A warped reaction

David Lindsay

Why did the BBC's own reporting change him from "an Israeli Arab" to "a Palestinian" between 12 noon and 1pm our time?

ron

On of the bbc headlines i saw was:

"Israel Attack"

Maybe it's me, but my inital thought was: "oh, israel just attacked."

An arab can't even earn a living in a simple construction job without an atack by israel.

Ann

We need further evidence for Al Beeb's visceral Jew-hatred??? Visit Biased BBC for hundreds of documented examples, and even some attempts - pathetic and easily shot down - by a few beeboids to excuse it.

The same goes for Al Guardian.

S Brown

It's the BBC. Only to be expected I'm afraid. Still, it's nice to know I'm paying over a hundred quid a year for the privilege of being lied to...

I've given up watching their 'news'. Sky News and (don't laugh!) Fox News are much better.

It's getting harder to watch BBC non-factual programmes too...

Mladen Andrijasevic

This was apparently a case of Sudden Jihad Syndrome, a term coined by Daniel Pipes:
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2008/01/sudden-jihad-syndrome-its-now-official.html
If the day ever comes that the BBC uses this term, we will know that Britain has survived

phil

you are not shocked are you ?

Brian London

Bob the Builder shot DEAD by Israeli Soldier

You know they wanted to use that one.

Happiest part of leaving the UK, was canceling my direct debit for the license fee.

http://podcast.shirenetworknews.net

Seraph

"Deadly Jerusalem bulldozer attack"

Don't you hate it when bulldozers suddenly attack people out of the blue?

Though I am sure there are people out there who will defend the bulldozer and explain that this is all a natural consequence of how shabbily bulldozers are treated in Israel.

Edgar Davidson

The BBC website curently has an eye witness account by its corespondent Jo Floto who was at the scene.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7486595.stm

Note the following key text in the story:

"His motivation is unclear - whether personal or political.
Three Palestinian militant groups have claimed responsibility but at the moment it appears that the man was acting alone."

The reporter ignores the fact that key Palestinian groups have praised the attack, with Hamas calling it a 'natural act'. So even if it was the work of a lone terrorist (this will almost certainly be proved false in the coming days) it is still supported by many Palestinians

Also note the final comment in the report:

"Since the start of 2008, across Israel and the occupied territories, 29 Israelis have been killed in violence linked to the conflict as have more than 400 Palestinians."

So you see this reporter clearly implies that not enough Israelis have been killed - ignoring the fact that the 400 dead Palestinians were (almost withot exception) either terrorists preparing for/returning from rocket attacks, or victims of their own bombs exploding prematurely (as in the recent case of the explosion at Beit Lahiya.

Edgar Davidson
(see http://edgar1981.blogspot.com/ for my own take on todays's attack)

Adam B.

The BBC hates the Jews. No amount of reasoned argument or discussion changes the BBC. It just keeps on spewing its venom and hate. And we are forced to be its customers. The situation will only change when the BBC tax is dissolved, and its power with it.

Terry

I do hope that someone has the wit to do away with the licence fee that funds this antisemitic organisation of leftofascist propagandists.

Miv Tucker

The fact is, this was a Caterpillar bulldozer. If only War on Want had been able to force the Church of England to ethically disinvest from the company, thereby obliging it to cease trading with Israel, this needless tragedy might so easily have been avoided.

raymond joseph douglas

And the BEEB still refuses to publish the balen report which documents the systematic anti-israli bias in their reporting.I love the BEEB for DR Who etc,but I would gladly lose their news output!

danny

To be fair, I think they are quoting an AP press release. It seems most of the news outlets nowdays don't bother actually doing any journalism.... Hence the amazing similarity of all the stories!

Ann

Difficult to find words to describe the sickeningly antisemitic post from MT.
Perhaps it was a poor attempt at irony? A very poor attempt?
No. It looks like a duck and quacks like a duck.

Frank Reilly

Miv Tucker's inane comment just goes to show how there's always a way of looking at things to suit your prejudices. If she WAS joking please accept apologies for my naivety.

Miv Tucker

Ann (10.51) - evidently you don't recognize irony when it walks right up and smacks you in the face.

A. Smith

I don't think this article is objective. Try and view it impartially like you expect others; I have no bias and fail to see what you refer to.

michael

Pathetic - Half the editorial body of the BBC are Jews!

I read the story, heard the story, saw the story, and was left in no doubt, unlike the rest of you parallel world dwellers.

The more posts like this go up, the more detached Melanie and her troubled brood become from reality.

