BBC Journo and the "Jewish Lobby"

How about this for a Q and A on the US elections with the BBC’s Washington correspondent Katty Kay?

Katty Kay doesn’t stop at just the conflation of “power and money” when it comes to questioning the motivations behind US support for Israel.

It’s not the so-called Israel lobby but the “Jewish lobby” that Kay refers to – phraseology that should not be part of any mainstream media’s lexicon.

Even if Katty Kay was being thoughtless rather than deliberately offensive, it nonetheless offers a disturbing window into the casually prejudiced mindset of some in the BBC and other media.

According to the Jewish Chronicle, a BBC spokesman said that the correspondent’s “primary point in responding was that the US regards Israel as a key ally in the Middle East and also recognizes the importance and influence of this relationship on the voting”.

Evidently the BBC cannot even see what was so offensive about Kay’s statement. Or is it just easier not to acknowledge the problem?

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020.

Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias.

Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

BBC Journo and the “Jewish Lobby”

Simon Plosker

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