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Since the beginning of the outbreak of Palestinian violence against Israel in September
2000, the media has become another battleground in the
conflict. The British media has been responsible for some of
the worst and most damaging examples of anti-Israel bias,
compounded by the global reach and influence of media
outlets such as the BBC.
A brief look back over the past
few years serves as a sobering reminder of the task facing
those of us concerned with promoting a balanced media:
November 2000: Writing
in the London Evening Standard, Brian Sewell draws a
gross parallel between the Nazi slaughter of 6 million Jews,
and Israel's response to Palestinian rioting. Sewell also
refers to "International Jewry," a phrase popularised by the
anti-Semitic text, the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion,"
and used regularly by Adolf Hitler and every anti-Semite
since. Sewell makes a whole series of unsubstantiated
historical claims and questions whether the land of Israel could
have been as "Jewish as the Bible implies." Sewell then
justifies lynching by saying that he would perhaps have done
it himself in the same position.
January 2001: The
Guardian publishes an opinion piece by entitled "Israel
simply has no right to exist", claiming that Israeli
soldiers "defy their consciences and blast unarmed
schoolchildren." The Guardian follows this up in
February with a
cartoon that obscenely depicts Ariel
Sharon's bloody handprints on the Western Wall.
June 2001: BBC's
Panorama broadcasts "The Accused", presenting a biased
case for charging Ariel Sharon with violations of
international law over the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres.
This, based on the views of War Crimes Judge Richard Goldstone,
who subsequently accuses the BBC of distorting his words,
and Princeton University Professor Richard Falk, who has
spent the past two decades building a virulently anti-Israel
reputation.
 January
2002: The
New Statesman
prints an infamous
front cover entitled "Kosher conspiracy" featuring a
Star of David standing on top of a Union Jack, for which the
editor is
forced to apologise following widespread condemnation.
April 2002: The British
media collectively accuses Israel of
a "massacre" in Jenin following Operation Defensive Shield, Israel's
response to the brutal Passover suicide bombing at Netanya's
Park Hotel. By the time the charge
has been proven false, the damage has already
been done:
"We
are talking here of massacre, and a cover-up,
of genocide..."
--
London Evening Standard
"Rarely, in more than a
decade of war reporting from Bosnia,
Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, have I seen
such deliberate destruction, such disrespect
for human life." -- The Times
Israel's actions in Jenin
were "every bit as repellent" as Osama
Bin Laden's attack on New York on
September 11. -- The Guardian
Hundreds of victims
"were buried by bulldozer in mass
graves". -- Daily Telegraph
January
2003: The Independent publishes
an
editorial cartoon depicting Ariel Sharon
biting into the flesh of a Palestinian
baby. In a decision as shocking as the
original one to publish the cartoon,
this image wins the
Political Cartoon Society 2003
Cartoon of the Year.
October
2004: Describing her personal
feelings as Yasser Arafat is lifted on
to a helicopter en route to a Paris
hospital, BBC correspondent Barbara Plett admits that
"when the helicopter
carrying the frail old man rose above
his ruined compound, I started
to cry... without warning."
The
BBC initially clears Plett of any
wrongdoing. Following an appeal,
however, in December 2005, the
BBC Board of Governors upholds part of
the complaint, stating that Plett's
comments "breached the requirements
of due impartiality". According to
the
BBC website, the BBC's director of
news, Helen Boaden apologises for
what she describes as an "editorial
misjudgment". She says it appears Plett
"unintentionally gave the impression of
over-identifying with Yasser Arafat and
his cause".
HONESTREPORTING UK -
REDRESSING THE BALANCE
That was just a small taste of
some of the more infamous examples of anti-Israel
media bias demonstrated by some of the British
media. Perhaps we will not change the minds of the
media overnight but we cannot afford not to try. As
levels of anti-Semitism in Britain and around the
world increase, we are constantly reminded of the
influence of the media in setting the
agenda and forming public opinion.
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