The BBC’s Heroic Terrorists
October 24, 2011 14:46 by Simon Plosker
The BBC has a vacuous idea of balanced reporting. While it is happy to pass judgment on Israel in almost entirely negative terms, value judgments and even values themselves are dispensed with when it comes to pushing the Palestinian narrative.
How then to explain the latest piece of BBC coverage of the Gilad Shalit prisoner deal, focused on the Palestinian side? In Viewpoint: ‘Released Palestinian prisoners are heroes’, Nasser Ziad is allowed to spew what amounts to terrorist propaganda.
According to Ziad, the Palestinian prisoners and their families have been “reunited after years of unlawful separation and inhumane treatment.”
Is being convicted by due and lawful process and imprisoned for the murders of innocent Israelis really “unlawful separation”? Compare the healthy-looking Palestinians upon their release with the gaunt, malnourished Gilad Shalit, deprived of even sunlight for over five years. Who exactly has been treated inhumanely?
In Ziad’s eyes, the victims of the story are not those Israelis targeted by Hamas terrorist Omar al-Ghoul but al-Ghoul’s son and wife:
It has been difficult to grow up without getting to know his dad. “It’s like you are told you have a father but you have never seen him,” Ibrahim told me.
There is so much catching up to do that he still does not know what stories he and his father will be able to share. “Let’s see if I will get used to him quickly,” he says.
Ibrahim’s mother, Suheir al-Ghoul, has done her best to raise her children and look after 18 grandchildren in her husband’s absence.
If anyone needs reminding who the real victims are, watch this short video highlighting some of the horrific crimes carried out by some of those Palestinians now enjoying their freedom.
As for the terrorists themselves:
Suheir has always said that her husband Omar is not a murderer, but a hero. He was fighting for our freedom and our dignity. He never wanted to fight anyone but living under the Israeli occupation is very tough. …
As a Palestinian, I also perceive Omar and all the Palestinian prisoners as national heroes. They have sacrificed themselves for the Palestinian struggle.
Thus the BBC gives a someone a free hand to promote a narrative that supports or excuses terrorism as equal to that of the Israeli narrative. But while the BBC is consistently critical of Israel, Palestinian support for terror is treated with kid gloves.
It may very well be that Ziad’s views are representative of the Palestinian population at large. If that is the case, why then did the BBC decide that a corresponding Israeli Viewpoint should be given over to someone opposed to the Shalit deal? This when some 80% of Israelis polled were broadly supportive of the terms of the exchange.
While opposition to the deal is perfectly legitimate, it was not representative of the Israeli public and continues a trend whereby the BBC interviews Israelis who represent unrepresentative opinions or those highly critical of the mainstream.
In the final analysis, however, the BBC has given an uncritical voice to for Palestinian terrorist propaganda.
Let the BBC know what you think by sending your comments through the BBC Complaints website – www.bbc.co.uk/complaints. For detailed instructions on how to navigate the BBC Complaints website, click here.
Dr. Harry Hamburer
3:48 pm
Oct 24, 2011
The English will get theirs, as their Palestinian population swells, institutes Sharia law, and destroys all that is left of their culture. Just like they deserted the Jews during WWII, they attack Israel now. Perhaps England will be better for all this, as nothing could be worse than an island nation of people with bad skin, rotten teeth, and lousy food.
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Gina
1:29 am
Oct 27, 2011
They did not desert the Jews during WWII. Thanks to the Brits, Jews such as my mother survived the Holocaust. They were courageous and determined during WWII. What bothers me is how far they have fallen from their roots. I do agree that as the Muslims become a bigger and bigger part of their population, they will suffer.
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Eli Sheffer
4:19 pm
Oct 24, 2011
This is amazing…in spite of the consistent anti-Jewish sentiment among Brits, 30,000 Jews from Palestine (out of a total population of 300,000! including my Father) volunteered to become British soldiers during WWII; just wondering how many Arabs? 3 or 4? Still, the Brits inherent anti-semitism must be flowing in their veins and goes back to the Middle Ages (did you know that the first pogrom to the Jews happened in York Britain and not some G-d forsaken place in the Ukraine, Russia or Poland)?