The result is that you all come across as loony extremists, instead of rational advocates.

Poor old Israel, being represented by you wackos.

michael

Ann - do irony?

Who is Ann? She's too stupid to be Melanie's nom de plume, and yet she s just as detached....

field

Well your reporting seems to have been a bit selective recently Melanie. Not a mention of the thousands of poor pro-democracy Zimbabweans who have been murdered, beaten, and raped for opposing the tyrant ex-President Mugabe.

I accept you have a special interest in Israel, Islam and the middle east - quite rightly as a Jew. But surely not to the exclusion of everything else going on in the world.

Who is friends with Zimbabwe these days I wonder? China is. Anyone else?

Michael

When I saw the title to this column "A Warped Reaction", I thought it would be Melanie Phillips describing her own career in a startling moment of self-awareness.

Alas it was not to be. It was yet another "Everybody and everything in the world is anti-semitic" piece.

Boring

logdon

The BBC doesn't hate the Jews, how can they with so may prominent staff members? Instead they hate Israel which to me smacks of the same old, same old anti-semitism and pro Islamic sentiment. They'd never admit to Nazi tendencies in a million years yet hard Islam is about the same. Rabid Jew hatred. The unthinking worship and alliances. The means justifying the ends mindset. The wholesale killing of it's young. Remember before Israel was ever formed the Mufti of Jerusalem met up with Hitler in Germany. Maududi, Pakistan's answer to MB founder Qutb, admired totalitaran fascism as a governing system. Not much mention of that on Al Beeb. Hypocrites one and all! Try this for a bit of information. http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.520/pub_detail.asp

Ann

When idiots like Michael call me stupid, I know I am doing something right.

Miv: learn to read. I did say that it might be an attempt at irony. A very poor attempt. Which part of that are you having difficulty grasping, dear?

Ann

More nonsense from Field. This is not a news column. It's a personal blog. Melanie can write about anything she fancy. You disapprove of her right to do so? You know where the door is.

The prats who think I am Melanie: I disagree with her strongly on many issues. Try using your brains and reading the various threads. Or get someone to help you. Or get a life. Your nonsensical idea is the same kind of conspiracy theory as 'Mossad caused the tsunami'.

Joe Strummer

I'm just surprised the BBC isn't condemning Israel and demanding inquiries into its "shoot to kill policy" on this obviously "provoked and oppressed" Arab / Palestinian.

W. Smith

Further evidence that the BBC is all but beyond redemption: surely you don't *still* support the licence-fee, Melanie?

Miv Tucker

Ann, a moment's reflection would have shown you how absurd my comment was - even if Caterpillar stopped trading with Israel tomorrow, do you think that all its existing plant would magically disappear?

And as to "sickening anti-Semitism", again, if you stop to consider, you'll realise that my comment merely highlighted the sheer nastiness of War on Want and its allies' position.

Clearly, my approach was too sophisticated for you.

CJ

It wasn't a bulldozer, it was a front end loader. Bulldozers have metal tracks like a tank, while loaders have rubber wheels. Bulldozers have a wide, heavy, and low-slung shovel mounted closely in front to maximize pushing power. Loaders have a lighter, more flexible scoop. This isn't pedantry, it's another example of the extreme ignorance of the chattering classes.

Miv Tucker

Ann,

A moment's reflection will show you how absurd my comment was - do you imagine that if Caterpillar stopped trading with Israel tomorrow all their existing plant would magically disappear? Or that the Palestinian in question would not simply have used another brand of bulldozer?

As to sickening anti-Semitism, again, a pause for thought would have shown you that the comment was directed at the hateful position of War on Want and its allies.

But perhaps this was too sophisticated for you.

field

Ann -

Melanie's of course entitled to write about whatever she likes. But one of the things she writes about is the need to support Israel. I agree we should support our fellow democracy Israel but that cannot be unconditional support and if Israel is kowtowing to its friend China and not applying sanctions to the evil Mugabe regime that is something that should be addressed. Israel cannot expect to pick and choose between democrats and tyrants. If IT wants to be supported as a democracy then it needs to support democrats around the globe.

Israel has already paid the price once in trying to box clever by helping Hamas get started in the first place.

Also whilst this was a horrible incident I think we need to keep a sense of proportion after the many thousands of terror attacks in places like Iraq and Zimbabwe. Going into emotional overdrive over one incident which resulted in three deaths is not in my view very helpful to Israel's cause.

Of course it is very likely illustrative of a depth of hatred among Palestinians. But if we go into emotional overdrive over a relatively small incident, then I think we lose focus.

