Author Archives: Sue

Unhappy Snaps

By | |
9 Comments

A little bit more on the BBC promoting an exhibition of photographs by the German propagandist photographer with the chilling rictus grin and the “who, me?” shrug.
I first heard it advertised on Radio 4’s night-time World Service programme on the arts, “The Strand.” I mentioned it in my previous post, and several commenters mentioned it again on yesterday’s Open Thread.
See what Robin Shepherd has written, watch the video, and weep.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Stormy Weather

By | |
26 Comments

Old films are very popular. We love nostalgia, the costumes, the funny accents, lots of smoking, and we can observe with the benefit of hindsight, people going about their business in the 20s and 30s. We know, as they do not, of the tribulations to come. We particularly relish seeing everyone pooh-poohing the threat of Nazism, and we empathise with the frustration felt by a lone voice expressing alarm. We understand the complacency and innocence that made people miss the obvious signals, if only they would spot them, of the gathering storm.
Even when war became a reality, obstinacy and blindness persisted. We know all that now.
Last night on BBC World service “The Strand” I heard Egyptian novelist and political and cultural commentator Adhaf Soueif talking from Tahrir Square. She’s one of Egypt’s liberal female writers, and was breathlessly enthusing about the uprising; the diversity, the creativity, the unity and the spirit of the people in Tahrir Square. All marvellous, until her final words – “we must stop pandering to the interests of America and lsrael.”

In the same programme there was an interview with German photographer Kai Weidenhofer who has an exhibition in London. Images of the human cost of war. (Gaza) He cited the Goldstone report to justify using such voyeuristic subject matter.

The bout of insomnia wore off and I woke up to the dulcet tones of William Hague complaining about Israel’s belligerence. According to Hague, Israel must reinstate the settlement freeze and abracadabra there will be Peace in Our Time. Actually, I saw the same interview on the telly, and he did mention that the Palestinians should also make a concession or two, but that was omitted for the purposes of Today.
Then there was a shameful interview with Sir Sherard Cowper Coles, who echoed Hague’s sentiments, and said in no uncertain terms that all the region’s problems are Israel’s fault. James Naughtie disgraced himself by confusing PaliLeaks with WikiLeaks, and then repeating the Guardian’s and Polly Toynbee’s face-value interpretation of them: ‘Israel was offered everything, turned it all down, offered nothing in return. Swaggered.’
Does he actually think it was WikiLeaks, and not Qatari Al-Jazeera’s malicious “release” of selected spin, designed to undermine the PA, Abbas, Israel and the entire peace process?

Where was Israel’s point of view? Oh I forgot. We don’t need that. Because we’re well into the olden days. The days when, despite some lone voices expressing alarm, everyone’s happily missing the signs if only they would spot them, of the gathering storm.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Pressing Matters

By | | ,
27 Comments

Honest Reporting poses a significant question in its latest lament about Israel’s coverage in the media.
Why does Israel’s every move get scrutinised, magnified, exaggerated and endlessly regurgitated through a filter of disapproval, while seriously reprehensible events that occur in the surrounding Arab countries, namely Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, pass unnoticed by the tunnel-visioned press pack?
Honest Reporting answers its own question, putting this bashfulness down to fear of having their access withdrawn, but I’m afraid it’s simply down to pure you-know-what.
“At any one time there are some 450 foreign journalists permanently resident in Israel,” they say, plus copious support staff, but all of a sudden, due to present circumstances, most of them decamped to Cairo.

Apparently there was a bit of a media fuss when an Al-Jazeera journo was made to take her bra off at a security check before attending an event with PM Netanyahu, but virtual silence over “many stories of foreign journalists inconvenienced, detained, threatened and sometimes worse.” in neighbouring Arab states.

Pardon me, then, for being mildly amused at this. After the eulogistic praise we’ve had all week for the uprising in Egypt from the BBC’s reverential reporters, how about this from Tom Gross:

BBC’s Jerome Boehm also targeted by protesters

BBC also reported their correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes’ car was forced off the road in Cairo “by a group of angry men.” He was detained by the men, who handed him off to secret police agents who handcuffed and blindfolded him and an unnamed colleague and took them to an interrogation room. They were released after three hours.