Why is there such a like to the Arabs and animosity to the Jews? A simplistic answer could be that the Arabs in Palestine were playing the role of “natives” perfetly well during the British mandate in Palesting, while the Jews kept on the revolting spirit against the Brits, in effect not showing the typical slave mentality of appeasement, down-trodden, etc….boy did the Brits hated that and it probably staying with us forever?! Isreal’s “sweet revenge” is that Britain is already inundated with a violent Islam and that will continue to exacerbate, eventually, these “Peaceful” Islamist will take over and show the Brits their true posture of violence, aggression, racism against anyone who is NOT a Moslem…
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Sheri Whalen
5:14 pm
Oct 24, 2011
Please send a formal complaint to BBC via the link within the article. It’s important to let BBC know that this article is disgusting. My complaint to them stated as follows:
Viewpoint: Released Palestinian prisoners are heroes
Portraying Palestinian Murderers and Terrorists as Sympathetic
Has the BBC no shame, so sense of ethics, no feeling of obligation to a non-distorted portrayal of the news? No grounding in truth? No need for fairness? Does BBC no longer care that it was once a highly-respected instrument that stood for decency? How is it possible that in a story purporting to discuss the release of Gilad Shalit, the focus can be on the “poor Palestinians” and their self-induced suffering due to their reliance on violence, martyrdom, murder, suicide bombings and terrorism? BBC should be ashamed. If you are incapable of feeling ashamed, please know that we are ashamed for you.
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DAVID KAPLAN
5:21 pm
Oct 24, 2011
The BBC is nothing more than the propaganda arm for terrorists and jihadists. Now, that actually wouldn;t be so bad if they openly admitted it. People would than know better than to believe the lies they spew, But, no. They proclaim, very loudly, how evenhanded they are and, in true leftist fashion, their c;aim to occupy the high moral ground. Thus do they lead people down the path of pursuing (or merely supporting?) terror, murder and genocide. Precisely how it was done some decades ago. They, too, thought National Socialism was of the highest moral code.
Later, after people engage in these atrocities, they will no doubt claim they didn’t know, didn’t participate, were actully opposed, etc.
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Steven Muller
10:55 pm
Oct 24, 2011
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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William Buggins
7:17 pm
Oct 24, 2011
I can’t agree with Harry Hamburer or Eli Sheffer, much as I understand why they hold those views.
The fact is that many of us believe the BBC is controlled by a left leaning, “liberal” elite, which despises Judaeo/Christian religious values, hates capitalism, patriotism, the monarchy and fawns on those who would destroy our culture.
It IS biased, but no one has yet got to grips with challenging it.
I lived and worked as a volunteer on various kibbutzim over a five year period. I even studied Evrit on a kibbutz ulpan, and was invited to join a well known kibbutz even though I am not Jewish.
I loved my time in Israel and I know many other English people who are well disposed towards Israel and the Jews.
The UK is being slowly forced into blatant bias because of the growing number of Muslims living here – as in other European countries. There probably will be a backlash, but certainly the government is desperate to avoid upsetting our minority groups -especially the ones that bite!
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Barbara Fletcher
7:47 pm
Oct 24, 2011
I am constantly amazed by such references as ‘consistent anti-Jewish sentiment among Brits’ referring to the 40s and 50s when I was growing up. I lived in a mining/farming village, and was brought up as a Christian and to the best of my knowledge never met a Jew until I went to university. Naturally, we learned more about Jews in the past as Jesus and the disciples were born as Jews, and after the war we knew about the horrors of the extermination camps. I never heard the term anti-Semitism, or heard any derogatory remarks about Jews. I can remember wrestling with why Hitler had so many Jews murdered. I could imagine why an unspeakably wicked man could want to kill off deaf, blind and slow-witted people as he could view them as a nuisance, but I could not think of an adequate reason for killing Jews.
