BAN BARI ATWAN
In August 2007, HonestReporting UK brought to its readers' attention Abd Al-Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper. Bari Atwan had stated on Lebanese TV: "If the Iranian missiles strike Israel, by Allah, I will go to Trafalgar Square and dance with delight" and expressed his hope that Iran would attack Israel in the event of a confrontation between the US and Iran.
Now, as reported by the Jerusalem Post, Bari Atwan said that the terrorist attack on Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva on March 6 was "justified" and that the religious seminary is responsible for "hatching Israeli extremists and fundamentalists." In his lead article last Sunday, he chose not to condemn the shooting attack and said the celebrations in Gaza that followed symbolized the "courage of the Palestinian nation." He added that the recent violence in Gaza might "mark the countdown to Israel's destruction."
Extremism and support for terror in an Arab publication is not shocking. What is shocking is that Bari Atwan continues to appear as a commentator and analyst on the BBC and Sky News, where he carefully disguises his real ideology from viewers.
Please write to the BBC and Sky News drawing their attention to Bari Atwan's latest comments and request that he is no longer invited to appear on their stations.
BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/make_complaint_step1.shtml
Sky News viewer's editor Paul Bromley - news@sky.com
ENTERING THE LION'S DEN I
Defending Israel's corner in the media is not an easy task. So we take our hat off to Gavin Gross of the Zionist Federation for entering the lion's den. Gross appeared on the Iranian-backed Press TV in a crudely titled debate "Is the Zionist State Trying to Wipe Palestine Off the Map?"
Moderated by Yvonne Ridley, the programme also featured veteran anti-Israel activist Ghada Karmi. Ridley, hardly the epitome of a neutral observer is also a hardened extremist, for example addressing an Islamist hate rally, expressing support for Hezbollah and calling for a boycott of companies who do business with Israel, stating that "drinking Coca Cola is like drinking the blood of Palestinian children."
Click on the button below to view the full programme.
ENTERING THE LION'S DEN II
The BBC's HardTalk has a reputation for giving its guests a real grilling. Click on the button below to see how Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal fared on the programme during his recent visit to London.
HAMAS ADMITS TO TEHRAN TERROR TRAINING
A Hamas commander recently confirmed to Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin that the group is an Iranian proxy:
A senior commander interviewed by The Sunday Times said 300 of the group's "best brains" had been secretly sent to Tehran. Half are still being trained by Revolutionary Guards. They are learning how to make explosives from everyday items and produce deadlier rockets. The rest have already returned from a Revolutionary Guard base in Tehran. Some have been trained as snipers. Others have learnt to use tunnels in attacks on Israeli forces.
"Iran is our mother," the commander said. "She gives us information, military supplies and financial support." Seven separate groups of Hamas militants have spent up to six months in Tehran since the training began in 2005.
The scale of Iran’s operation exceeds Israeli intelligence suspicions that Hamas had dispatched "tens" of fighters to Tehran.
Click here to read Colvin's more detailed dispatch.