BBC reporter Wyre Davies in Alexandria – Attacked and driven off by locals several times in the past few days

BBC foreign editor Jon Williams said via Twitter that security forces seized the network’s equipment in a Cairo Hilton hotel in an attempt to stop it broadcasting.

I don’t know how many times they’ve been attacked by Israeli Jews.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Middle Eastenders Like Us

By | | , ,
45 Comments

The army of BBC reporters who’ve been plonked in Egypt have one thing in common – unalloyed joy at the people’s uprising.
We’ve heard people say, ‘Mubarak may be a monster, but he’s our monster,’ or, ‘ Careful what you wish for – some Iraqis long for the stability of Sadaam’ – but what we mainly hear is wholehearted enthusiasm for the ‘deposing of the tyrant’. They approve of Ben Ali’s removal from Tunisia, yet have little interest in what will follow.

Just because we all abhor torture and corruption, and applaud democracy and freedom, our enemy’s enemy is not necessarily our ally, and we should all be careful about expressing unreserved enthusiasm for what we know little about.

Even though the Muslim Brotherhood is not considered to be an immediate threat to Egypt’s future, none of the BBC interviews I’ve seen have questioned the bright-eyed protesters about their attitude to the West, and Israel in particular. Polls suggest that the majority of Egyptians sympathise with Sharia, which doesn’t auger well for an enlightened future. Remember Iran.

Representatives of the BBC should engage their brains and stop assuming all Egyptians view everything through the eyes of the western liberal. That’s a common failing of all the BBC’s reporting. None of them seem to have the imagination to put themselves in any shoes other than their own. I think I’ve said this before. The Middle East isn’t like Islington, and Islam isn’t a religion of peace.
H/T True Too for Caroline Glick

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Being Louis

By | |
37 Comments

or Louis in Wonderland.
I was wondering what all that fuss was about, so I put on my best Louis Theroux voice. I wanted to understand Louis, so I set off to enter Louis’s mind. I tried to think like Louis…..I wondered if Louis felt uncomfortable, as a human being, that the filmmakers used the word ‘Zionist’ pejoratively, and selected the most controversial sound-bites for their ubiquitous trailer? Then I realised – it’s the ratings, stupid.

I was wondering whether Louis was worried that the film might inadvertently lure antisemites from their lairs. Then I remembered the subtle backtracking I had noticed earlier, and I thought I understood.

I wondered whether Louis felt uncomfortable, on a human level, for asking settlers if they felt guilty over stealing Palestinian land, when his film actually stated, ” It [an Arab area] used to be Jewish till all the Jews were violently driven out 1920s during a pogrom.”
I wondered if Louis felt uneasy perpetuating myths about Jews stealing Arab land, when the opposite is nearer to the truth. Then it occured to me that the filmmakers forgot to edit that bit out and hoped no-one would notice. It was revealing, yes, but also so fleeting, so momentary, so easily missable; few would have noticed.

I began to wonder whether Louis had done any homework, before embarking on a film which he had waited ten years to make. Then I remembered, studying the Guardian and the BBC would have provided all the education Louis needed.

Louis chatted to the head of security of the Hebron Jewish community, named Yoni. Louis began a series of questions that were cunningly designed to highlight the Palestinians’ inequality. Louis seemed to be exposing injustice, but I was wondering if the injustice Louis perceived was the injustice that prevents Palestinians with murderous intent being allowed to import knives and guns, freely and democratically into Israeli residential areas. Was that the injustice Louis perceived, I asked myself?
I thought I detected some clumsy editing. I noticed an abrupt jump from Yoni’s half-finished answer to Louis’s first question, ping, to Louis’s next question. Louis said: It’s been reported that Arabs suffered a campaign of harassment from Jewish settlers in Hebron, including graffiti, stone throwing, abuse – to which Yoni replied: There were incidents – of course there were incidents – unfortunately – but you cannot compare.. CUT!
I was wondering whether Yoni had actually said some more, and the editors had edited it out. Hmmm, I wondered.
If some Arabs threw stones at Jewish settlers, the settlers would do what? asked Louis. If Yoni had said something that the editors didn’t like, the editors would do what? I wondered.