I vividly recall learning about anti-Semitism for the first time. We were studying The Merchant of Venice at school for O level and were discussing Shylock’s speech beginning, “Hath not a Jew hands…”. The teacher said something to the effect that,’Of course, people always despised the Jews.’ The whole class was stunned. I think we thought she was joking at first, and it took her some time to persuade us that she was absolutely serious. We were a verbose lot, but we just sat shocked into silence, until at last one girl burst out, “But that’s daft!!” We all agreed. I am fairly sure the teacher had been about to try to persuade us of the evils of anti-Semitism, but we did not need it.
Several years later when I was teaching a pupil asked me why the Jews had always been hated. Fifty years later, I still cannot find an adequate reason. I can see that if people are taught to hate, most will continue to do so, but I cannot think why it took such a virulent hold in 2nd century BC. Surely Antiochus Epiphanes did not have such long-lasting propaganda.
K B Fletcher
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William Buggins
8:20 pm
Oct 24, 2011
Barbara,
We must be of similar vintage!
In the fifties this was certainly regarded as a Christian country, but times have changed.
To the shame of Western Christianity the Jewish people have been persecuted over 2000 years.
Now we see the pages of history turning again, and we see a nation reborn (Israel) and a religion resurgent (Islam).
I met many lovely people in Israel and I have worked with Jewish adults and children here in the UK.
I am always pleased to meet a Jewish person, or an opportunity to exercise my Hebrew.
Do I like ALL Jewish people? No, just as I don’t like all English people.
Do I support Israel? Absolutely, but that does not mean I endorse all she does.
Perhaps even more pertinent, do all Jewish people like ALL Jewish people?? What is important that we Gentiles recognise the debt we owe the Jews and that we support them in every way we can.
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Nathan Zafran
12:53 am
Oct 25, 2011
I arrived in England in June 1946 (aged 8), as a survivor of the holocaust. My family was exterminated in Auschwicz. It took only a short while to learn that I was merely a Jew-boy, a Yid or simply just a plain fucking Jew. These teenagers who confronted me (and consequently had to be involved in fist fights with me), were’nt born antisemites so they must have heard adults, probably their own parents. If everyone believes that Poland, the Ukraine, Hungary and Romania are antisemitic, they should try living in England for several years. It’s quite revealing. My decision to emigrate to Israel in 1954 was the wisest of my life.
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William Buggins
9:04 am
Oct 25, 2011
Nathan,
AS said previously, the Church has a lot to answer for; but Christianity a la the New Testament is not anti semitic. Jesus was a Jew, the disciples were Jews, as was St Paul. It is the interpretation of the faith which causes the problems. The Church in the Middle Ages was all powerful -like Islam today. It was a bad thing, but that’s how it was.
Regarding your move to Israel, I would have done the same thing were I Jewish; but I have Jewish friends who do not want to live there and prefer to stay in the culture they were brought up in. That is also right.
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John O'Dwyer
7:11 pm
Oct 31, 2011
Nathan,
You are so right. I am a British non-Jew and when you arrived in England at the age of 8, I was 12 years old. As you correctly observe, children are always strongly influenced by what their parents say and those disgusting words you mention in your letter were freely bandied about in my home. Although I had no idea how these stereotypes came about, It created an awful picture in my young mind. As an adult I had the wonderful opportunity of joining a messianic synagogue where I was able to see at first hand just how warm-hearted and loving Jews really are, and I am not being patronizing. Believe me Nathan, Britain is no more inherently anti-semitic than any other country, but the invasion of Islam with the government’s blessing is not helping.
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sav'ta shel Cohen
11:18 am
Oct 25, 2011
The English are on the verge of becoming a minority in their own country. It is only a matter of time before Islam becomes the dominant religion there and throughout the rest of the UK and then their other institutions of power and control will also be taken over. Undoubtedly the media there is attempting to please their Islamic masters. The BBC has lost all sense of decency and morality. I feel sorry for the English who are being sold out by the institutions that should be protecting and defending their culture and way of life. The English people themselves need to start raising their voices against all media attempts such as this to humanize and justify Muslim terrorists and acts of terror if they have any hope of retaining control of their own land. Nevertheless, it may already be too late! I also think that unless you are a member of a particular group it is very easy to be unaware of the prejudice and intolerance that a particular group may face daily. I believe this to have been especially true in past times before political correctness and tolerance of “the other” became all the rage. Even now I am sure most non-Jews would be quite unaware of the frequency with which anti-semitism shows itself both in practical terms and symbolically.
