The last fortnight has seen a series of brutal, deliberately provocative Israeli attacks on Palestinian worshippers at Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Needless to say, Israel had no business interfering in Muslim worship at Al Aqsa, the third holiest shrine for Muslims after Mecca and Medina, and an area which is not under their authority or control. Despite this, Israeli attacks on Al Aqsa have intensified in recent years as the apartheid state strives to undermine all aspects of Palestinian life in Jerusalem. It is applying ethnic cleansing in slow motion.
Inevitably missile attacks on Israel from Gaza and Southern Lebanon followed and Israel has reveled in once again trying to portray itself to the world as the victim.
There is an excellent 10-minute video in which former Palestinian spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi more than held her own against a hostile BBC interviewer here.
There is also an excellent podcast produced by Al Jazeera which backgrounds the increase in violence in the Middle East. Speakers are:
· Nour Odeh – Political analyst and former spokeswoman for the Palestinian National Authority.
· Uri Dromi – Founder and president of the Jerusalem Press Club and a former spokesman for the Israel government.
· Francesca Albanese – United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Further background on the politics around Al Aqsa is covered in this Al Jazeera podcast.
Media reporting over the past fortnight
Initially reporting here in New Zealand was reasonable and clearly identified Israel as the brutal racist aggressors attacking Palestinian civilians at worship. However, within a couple of days media reporting deteriorated dramatically with the “normal” appalling reporting taking over – painting Palestinians as terrorists and Israel as simply enforcing law and order.
At the heart of appalling reporting for a long time has been the BBC which slavishly and consistently screws the scrum in Israel’s favour. The BBC does not report on the Middle East – it propagandises for Israel. It has long been captured by the UK’s racist pro-Israel lobby.
Journalist Jonathan Cook describes how the BBC coverage is enabling Israeli violence and UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, called out the BBC’s awful reporting in a tweet.
It’s not just the BBC of course. For example the New York Times has been called out for deliberately distorting the news to blame Palestinians for Al Aqsa mosque crisis.
It’s not reporting – it’s propaganda!
Why is the BBC important for Aotearoa New Zealand?
Unfortunately, here in Aotearoa New Zealand our media frequently and uncritically uses BBC reports to inform New Zealanders on the Middle East.
Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand, our state broadcasters, are the worst offenders.
For example here are two BBC stories carried on RNZ this past week here and here. They cover the deaths of three Jewish women in a terrorist attack in the occupied West Bank. The media should report such killings but there is no context whatever given for the illegal Jewish-only settlements at the heart in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s military occupation across all Palestine, the daily ritual humiliation and debasement of Palestinians or its racist apartheid policies towards Palestinians – or as Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem describes it “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid” Neither are there Palestinian voices in the above reports – they are typically absent from most Middle East reporting, or at best muted, compared to extensive quoting from racist Israeli leaders.
The BBC is happy to report the “What?” but not the “Why?”
Needless to say neither Radio New Zealand, nor TVNZ, has provided any such sympathetic coverage for the many dozens of Palestinians killed by Israel this year – including at least 16 Palestinian children. To the BBC, RNZ and TVNZ, murdered Palestinian children are simply statistics.
RNZ and TVNZ say they cannot ensure to cover all the complexities of the Middle East in every story and that people get a balanced view over time from their regular reporting.
This is not true. Their reliance on so much systematically-biased BBC reporting, and other sources which are often not much better, tells a different story. For example, references to Israel as an apartheid state – something attested to by every credible human rights groups – such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – are always absent from any RNZ or TVNZ reporting and yet this is critical to help people understand what is going on in Palestine. Neither are there significant references to international law or United Nations resolutions – the tools which provide for a Middle East peace based on justice – the only peace possible.
Unlike their reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, RNZ and TVNZ reporting on the Middle East leaves people confused and ready to blame both sides equally for the murder and mayhem unleashed by Israel on Palestinians and Palestinian resistance to the Israeli military occupation and all that entails.
The first step, for the benefit of journalism and the understanding of New Zealanders is for RNZ and TVNZ is to refuse to republish any future BBC reports on the Middle East.
Only a few random reports with any semblance of fair reporting on the Al Aqsa Mosque snuck through on RNZ–one an Aussie reporter on the 5am First Start. RNZ sounded relieved though when reports claimed a few puny “missiles” had been launched by Palestinians so they could put the boot in as per usual.
Generally the coverage refers to “conflict between Palestinians and IDF and cops”. What a joke, kneeling or sitting unarmed worshipers beaten with batons and subjected to stun grenades! More like a planned racist attack by the new extreme right Israeli Govt.