You may now stop thinking in the Louis Theroux voice. Snap! You’re back in the room!

Most of the Jews in the film seemed engaging and human. The Palestinians, on the other hand appeared to be bristling with hate and spittle, or sitting puffing a fag all day getting fatter and fatter and wondering why they couldn’t sell something and own it at the same time.
I’m not saying all Palestinians are like that by the way. I’m talking about the way they were shown on Louis’s film.

Is it fair to transfer Jews into Palestinian areas that had been won in war? asked Louis.

Is it fair not to mention that the wars in question were, in fact, wars of aggression, started by Arabs with the sole object of obliterating Israel?
Not a lot of people know that, Louis. And Louis, if you were given the chance to enlighten them, why didn’t you?

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

No Gasping Matter

By | | ,
32 Comments

I was listening to Today this morning when someone said:
“Watch this – Louis Theroux is coming on BBC 1 to plug his Ultra Zionist programme, you’ve just missed the trail, and after it Bill Turnbull said “These people are unbelievable, they make you gasp!”
So I switched off the radio and watched. I sat through inane chatter, sport, stale news about Egypt, just waiting for Louis.

He looked a bit dejected, like a dog that knows he’s just snaffled the Sunday joint. Guilty. Contrite. He seemed to be trying to take back the opportunistic antisemitism that he suddenly realised his programme would unleash. But too late. Not much good now saying: ‘I didn’t mean it in an antisemitic way, ‘ ‘there are two sides to every story,’ ‘these were ultra ULTRA Zionist settlers.’ ‘ Ultra. Very very ultra. ‘

Too late Louis. the damage has been done. Damage limitation is futile already.

I thought I’d leave it at that, but then decided to add this.

When the BBC decides to show ‘exceptional’ Israelis, and don’t forget that’s the only kind we get to see on the BBC, and when it gives people like Bill Turnbull cause to sigh at their outrageousness, and when it sets everyone off thinking the same bad thoughts about Jews, doesn’t it make you wonder where, on the BBC, are their counterparts?
How many Islamic ‘exceptions’ do we see Louis Theroux making documentaries about?

If – should such a miracle occur – he were to make one about fanatical, antisemitic, Islamic extremists, what pains would be taken to explain that they were exceptions, that Islam was the religion of peace, that their Islam was unIslamic, Islam-gone-wrong Islam?

The media would be occupying themselves with the topic for weeks. Probably the police would arrest Louis for incitement. Keith Vaz would have an apoplectic fit and Baroness Warsi would have to cancel all her dinner engagements for ever and ever.

“Don’t judge it before you see it” I hear you say. I’m not judging the programme, I’m questioning the wisdom of making it.

“But you’re always saying we should expose fanaticism when it applies to Islam. Now you’re saying we should hide fanaticism when it applies to Jews.” I thought I heard you say.

“Then expose them both, in strict proportion to the numbers that exist!” I reply. “Keep your Louis Theroux, but let’s also have Undercover Mosque, Horrible Hamas Histories, Muslim Brotherhood Unwrapped, Hassan Nasrallah’s Best Bits, Ayaan Hirsi Ali giving Zeinab Badawi a Hardtime, Anjem Choudary’s Rant for the Day, a CBeebies edition of the Hamas Bunny and Forfar the Jew-eating Wabbit.

Then trail them a hundred times per day, and really give Bill Turnbull something to gasp at.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

A Smirk Too Far

By | | , ,
45 Comments

I’m sure B-BBC regulars trawl roughly the same blogs, and I often recognise familiar monikers on comments pages.
Grant wonders about the BBC’s lack of interest in Tunisia now that their uprising is old hat. I’d say it was a bit premature to hold it up as some sort of role model for the rest of the Arab World, though. Elder of Ziyoners will know what I mean.
Hat Tip to Hippiepooter for linking to this interesting thread from Harry’s Place.
I actually saw Jeremy Bowen say those words, and he had a distinct smirk on his face as he said them.
The Muslim Brotherhood is certainly not moderate, and as we already know, the BBC interprets *conservative* in its own unique way, but non violent? Pull the other one.