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Israeli Eema
12:30 pm
Oct 25, 2011
I hate to disagree with you because you are usually on target, but you are very wrong in this case. Many, many, many Israelis, much more than 20%, were against the terms of this “deal”. Due to leftist pressure and public grandstanding, Hamas demanded and ultimately received over 1000 terrorists — many with the blood of numerous Jews on their hands — in return for one Israeli soldier.
While we are all glad that Gilad Shalit is home safe with his parents and family, most soldiers are very against what was done for this one soldier as their lives are now endangered both by terrorists that they had to capture at great personal risk being given their freedom and by a much heightened danger of kidnapping, which Hamas sees as having a great “payoff” now that this “deal” was so successfully concluded.
There is now an on-line petition being circulated in which soldiers are specifically stating that if they are captured they do NOT want to be the subject of such hysterical publicity and damaging “deals”. Israeli soldiers know that they may have to give their lives for their country and this includes possibly being taken by the enemy and they do not wish to inflict more seasoned murderers on their fellow Jewish citizens.
It seems that this “deal” will cost many more Jewish lives than just one. I am very happy for Shalit’s father that his son’s life was spared and he was spared the pain of losing his son but we are all very sad about the other Jewish parents that will now have to mourn their lost children and family members in future bloody terror attacks.
The BBC has never loved Jews or Israel and we know what to expect from them. But please do not think that most Israelis were in favor of this horrible capitulation — this is one fact that the BBC got right.
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Mike
11:33 pm
Oct 25, 2011
I refer to one or two comments that have been made about England and Anti Semitism. I grew up in England and came on aliyah to Israel when I was 31 so one could say I lived most of my formative years there. Yes I did come across petty anti Semitism at school (words like “Jew boy” and “Yid” were commonplace) and yes, in adulthood I did come across more subtle and sometimes not so subtle offerings such “Pity Hitler didn’t finish the job” and “there’s no smoke without fire” . However, in no way can I say that I left England for reasons of push. I came to Israel for reasons of pull. Whenever I think of England, it brings back fond memories of a lovely country with lovely people-the vast majority decent, tolerant, helpful. Most anti-Semitism at the schoolkid level was nothing more than parroting of things they’d heard from others, with no real understanding of what they were talking about. (they talked in the same way about Irish, gays etc) Most people outgrew this.
However we should not forget that it is also (or was) a Christian, Northern European culture that took hundreds of years and a lot of suffering to build. It is a culture that in many respects is the envy of the world and has contributed immensely to Western (and even to some non Western) civilizations. Therefore it is not unexpected that any other group, be they black, Jewish, or anything else would be treated as outsiders. It is not a crime to want to preserve one’s culture, or further one’s country’s interests. Nor is it unnatural to be suspicious of external cultural, religious or ideological threats, perceived or real. Therefore even as a kid, I didn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms by “the Natives”. Why should they, any more than we Israeli’s would welcome boatloads of foreign workers?
On the other hand, we (Jews, Christians, “normal” people who don’t look at the world through a warped extreme leftist lens) should consider what we have in common rather than pulling each other to bits.We sometimes forget that for all the pain and suffering, Judaism and Christianity have much in the way of shared values and both have served as foundations of the edifice we refer to loosely as Western civilization. Therefore, considering the sheer scale of Moslem demographics, the prevalence of BBCism in the intellectual and pseudo intellectual world and the fragmented nature of the “silent majority”, the last thing we should do is to throw stones at each other while Rome burns so to speak. Instead, we should build on what we have in common and attack the multi -culturist, relativistic, “don’t need God anymore because we know better” mentality that will leave us defenceless and weakened in the face of those strange bedfellows, intellectual terrorists of the Left and the militant Islamists on the right.