The big issue for Israel is not Palestinians clambering into bulldozers to deal out death. It is Iran, Iran, Iran - as state which seeks the extermination of the Israeli State, and probably its population as well. It is an evil genocidal regime threatening another UN Member and the UN is doing nothing about it.

Jerry

I am a victim of being human just like the rest of you. When Melanie recounts example after example of prejudice on the part of the British media, it can be repetitive and then boring. However, it touches the truth of the matter, which presents it ugly head multiple times in those so afflicted with prejudice. Hannah Arendt wrote "The Banality of Evil." According to Arendt, evil is committed by ordinary people who do NOT fully grasp the meaning of their actions. So be it. These people of the press who sneer to earn their living will never accept their contribution to vile actions by others that they have instigated. Not my fault! How sad!

Thank you for being there, Melanie.

Ann

Miv, since you are new here perhaps you should be forgiven for not knowing that there are regular posters who write very much the sort of stuff you wrote, but mean it quite literally. Stuff like 'Israel is entirely to blame for all the ills of the ME, never mind the world'. I am thinking of Patricia and her kind. Phil and others will bear me out on this. Once you've been here more than five minutes, I am sure you'll see this for yourself.
Even so, your last post is absurdly pompous. I did say from the start that your original one may possibly have been meant ironically, but you are still struggling to get the point.
And saving your scribblings and posting them again ninety minutes later last night is the height of pretentiousness.

Ann

Field, what you are saying is true. But Iran is hardly conspicuous by its absence on this blog, as you know perfectly well.

Sarah

I feel that in dealing with the Middle East, people who shout loudest with the most extreme voices tend to be heard most, and those with more moderate views are sidelined.

Melanie Phillips and most of the commentors on this blog seemed convinced she is right in detecting anti-Israeli bias in the BBC's and the Guardian's reporting of what happened, by contrasting the headline with the text of the article.

I could not see any such bias.

Surely we should be sorry at such a senseless waste of life, and not namecall or make generalisations about either groups in the region or media organisations.

Melanie is entitled to her view, but now, as in many other times I feel it is misguided.

I also feel that the comments on this blog have a bit of an echo chamber effect, as few people who dislike Ms Phillips will be reading her blog.

Shouldn't we all be striving for peace in the region? How is condemning the BBC going to help with this?

Miv Tucker

Ann -

As it happens, I've been reading this blog - and Ms Phillips's articles - for quite some time (since well before it moved to the Speccie), and have occasionally commented. I'm perfectly aware that there are all too many readers who take my kind of comment at face value - but such readers exist in all blogs, and other media too. But these dimwits can be safely discounted.

The double posting was unfortunate, though far from pretentious. The Speccie website has often had problems with comments disappearing down a black hole (both Melanie and Stephen Pollard have had to apologise for this from time) so when my comment hadn't appeared after about three hours, I assumed that that was the reason. Hence the reposting - and hence the differences in the second one, since I was quoting from memory. If I really did go to the trouble of saving my scribblings, the second posting would have been identical, you see.

(this might be a duplicate)

Muslims Against Sharia

Muslims Against Sharia unequivocally condemn murderous attack in Jerusalem.

We call for swift extermination of all terrorist groups that claimed responsibility for this attack.

We implore Israeli government not to provide financial help for the family of the murderer. Any such help will be an open invitation for future attacks.

http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2008/07/terror-group-claims-jerusalem-attack.html

Ahad Ha'amoratzim

Field, you are missing the point, which is not "Going into emotional overdrive over one incident which resulted in three deaths" (and as usual, never mind how many maimed or wounded) but rather the constant conditioning of the British public to view Israel in distorted terms because of sloppy and sometimes malicious reporting by the BBC, the Guardian and other molders of British public opinion. So long as that situation persists, there will be Brits who view Iran's threat to obliterate Israel with yawns or with sighs of "good riddance".

Ben

Field wrote: "Israel has already paid the price once in trying to box clever by helping Hamas get started in the first place. "

Israel allowed Islamic charities to operate in the Gaza strip in the years preceding 1987 not because it was "trying to box clever" but because these organizations, at that time, strictly adhered to the law and were opposed to the PLO and other insurgent groups who were carrying out anti-Israeli violence. When these Islamic organizations changed their name to Hamas and adopted a policy of anti-Israeli violence and hate-mongering, Israel changed its policy towards them and opposed them. If the Islamic organizations revert to their original law-abiding non-violent conduct, Israel will not have reason to continue to fight them.