conflict. And until both sides get together and negotiate real borders between them there are no actual borders. This reality the BBC is desperate to hide from the public, the BBC/Arab partnership needs us to believe that Jews are crossing borders to settle in ‘Palestine’ when in fact until both sides agree to a common border there is no such state.
Everyday the bBC brings out an anti-Israel article and the people of Britian who follow the bBC for their news are brainwashed into thinking that the Jews can only be evil. That the Pals are peace loving people who only want to e free.
The irony the only place in the Middle East where Pals are freeer than anywhere else is…Israel.
In Syria, thousands are getting killed and the bBC remains very quiet, in fact the bBC still airs Syrian school on BBC3 in which to present a nice image of the assad regime.
But that’s how the left and Islamic media love to lie about the real despots out there and instead blame Israel every chance they get, I wonder who the bBC will start to blame once Israel is destroyed and all the jews there are murdered. The thing the bBC doesn’t mention is that the Islamic stance today is the same as the ISlamic stance in 1948, To push the jews into the Sea. In otherwords to kill them.