BBC Apologizes for 'Errors'

[Teddy Bear]

Ever ready to publish material negative to Israel, the BBC has been forced to apologize for 2 stories that they ran recently. In one they had even shown pictures of a house that was being demolished that had no connection to the story they were running.

Notwithstanding any apology, or changing the report later, people do not go back to reread stories to see if they've been changed, so the negative impact of these stories has already been made. It's noteworthy that when they're are negative stories about the Arabs or Palestinians the BBC are very careful to check their facts before running them, but not so when it concerns Israel.

Honest Reporting picks up the story:

MORE BBC APOLOGIES

The JPost reports:

In a news item on March 7, following the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva attack, the BBC showed a bulldozer demolishing a house, while correspondent Nick Miles told viewers: "Hours after the attack, Israeli bulldozers destroyed his family home. Later, mourners set up Hamas and Islamic Jihad banners nearby."

The house, however, was not demolished; the BBC was embarrassed when news reports from other broadcasters showed the east Jerusalem home intact and the family commemorating their son's actions.

Last week, the BBC apologized live on its news program, admitting it had used footage of another house being demolished.

Proving that individual complaints can make a difference, the BBC was then forced to eat more humble pie:

In a second incident, in a news item entitled "Israel jets strike northern Gaza" on March 14 on their News Web site, the BBC reported that Israel was deliberately targeting civilians in an operation targeting Kassam rocket launch sites in Gaza, and claiming that the United Nations secretary-general had described it as an attack on civilians.

"The Israeli air force said it was targeting a rocket firing team... UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned Israel's attacks on Palestinian civilians, calling them inappropriate and disproportionate," the report said.

In stepped an activist from the UK who received the following from the BBC:

"We accept we should have made reference to what [Ban] said about Palestinian rocket attacks as well as to the 'excessive use of force' by Israel. We have amended the report, also removing the reference to Israeli 'attacks on civilians.'"

Read the full story here.

[englishman]

It is quite astonishing that the BBC should be apologising for offending Israel. All reporting should be truthful and is set in its proper context. After the terrible events the war it was understandable that Jews should flood into Palestine but even that is no excuse for the way they forced the local people out of their homeland. When these people who now live in ghettos attack "Israel" they should be regarded as resistance fighters and not always described as terrorists. Clearly the BBC is apologising to the wrong people.

[steevo]

Notwithstanding any apology, or changing the report later, people do not go back to reread stories to see if they've been changed, so the negative impact of these stories has already been made. It's noteworthy that when they're are negative stories about the Arabs or Palestinians the BBC are very careful to check their facts before running them, but not so when it concerns Israel.

Indeed. Propaganda overrides shame because it works. Its never stopped them in the past and won't in the future because most of the public are bought and sold.

[Teddy Bear]

May 5, 2009 16:46:22 GMT englishman said:

It is quite astonishing that the BBC should be apologising for offending Israel. All reporting should be truthful and is set in its proper context. After the terrible events the war it was understandable that Jews should flood into Palestine but even that is no excuse for the way they forced the local people out of their homeland. When these people who now live in ghettos attack "Israel" they should be regarded as resistance fighters and not always described as terrorists. Clearly the BBC is apologising to the wrong people.

Welcome to the forum Englishman. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt with regard to your comment and assume you don't have a personal agenda - time will tell. You do display a massive ignorance however by your statement, although considering the way the leftist media head by the BBC explain the conflict there, you could be forgiven for having 'bought it'.

To ascertain what might be the cause for your 'viewpoint', and without going into the ins and outs of what really happened in Palestine at the time the Jews founded their state, simply ask yourself this simple question.

At the time of the war of Independance, there were 600-650,000 Jews living there - MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN. DO you really imagine they would have willingly taken on the might of the surrounding Arab nations, since there was no real country of 'Palestine' at the time, by kicking out the locals?

Maybe there's more than meets the eye in your belief that deserves questioning. Perhaps you are the very result of the biased reportage that this site is made to challenge.

[Teddy Bear]

Steevo - I think englishman might be a good example of what you describe.