“A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt told the Arabic-language Iranian news network Al-Alam on Monday that he would like to see the Egyptian people prepare for war against Israel.”

All BBC reporters seem to have taken to referring to Hezbollah and Hamas as “Regarded by Israel as a terrorist organisation.” (But not by anyone else, impliedly.) Soon they’ll be applying it to Al Qaeda. I think they would like to see the British people prepare, not only for a war against Israel, but also for a losing battle against Islam.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Toppling Tyrants

By | | ,
31 Comments

Throughout the uprisings in Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, and of course Egypt, the BBC has avoided raising the alarm over the danger, some say inevitability, that when repressive dictatorships topple, there’s a vacuum, and in Muslim lands, Islamists are waiting in the wings, poised and raring to go. The BBC aint bovvered.
Political turmoil in Lebanon poses a serious threat to the stability of the region, but in an erratic tribute to impartiality, the BBC reports the utterances of Hassan Nasrallah, being scrupulously careful to avoid taking sides.
Kevin Connolly thinks the appointment of a pro-Hezbollah PM is a way out of Lebanon’s immediate political crisis, with the caveat:

“It is an uncomfortable outcome for the US, which denounces Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation and reflects the growing regional influence of the movement’s sponsors, Iran and Syria.”

The Syria/Iran infiltration of Lebanon may not worry the BBC, but then they wouldn’t be worried by the content of this article by Michael J Totten.

“Hezbollah had 10,000 rockets before the war in 2006. Now it has between 40,000 and 50,000. Some are stored in warehouses. Others are hidden away a few at a time in private homes.”

Hezbollah positions itself amongst houses and mosques because they know the Israelis cannot retaliate without killing civilians.

“Its fighters and officers wear no uniforms. Only rarely do they carry guns out in the open.”

The BBC should be very alarmed at what is happening in Lebanon, not complacently telling us that the political crisis is over.

The Foreign Office is reported as stating that they have no objection to dictators being overthrown, but they’d prefer it if they were replaced by secular rather than religious governments. For example, “democratically,” as in Lebanon. What? Are my ears deceiving me?

Does this mean that the Foreign Office thinks that Hezbollah, having murdered the Lebanese Prime Minister, refused to accept responsibility for the murder, promised to cut off the hand of any accuser, embedded a massive stockpile of arms within civilian areas and in mosques, not to mention being dedicated to the destruction of Israel – does the foreign office or a spokesperson thereof, really hold Hezbollah’s roughshod trampling over the Lebanese government as an example of democracy, desirable for Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen et al ? And to add insult to that salty wound William Hague has gone off to suck up to Syria.
I wrote here about the BBC’s decisive action over a film produced by Christopher Mitchell. They abandoned it.

Professor Paul Rogers, author of “Why We’re Losing the War on Terror” has been on BBC discussing Rachid Ghannouchi’s return to Tunisia. “He’s anti American, but a moderate.” he reassures us casually.
Rachid Ghannouchi a moderate?
Christopher Hitchins begs to differ. He visited Tunis University:

“to talk to a female professor of theology named Mongia Souahi. She is the author of a serious scholarly work explaining why the veil has no authority in the Quran. One response had come from an exiled Tunisian Islamist named Rachid al-Ghannouchi, who declared her to be a kuffar, or unbeliever. This, as everybody knows, is the prelude to declaring her life to be forfeit as an apostate. I was slightly alarmed to see Ghannouchi and his organization, Hizb al-Nahda, described in Sunday’s New York Times as “progressive,” and to learn that he is on his way home from London.”

The BBC may be hoping Rachid Ghannouchi is a moderate, but didn’t blink an eye at his being “anti American.” To them that’s a trivial detail. The Ghannouchi daughter, or is that daughters, contribute to the Guardian and the BBC. Yusra Khreeji was on Broadcasting House a week ago, and Soumaya Ghannouchi is a regular contributor to the Guardian, and attends anti-Israel rallies, unleashing a mean impersonation of Lauren Booth.
Paul Rogers thinks we mishandle Islamists, driving them towards likes of Al Qaeda. Terrorism is our fault, we’re too hard line.

