From The Times article:
A nationwide appeal for money to help the Gaza relief effort has been denied free television airtime because the BBC fears that it would damage confidence in the corporation’s impartiality.
According to Sky, “… by convention, if all broadcasters do not carry the appeal then none do,”.
Other channels may have made the same cowardly decision but I doubt we will ever know the truth as it seems The BBC’s spine disintegrated first.
I can’t think of a more effective way to wreck confidence in impartiality than by refusing to publicise a humanitarian appeal.
From The BBC’s The Editors:
The BBC is lucky to have two outstanding producers in our Gaza office, Rushdi Abu Alouf and Hamada Abuqammar. They have been well trained, not least by Alan Johnston, and are giving calm, accurate, accounts of what is happening. Hamas has not imposed any restrictions on their reporting and they have been a model of impeccable journalism, in terrible personal circumstances. Most of us go home when the story is over. Gaza is their home.
How must this man now feel about his employer ? – An employer which relied so heavily on his reporting over the last few weeks.
Comments (5)
The difference between this conflict and that of, for example, the Congo is that the good guys and the bad guys are more clearly defined in the Congo. With the Middle East situation the line is so blurry you begin to wonder if there was a line to begin with.
I think the BBC have made the right choice. The alternative is that two appeals go out. One for those affected by mortar attacks in Israel and the other for the victims of the airstrikes in Gaza. Truely giving the British people the choice to donate to their cause of choice, or not at all.
Having said that, your top pic is really very good and very clever.
Agree with the lines etc.
Not to dismiss the idea of an appeal for the Israeli victims of mortar fire out of hand, for the people involved in an event like that is horrible, whoever they are.
The difference between the two is that the people in Gaza do not have a prosperous state with all the appartus that comes with it for support.
Once again, trying to be even handed and ‘fair’ results in the Palestinians being treated as though they have a comparable state with all it’s resources as Israel, whereas they don’t. They are in a much weaker and more vunerable poistion.
Tricky, throughout the slaughter the BBC was regularly accused of bias against Israel, now it is being accused of not supporting Gaza.
If it is at fault in the eyes of both sides – it probably is being impartial.
If it is at fault in the eyes of both sides – it probably is being impartial.
Now you know that’s not true.
It doesn’t take much to upset those Zionists, you know.
‘Even handed’, the Middle East line is so ‘blurry’??? Give me break! Can we please try a little harder to remember that Gaza is illegally occupied territory and is blockaded by Israel and constitutes a PRISON. HAMAS is a creation of Israel because it has failed, for 41 years, to abide by mandatory UN resolutions to settle the conflict by withdrawing to pre-1967 borders and accept a two state solution. Contrary to misinformed propaganda – regularly compounded by the BBC – HAMAS accepted the Saudi and Arab League plan for a two state solution at least 2 years ago. That plan *accepts* the existence and rights of the Israeli State.
Moreover, the June 2008 ceasefire included Israel’s agreement to opening the blockaded passes to allow *sufficient* food and fuel supplies. Israel reneged on that *never* opened the passes. It was also Israel that broke the ceasefire on 4 November (the day the world was watching Obama get elected) by entering Gaza and killing 6 Palestinians.
And comparing 13 Israeli deaths and 20 injuries to 1300 Palestinian deaths and 5250 injuries is a sick joke. Even going back to 2001 the total Israeli deaths have been 48 but the total Palestinian deaths has been 6300.
The home made rockets of HAMAS are a creation of Israel – they blockaded Gaza because the Palestinians were foolish enough to vote for Hamas in the most free and fair election ever held in the Middle East. When 80% of Gazans are unemployed, over 50% suffering malnutrition prior to the recent Israeli Assault, and when the development of a Palestine State was hobbled by cutting off Gaza from the West bank and Egypt – what did the Isareli’s expect???
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