Watch: Former BBC chairman blasts media bias against Israel

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232117 ^

[Eleutheria5]

A member of the House of Lords and former chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation addressed the problem of media bias against Israel during a speech in Parliament on Wednesday, lambasting the BBC for its coverage of recent terror attacks against Jews in Israel.

Lord Michael Grade, who was chairman of the BBC from 2004 to 2006, praised his country’s backing for a Jewish national home in the 1917 Balfour Declaration, but lamented that much of the media today feeds false narratives about the Jewish state, while anti-Semites use Zionism and Zionists as a proxy for attacking Judaism and Jews.

“Zionism is the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, and is right at the heart of the Balfour Declaration,” said Grade. “However, sadly, the term Zionist and Zionism has in some quarters become a proxy for anti-Semitism.”

Increasingly, Grade continued, anti-Semites are able to disguise their hatred of Jews as criticism of the Jewish state.

“I’m not one of those who immediately brands a critic of Israel as an anti-Semite, far from it. However, some critics of Israel leave themselves open to such accusations when they single out Israel for criticism, but refuse to contextualize.”

.....

[Eleutheria5]

Good morning, Mr. Van Winkle. You were asleep at your desk for many years. What else have you just noticed?

[Vlad The Inhaler]

The BBC has been right there with the rest of the Israel bashers so why didn’t he show this concern when he was in a position to make a difference at the BBC?

[Eleutheria5]

Maybe in his day there was a thin pretense at fairness? Hard to say. Who tuned in the BBC in the last 20 years?

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

[Slings and Arrows]

“Whereas classical anti-Semitism is aimed at the Jewish people or the Jewish religion, “new anti-Semitism” is aimed at the Jewish state. Since this anti-Semitism can hide behind the veneer of legitimate criticism of Israel, it is more difficult to expose. Making the task even harder is that this hatred is advanced in the name of values most of us would consider unimpeachable, such as human rights.

“Nevertheless, we must be clear and outspoken in exposing the new anti-Semitism. I believe that we can apply a simple test – I call it the “3D” test – to help us distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel from anti-Semitism.

“The first “D” is the test of demonization. When the Jewish state is being demonized; when Israel’s actions are blown out of all sensible proportion; when comparisons are made between Israelis and Nazis and between Palestinian refugee camps and Auschwitz – this is anti- Semitism, not legitimate criticism of Israel.

“The second “D” is the test of double standards. When criticism of Israel is applied selectively; when Israel is singled out by the United Nations for human rights abuses while the behavior of known and major abusers, such as China, Iran, Cuba, and Syria, is ignored; when Israel’s Magen David Adom, alone among the world’s ambulance services, is denied admission to the International Red Cross – this is anti-Semitism.

“The third “D” is the test of delegitimization: when Israel’s fundamental right to exist is denied – alone among all peoples in the world – this too is anti-Semitism.”

—Natan Sharansky, “3D Test of Anti-Semitism: Demonization, Double Standards, Delegitimization”