My Knee-Jerk Reaction

What can I say? All pretence of impartiality has been abandoned. It’s unbelievable that Jeremy Bowen is the BBC’s Middle East Editor. What can the BBC be thinking of? If the BBC regards the hate-jamboree we’ve just witnessed on Panorama as acceptable broadcasting, no wonder people have uncontrollable outbursts in gyms. 

Jeremy Bowen is irresponsible, out of his depth, prejudiced, antisemitic and incompetent. His pornographic wallowing in human misery and his sneering dismissal of anything said by Israel comes close to deliberate incitement to racial hatred. The Israeli spokesman was a particularly unsympathetic character who looked, or was made to look, vengeful and cold.

 

Bowen’s references to ‘what happened in 1948’ were inaccurate and deliberately provocative, the disingenuous way he limply offered up ‘Israel’s claims’ just so that they could be dismissed, the complete absence of any reference to Hamas’s violence, repression and tyranny, and his almost pleading finale on behalf of the Hamas offer of a 10 year Hudna, they all…… beggar belief.

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Campaign or Sham Pain

We get plenty of campaigning on the BBC. As opposed to journalism, as Bryan has pointed out. Interviewers on BBC World service sometimes employ questioning techniques that stray far from ‘drawing out’ the interviewee, and seamlessly slide into clumsy hectoring.

On Wednesday’s Outlook, we heard from the notoriousLynndie England of Abu Ghraib fame. The interview was marred by Lucy Ash’s attitude which openly oozed with contempt.

We may have views on the Lynndie England affair, and are capable of listening to her answers for ourselves. We don’t need to hear Lucy Ash’s personal view, or to hear accusations that Lynndie England did not even feel sorry for the prisoners. This crude method of questioning is counterproductive anyway. When Ms. England refused to answer the question, all I thought was ‘Good for you!’ – not quite what Lucy Ash wanted me to think, I imagine.

Another similarly unprofessional display of open hostility was shown by the host of WHYS, Rebecca Kesby whose handling of the hour long phone-in with guest ex terrorist apostate Waleed Shoebat appeared to favour the callers defending Islam. She displayed her obvious disapproval of Mr. Shoebat, who I thought spoke throughout with the voice of reason.

A couple of callers with impenetrable accents phoned in, speaking unintelligibly at length. Far too PC to admit she couldn’t make head or tail of what they were saying, she pretended the line was bad. Funny, though.

Approaching Mark Regev with questions such as “Aren’t you sorry?”…… “ Do you ever stop to think, just for one moment?……” “Are you proud of yourself?” “Don’t you feel sorry?” as both Gavin Esler and Sarah Montague did recently, is unprofessional and a complete departure from good journalism.

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Hypocrite’s Cakewalk

Sarah Montague surpassed herself the other day with her barely concealed contempt for Israel’s spokesman Mark Regev. This brought home the fact that it is now the norm to hate Israel, and that hatred has come to include Britain’s Jews. Melanie Phillips has an alarming article which has attracted some suitably alarming comments.

The ever-increasing acceptability of antisemitic slurs and insinuations by all and sundry is in stark contrast to the hypocritical BBC furore over perceived racism inherent in the word golliwog.

Over the years the BBC has whipped up the public into a frenzy of righteous indignation. They portrayed recent events in Gaza in the uniquely emotive way that always accompanies anything to do with Israel.

Honest reporting has this review. The BBC is not the only offender, but it is probably the most influential, and it is the one that want us to believe it’s impartial.

This is my first post, so please forgive any peculiarities.