This week I wrote a column for Eyewitness News about the stubborn perception of the war in Gaza as a war between two religions. EWN however did not publish my column. They first decided to delay publication of my column, without informing me of their reasons. A day later, only after I enquired whether my column would be published at all, I was told that they had decided to ask “a columnist for another view on the Gaza situation to ensure balance”. Upon enquiring what the problem with my column was, I was told that it was not problematic but Eyewitness News seeks to publish “a diversity of opinion pieces that allow the opportunity for debate and [they] will therefore also publish a piece from the SA Jewish Board of Deputies.” My response was to ask whether I had been drafted into a match with the South African Jewish Board of Deputies without my knowledge. “I am a South African woman journalist writing about the fact that this conflict is wrongly construed as a religious conflict when it is about basic human rights – and the fact that the insistence by some to see it as a religious conflict reflects a particular world view,” I wrote to Eyewitness News in an email. “How is my column supposed to be balanced by the Board of Deputies – a lobby group? If EWN want a counter to the Board of Deputies, I’m happy to recommend a number of organisations who will provide a ‘balancing’ argument. I however am not a representative of any body, or group.”
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 14:08:51 +0000
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