The Guardian’s reader’s editor, Ian Mayes, comments on our critique of a recent Guardian article, noting that a pro-Palestinian group also critiqued the article:
A report on the foreign news pages of the Guardian on January 5, headed “Seven children die in crossfire as Israelis target suspected militants”, drew complaints from pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian email lobbies. The Guardian report, although not unflawed, was, in my opinion, substantially accurate and fair.
The complaints from the pro-Israeli side came predominantly, but not entirely, from the HonestReporting.com lobby.
Mayes was willing to concede one small point to our critique:
The use of the term “Israeli positions” in the Guardian report, to describe the apparent target of the Palestinian mortar attack, was too vague in the context and too suggestive of a purely military target, which the lack of an immediate counter suggested there was not. The Guardian journalist said it is an area where settlements and military positions stand side by side. He added that the graphic television coverage in Israel, and the silence of the IDF, suggest that his report was accurate.