This morning we were treated to the oily reassurances of the odious Tariq Ramadan, another professor who has insinuated himself into the BBC’s speed dial directory.
We’ve seen John Kerry, he of the cylindrical head and massive chin, evidently fresh from overdosing on PaliLeaks, advising Israel to make concessions and stop oppressing the Palestinians.
“Israel is worried”, someone is saying now, on the BBC.
Abdul Bari Atwan, another speed dial buddy: “Illegal set-telments under internationallaw” he screeched, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. “Yes” said Polly Toynbee, also high on the Guardian’s deceitful spin on the PaliLeaks.“It’s all Israel’s fault.”

Everyone is rooting for the Egyptian protesters. “Look at the chaos! Whatever next?”
Whatever next indeed.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

The New Jew

By | |
47 Comments

BBC R4 “Thought For The Day.” (Holocaust Memorial Day 2011)
The artist formerly known as Richard Harries is now Lord Harries of Pentrgarth, Gresham Professor of Divinity. I’m sure he’s well meaning. He looks nice in his outfit.

Far be it from me to express ingratitude, on behalf of myself and others, for his kindly thoughts about the Jews that perished at the hands of Hitler. Mentioning that the demonisation of Jews was wholly undeserved was much appreciated, as was his sensitive reminder that it led to murder and betrayal, even by former friends colleagues and neighbours.

Then he went and spoiled it all by saying something stupid, like…….
“so, don’t demonise the Muslims.”

Antisemitism is a very light sleeper, indeed.

On R4 now. Face the Facts. Islamophobia.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Suicidal Tactic

By | |
3 Comments

Having read as much about the PalPapers as I can stomach, the only thing I can be sure of is that instead of trying to opine sagely over the authenticity or the significance of the revelations, I should merely be asking why did the BBC pick up and run with the most unlikely conclusion.

We know all about the Guardian’s pathological hatred of Israel. We’ve seen that Israel-bashing enthuses readers. There was a time when slapping a picture of Princess Diana on the cover would boost the circulation of any flagging old rag. In a similar way the Guardian exploits Israel-related topics as a fail-safe remedy for dwindling sales and advertising. They needn’t even stick with purely anti Israel material, because their well trained readership will soon fill the below the line comments with vitriolic regurgitations of the in-house philosophy gleaned from the wisdoms of Seaumas Milne.

But the BBC? They’ve got their charter obligations. They think, probably correctly, that the majority of their audience will be bored by the nitty gritty of the peace process. Few will bother to read Robin Shepherd, Melanie Phillips, Barry Rubin, Noah Pollak, Emanuele Ottolnghi, Stephen Pollard or the blogs of Elder of Ziyon and CiFWatch, so they will swallow the face value version – the perversion; that the Palestinians were offering everything for peace, and the Israelis nothing.

The theories on the authenticity and significance of the leaks are many and varied. Some feel that they are so out of kilter with the known positions of all parties that they must surely be fabrications, some suspect that the translations somehow transposed the Israeli and Palestinian statements, attributing Israel’s concessions to Erekat, on behalf of the Palestinians. Elder of Ziyon has shown that an unlikely statement allegedly made by Tzipi Livni was lifted completely out of context and given a whole new meaning. But everyone agrees that the negotiations in question touched on settlements, land swaps, compensation, and borders as well as security and the ‘right of return.’

The material I’ve read tells me loud and clear that the BBC’s and the Guardian’s spin is outrageously misguided. One thing is sure. Making the settlement freeze a prerequisite for talks was a huge blunder by President Obama. He forced himself into a corner, backtracking on what had already been all but agreed, which made him, and his fans at the BBC/ Guardian ‘more Palestinian than the Palestinians.’

But the most important thing about all this is that, as Elder says, whatever Mahmoud Abbas and Saeb Erekat said or did not say in their role as ‘partners for peace’, they cannot sell anything less than everything-under-the-sun to their people. Like Nick Clegg making undeliverable promises to his voters, then being unexpectedly elevated to a position of accountability, the PA have promised the earth to people who now won’t accept anything less.
And the verdict is that the leaks have harmed the peace process, given false ammunition to opponents of the only democracy in the Middle East, and boosted the left’s suicidal support of the Islamist upsurge throughout the whole world.

Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.