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Mike B
1:23 am
Oct 26, 2011
The BBC is riddled with quislings and fifth-columnists and it will only get worse.
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Brent Pudsey
2:45 pm
Oct 26, 2011
It is shameful that the BBC has decided to go with bias media and portray a joyous recouncilation in negative terms. The BBC needs to remember that it was the Palestinians who behaved harshly and not the Israelis.
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William Buggins
5:16 pm
Oct 27, 2011
Savta,
I believe slightly less than 90% of the UK is native born white British, who can trace their family tree back more than a few generations. The growth of the Muslim population has seriously affected the stability of our culture, and the apathy that most people feel towards politicians further endangers our future. Many English people are “nice”. They don’t like confrontation, they cave in to aggressive behaviour, and they are sleepwalking into a cultural disaster unless they either start rebelling or the politicians take a firm line with those who would overthrow the “kuffar”
I seem to remember when I first went to Israel the kibbutz movements (or at least some of them) were reaching out to the Palestinians and hoping to bring about a unity between Israelis and Arabs.
Then someone realised that if this became reality, the Arab population of the Jewish State would quickly become the majority because they have bigger families….
This is what is happening not just in the UK, but other European nations. The native born British are being overtaken by immigrants who have no intention of fitting in to our culture.
I suppose you could call it a form of justice….
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steve mann
11:58 am
Oct 29, 2011
Can I ask all who can see the bias spewed by the BBC to email them-
Asking for the Malcom Balen report to be published.
It was commissioned by the BBC after they were accused of bias against Israel in their reporting in 2004.
Steven Sugar took up the case through the freedom of information act and up to his death was unsuccessful. However, I understand that his wife has taken up the “cudgels ” and all the support to put this paper into the public domain would I am sure would be appreciated.
The BBC are always telling the politicians to be open and transparent- Maybe they should practice what they preach.
Thank you.
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William Buggins
12:05 am
Oct 30, 2011
Steve,
I have emailed the BBC requesting information on this report, and will let you all know when I get a response.
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andrew o'shea
6:28 am
Oct 31, 2011
this media ‘bias’ is programmed and determined from a ‘source’ ‘higher up’, would the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob be still in all these events, When the people of Israel cry out and pray and return to the Lord their God with all their heart mind and soul, He will deliver them, gather them, save them, bless them and many more things He will do, only, when the people truly seek Him. Oh how he waits for you, O’ daughter of Zion to heed His call to you then will He crush your enemies and establish His throne in Jerusalem forever, you are not fighting against media etc, it is satan himself who desires your destruction, the ishmael’s and the world who come against you WILL be destroyed for it is written “i will bless those who bless and curse those who curse you”, I the Lord your God who’s name is the Lord of Hosts has spoken it.” Fear not o house of Jacob for I have called you by name, those who call upon the name of the Lord SHALL be saved, a promise, Y’SHUA is SENT and will come for you again, all glory be to the God of Israel who performs His word toward those who love Him and dilligently seek Him while He may be found, Please Lord have mercy on Your people Israel and deliver them from their enemies and restore them into a right relationship with Our Living God for Your names sake, may Israel always be a nation as decreed in the scriptures as the Lord Our God has spoken it, amen
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John O'Dwyer
7:17 pm
Oct 31, 2011
Amen!!
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John O'Dwyer
7:32 pm
Oct 31, 2011
Much has been written here, most of which contains a great deal of commonsense. However, one of the most powerful weapons being used by the enemy is that old mis-used phrase “Human Rights” which should more accurately be called “Terrorist Rights” or “Criminal Rights.”
Whereas both these classes of community have these “Rights” organizations to look after their interests, there is no similar organization to look after the interests of honest, peace loving, law-abiding citizens. If there was to be launched such an organization, what should it be called? Any suggestions?
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William Buggins
6:46 pm
Nov 02, 2011
update re BBC and the Malcolm Balen report. I emailed them last week, but no response. I am sending another email!
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