Protest at BBC's Gaza Coverage

antrim | anti-war / imperialism | news report Sunday January 25, 2009 17:21 by Caitlin Ni Chonaill - Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign

BBC accused of pro-Israeli bias

On Friday 23rd January members and supporters of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Belfast picketed the BBC building at Ormeau Avenue to protest at the BBC's refusal to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal on behalf of the people of Gaza and to draw attention to continuing BBC pro-Israeli bias in their manner of reporting. Our arguments were set out in a letter handed in to the News Editor and reprinted below :

To the News Editor

The refusal by the BBC to screen an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee on behalf of the people of Gaza is consistent with BBC pro-Israeli bias which in turn is in keeping with British Government tolerance of Israeli crimes against the Palestinians.

BBC bias is manifested through the following practices, all apparent during the recent murderous assault on Gaza :

- promoting the Israeli government lie that Hamas broke the Ceasefire
- lack of context. For example, there was no mention of the 40 year long illegal Israeli Occupation of Palestinian land
- portrayal of Israel as the Victim whose violence is always 'retaliatory'
- hosting of Israeli government spokespeople who get to put their line directly to camera : failure to afford Palestinian
spokespeople the same opportunity
- distorting reality by portraying this as a conflict between 'two sides' of equal strength when Israel is the fourth largest
military power in the world, armed, trained and bankrolled by the United States, and the Palestinians don't even have
a standing army
- adhering to the shibboleth of 'balance' as if truth were always to be found somewhere in the middle of two competing
narratives

Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Belfast.