The closed thought system of the BBC

Honest Reporting.com provides a vital service in documenting the lies and distortions about Israel in the western media which have so catastrophically poisoned public debate and blocked a proper understanding of the threat to the free world posed by Arab and Islamic radicalism. Here it provides evidence of the egregious bias against Israel by the BBC, which in my view is far and away the most important and influential source of this contagion, not just in Britain but around the world. HR notes, for example:

In 2007, there were almost 1,500 rocket and mortar attacks targeting Israeli civilian populations, resulting in on average, one strike every ten hours. The BBC chose to publish only six articles focused on the attacks during the entire year. During the same period, fifty-six articles…

In 63% of the stories about Israeli operations, Israel or the IDF were named directly. Typical headlines were: ‘Israelis kill militants in Gaza’ (The "militants" had been firing rockets into Israel), ‘Children killed in Israeli strike’ (the children were playing next to a rocket launcher), and ‘Israeli strike kills four in Gaza.’On the other hand, of the seven stories concerning Palestinian attacks, none were written in the same style. The headlines took the responsibility for the attacks away from those who instigated them. Rockets, explosions, and clashes became the culprits in typical headlines such as: ‘Rocket injures dozens in Israel,’  ‘Gaza explosion kills two children’ (compare with headline above), ‘Two killed in clash in Gaza Strip,’ and ‘West Bank clash leaves three dead.’ (This one was extremely egregious since it was describing the ambush and murder of Israeli hikers by Palestinian terrorists. Since terrorist groups took responsibility for the attacks, why weren't they named in the headline?)

BBC bigwigs dismiss such critiques as special pleading; they usually genuinely cannot recognise this prejudice, selective reporting and double standards for what it is -- because they too share the prejudice. As I have said before, the BBC is thus a totally closed thought system. It is however the most influential broadcasting organisation in the world, influencing media outlets in many other countries, because the BBC brand is (wrongly) believed to be a kitemark of objectivity and balance. The damage it has actually done to truth and justice in its reporting of the Middle East, and the part it has played in inflaming hatred of Israel and thus violence around the world, is incalculable.