See below for the usual BBC / Channel 4 / Sky News guidelines for Israel....

1. always accept the Palestinian version without question

2. interview at least 8 Palestinian supporters to every Israeli supporter

3. assume the UN is impartial, and a shining beacon of justice in a dark world

4. assume any video / photos provided by Palestinians are always reliable - never question their veracity. It’s probably not worth bothering viewers with the fact that much of the media is doctored or staged – this will only confuse them

5. gloss over the last 60 years of history (never mention how 6 Arab armies tried to destroy Israel in '48, '67, and '73)

6. don't report how Hamas (etc) bully, torture and murder their own people, or misappropriate aid/finance (or if you do, play it down)

7. NEVER mention that Iran / Hamas / Fatah have vowed to destroy Israel and kill every Jew in the world (if you do mention it, assume they don't really mean it)

8. Report only the words that Fatah say in English, never what they say in Arabic

9. if you interview an Israeli (or misguided supporter such as Colonel Kemp, Mark Regev), make sure you interrupt them frequently. If you're coming off second best, tell them you're running out of time

10. if interviewing a Palestinian (or Annie Lennox, Alexei Sayle), make sure you ask them lots of really open questions, allowing lots of time to air their views without interruption - nod frequently to show your support. Don’t interrupt them, as this is disrespectful

11. above all, the tone of your voice should exhibit disapproval towards Israel, and sympathy towards Palestinians

12. ensure you use the word "occupation" as much as you can (don't get involved in meaningless discussions concerning how Israel either paid huge sums for swamps / wilderness in '48, or won it when arabs declared war on them)

13. never report anti-semitic attacks/incidents from the UK or elsewhere (we are unsure as to why these are increasing, but certain it has nothing to do with how we are portraying the situation)

14. don't report Pro-Israel activity such as marches – nobody cares, and these people are misguided anyway. If the politicians from all parties turn a blind eye, why shouldn’t we ?

15. if you get the facts wrong (Israel murders 1000’s in Bethlehem), never issue an apology or retraction

16. It is probably more news-worthy if you paint Israel as the aggressor – so don’t mention that Hamas launched over 6,000 rockets into Israel after Israel had vacated the Gaza strip

17. On proportionality, probably not worth mentioning comparisons with civilian casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan, or WW2 Germany (this will only confuse people). The fact that Hamas deliberately booby-trapped civilian homes and made people go into them, we are sure, has nothing to do with civilian casualties....

18. probably not worth mentioning the Bible – Jesus, a Jew, born in Bethlehem, visiting the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (this is only 2000 years of history anyway....)


Note to Producers – make sure that when interviews are taking place that you loop some video showing ultra-left wing Norwegian doctors running after ambulances performing chest compression on live patients, and female Hamas supporters screaming uncontrollably about how their terrorist husbands were mercilessly martyred by the IDF. Remember, it really doesn’t matter what the interview says because people will remember the images

Permanent Link posted by J @ 2:16 pm