***BBC “POLITICAL ADVISOR” AND NEWSREADER BLAME JEWISH LOBBY FOR OPPOSING PRINCIPLED LABOUR POLICY ON ISRAEL AND MANSION TAX*** In its 11.30pm review of the national newspapers on 8th November 2014, BBC TV News gave particular focus to the Independents front-page story: Jewish donors drop toxic Miliband. The newsreader, Tim Willcox, and his guest, Jo Phillips, described as a BBC “political advisor”, described how the opposition by the “Jewish lobby” of Milibands principled stand against Israel had sent Labour to the unions with its begging bowl. Wilcox then introduced the notion that “a lot of these prominent Jewish faces will be very much against the mansion tax”, singling out Maureen Lipman as an example. Phillips said: “You’re not supposed, apparently, to say anything anti-Israeli, um, and if you attack Israeli political, um, policies or the government policies, then you know, this is what you get. Um, you know it seems to me that it is totally hypocritical that on the one hand they are now going to have to look perhaps to the unions to get some funding, but will be accused of being in the unions’ pockets, and when he’s being brave and principled and standing up and saying, you know, ‘this time Israel has gone too far’ um, people take their money away, so he can’t win, can he?” • The idea that a wealthy Jewish lobby seeks to use money to manipulate political policy is a centuries-old antisemitic trope. The BBC’s unchallenged promotion of this slur is shocking and causes many Jews to feel threatened and persecuted by the broadcaster. • The BBC claimed that the “Jewish lobby” is thwarting a principled foreign policy position. There is no factual basis for this accusation. • With no evidence at all the BBC claimed that wealthy Jews are challenging taxation proposals to hang onto their “mansions”. TAKE ACTION: BBC complaints are normally met initially with a standard response. They are not pursued properly at a high level until one or two follow-up complaints are made, so please persist, and appeal their responses. Please let us know how you are getting on. Complain at bbc.co.uk/complaints/complain-online/ You can also write to the Culture Secretary, Sajid Javid, a strong supporter of Jewish causes, asking him to condemn the broadcast at [email protected] Demand a prominent correction and apology. Stand up to antisemitism! FURTHER BACKGROUND: The BBC is self-regulating and is not under the remit of OFCOM. The BBC only reviews complaints against its own standards, so in addition to the points above, you might like to consider mentioning: • Phillips described Israel’s actions as “disproportionate attacks” in the same week that the highest-ranking U.S. military officer declared that “Israel went to extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties.” This assertion should have been challenged on factual grounds by the newsreader. • Jo Phillips was introduced simply as a BBC political advisor. Yet in a 2001 article on the BBC website she is referred to as the “once head of media in former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdowns office.” On her publisher’s website she is said to have “stood for Parliament”. Yet on the BBC’s newspaper review her politically partisan background was not mentioned. Last October the BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit recommitted to BBC editorial guidelines on impartiality which state: “We should not automatically assume that contributors from other organisations (such as academics, journalists, researchers and representatives of charities) are unbiased and we may need to make it clear to the audience when contributors are associated with a particular viewpoint, if it is not apparent from their contribution or from the context in which their contribution is made.” Specifically regarding BBC News, the ECU stated: “The production team have been reminded of the importance of clearly summarising the standpoint of any interviewee where it is relevant and not immediately clear from their position or the title of their organisation.” Watch here: youtu.be/yF5TSWuEwEg
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 14:59:47 +0000