Thank you John. The omissions are so evident to anyone comparing news that RNZ offers. Had the BBC interview with Hanan Ashwari been viewed here then at least viewers could evaluate for themselves the veracity of her comments. We are denied the realities of Palestinian subjugation by Israeli laws and forces articulated by this highly intelligent and eloquent spokesperson. Instead, we are subjected to the ubiquitous spin provided by the pro-Israel interests. No wonder trust in RNZ is decreasing daily as more realistic reporting providing important contexts is available elsewhere.
Not only John Minto, but also the UN has today called out Israel for its war crimes in Jerusalem, and called on the international community to stand up to them. This includes NZ – and NZ media.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/04/israel-un-experts-urge-international-community-end-forced-displacement-and
In order to make sense of the tragic events in Palestine we deserve honest media presentations of the real situation, starting with the basic understanding and context that Israel is a colonial-settler regime exercising Apartheid-style control of historic Palestine enforced by brutal military occupation. The BBC consistently fails to deliver this reality.
The first step to really understanding world affairs is to realize that journalism – of the mainstream kind – spearheaded by the likes of the BBC and the countless news sites that host their views, cannot be trusted to give accurate, unbiased information on any event, let alone that of the Middle East variety.
Mainstream media today is thee most dangerous entity facing humanity today!
How were Jewish synagogues treated in the Arab world? Razed to the ground without exception and all the property of Jewish citizens confiscated. Around 900,000 Jews were expelled from Muslim states from 1948 to the early 70’s.
How does this address the issue of the BBC refusing to put the Illegal Israeli Occupation of Palestine in context?
Is it just a Look Over There position to divert attention to the issue raised? Which is what I see all the time from Pro Israel Apartheid supporters.
Thanks John for your clear points on media bias. Context and history is everything. Using the terms Apartheid, Occupation and Settler colonial state are essential in describing the appalling conditions Palestinians live under everyday. “The BBC’s coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “incomplete” and “misleading”, including failing to adequately report the hardships of Palestinians living under occupation, an independent review commissioned by the corporation’s board of governors has found” https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/may/03/israel.broadcasting
RNZ and TVNZ put themselves forward as professional news platforms. But Refuse to allow their own Journalists to correct the biased reporting of the BBC. Acknowledging the Illegal Israeli Occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories is fundamental to the context of these news stories. If I worked for RNZ or TVNZ in their newsrooms, I would be Embarrassed by what the Editors in charge allow through pretending it is Balanced reporting. They should speak up to their management. Or get used to being though as Shills in defense of Israeli Occupation znd Apartheid.
“The first step, for the benefit of journalism and the understanding of New Zealanders is for RNZ and TVNZ is to refuse to republish any future BBC reports on the Middle East.”
Better they don’t simply rely on the BBC as the ‘goto’ sauce, and offer alternative sources and some critical analysis alongside.
I realise the critical analysis might be a tough ask with many of the autocue readers and cadet journalists at the helm, but they could at least make an effort.
Also, the BBC is currently being ripped apart with some of the best of its journalists getting the push in favour of a few media stars, and in the name of austerity. Just as the Tories like, and they haven’t finished yet. We need more voices, not fewer.
They were super fast to pull RT (Russia Today) off Sky as soon as the Ukraine war started (presumably to ensure we are fed a one-side story… if “Russian Propaganda” on RT was obvious, it would surely do no harm to hear and subsequently criticise it). The double standard is noteworthy.
Seriously fuck them. Why on earth anyone would pay a sky news subscription so they can brainwash them is beyond comprehension.
The older I get, the more obvious it is becoming that the MSM (and by extension the agencies regulating it) are all part of a massive psy-op and/or social engineering experiment.
My pattern-recognition faculties indicate that the Jews love to push multi-culturalism, minority rights and globalism (i.e. anti-nationalism) everywhere they in the world, except of course when these principles concern Israel. They give themselves a pass from their own rules.
Meh, Jews in Israel are nationalistic. Jews in the wider world not so much. Kiwis in Enzed are nationalistic, those abroad, not so much.
Excellent article, John. And some very good points in the comments. But where’s Gaby..
The role the broadcasters play in forming our views is clearly something that’s been worked out for a while and “appropriate” techniques put into practice. My favourite metaphor for (evil) propaganda is – it’s like rat bait. 95% healthy, 5% toxin. Unfortunately my preferred station, National Radio, too frequently has profane invective directed at as I respond to lies they pass on. In the spirit of bilingual RNZ, “pokokohua!” to those bullshitters. They need to stop licking the BBC’s arse.
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