BBC apologizes for slur on Israeli Army

[gilliam]

BBC Apologizes for IDF Shooting Slur

**International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, February 18, 2005 **

The BBC apologized Thursday for comments aired on the network’s flagship Today program, in which an ecumenical clergyman told an anecdote of an Israeli Arab corporal in the IDF jailed for refusing to shoot Palestinian children.

The contributor, Rev. Dr. John Bell also admitted his ‘Thought for the Day’ could have been interpreted as “furtive racism” at a time when “Jewish sensitivity in Britain is running high” due to a dramatic upsurge in anti-Semitism.

The apology came after scores of Jewish listeners contacted the BBC to point out that the story could not be true since Israeli Arabs are exempt from conscription and a soldier so young would never be promoted to corporal. The BBC subsequently confirmed that the corporation had been “unable to find any evidence to support the story.” A spokesman from the Israeli Embassy, however, accused the BBC of irresponsibility for not checking its facts before allowing the piece to be aired to millions of listeners. “We appreciate that the BBC has apologized; however, it is a pity as the damage is irreparable,” he said.

 

[gilliam]

The BBC apologised yesterday for an item on a religious programme that angered the Jewish community by “demonising” Israel.

Dozens of complaints have been received about a story on Radio 4’s Thought for the Day during the Today programme that suggested a Muslim corporal in the Israeli army had been jailed for refusing to shoot Palestinian children.

The contributor, the Rev Dr John Bell, also apologised and admitted his story could have been interpreted as “furtive racism” at a time when “Jewish sensitivity in Britain is running high because of anti-Semitism”.

A row continues over Ken Livingstone’s refusal to apologise for likening a Jewish newspaper reporter to a concentration camp guard.

Dr Bell said he did not intend to cause offence and acknowledged that aspects of his story were incorrect.

Last Thursday Dr Bell, of the Iona Community, an ecumenical Christian organisation, gave an account of the experiences of a Muslim in the Israeli army.

On the radio, Dr Bell claimed he met the former corporal, an Arab Israeli called Adam, 19, in a Lebanese restaurant in Vancouver two years ago.

Dr Bell said he was a soldier of “Palestinian Muslim stock, born in the state of Israel” who had been conscripted into the army.

He said the soldier told him he saved many lives by killing a suicide bomber who boarded a bus and he related how he was jailed for disobeying an order to shoot Palestinian schoolchildren.

The suggestion that the Israeli army would order soldiers to kill defenceless children outraged the Jewish community.

Yesterday a spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said: "This story appears to be a fabrication seeking to demonise Israel.

“The BBC’s acknowledgement that there was no evidence for this is a positive sign and we hope that further contributions are checked more thoroughly.”

The anecdote was told the day after Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, had declared a truce offering hope for peace in the Middle East. It was supposed to illustrate the fact that the truce would not eradicate the historic hatred between Jews and Palestinians.

Jewish listeners contacted the BBC to point out that elements of the story could not be true. Israeli Arabs are exempt from conscription and it would be almost impossible for a soldier aged 19 to be promoted to corporal.

The BBC’s apology said the corporation had been “unable to find any evidence to support the story”. The Israeli authorities told the corporation that there was no proof of the soldier’s existence.

Dr Bell said he had wrongly assumed that the soldier had been conscripted and claimed that the soldier was 21 not 19.

He added: “I perfectly understand that at a time when Jewish sensitivity in Britain is running high because of anti-Semitism that part of my remarks might have been interpreted as furtive racism. However, such a conjecture would be completely untrue.”

A spokesman at the Israeli embassy said: "It is important that Dr Bell and the BBC recognise the damage that these kind of baseless and false allegations have caused.

“We appreciate that the BBC has apologised; however, it is a pity as the damage is irreparable. The BBC must act with more caution and responsibility to check facts before they are aired to millions of listeners.” Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence.

telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/18/nday18.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/02/18/ixhome.html

 

[Lilyofthevalley]

BBC CBS…names you can’t trust when it comes to news.

 

[Matt25]

The Thought for the Day slot on the Today Programme on radio Four does not use BBC employees’ . Every day a variety of speakers, including Rabbi Lionel Blue, from a wide range of faith backgrounds broadcast. Each speaker writes their own script and delivers it live. The BBC is not, therefore responsible for the content of the broadcasts.

Anyone who suggests that this speakers contribution is part of a BBC agenda against Israel is making a false suggestion which at best is ignorant and at worst malicious.

The apology can be found at bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/apology.shtml
The Rev Dr John Bell has written to the BBC to express his own deep regret as follows:

"It is clear that I made two factual errors. The one was that he [the soldier] was 21 and not 19, thus he would have been of the age to be a corporal. The second is that he did not say he was conscripted. My presumption regarding conscription is wrong as regards Arab Israelis.

The purpose of my contribution was to highlight the fact that in any peace process, the concordat is not the conclusion, but a stage in a process which will take centuries before peaceful co-existence is secured. It was my specific intention to avoid any bias against one of the two national communities.

I perfectly understand that at a time when Jewish sensitivity in Britain is running high because of anti-Semitism that part of my remarks might have been interpreted as furtive racism. However, such a conjecture would be completely untrue. For any unintended dismay I may have caused, I apologise unreservedly." Revd. Dr John L. Bell The Iona Community