I have much better things to do than bang on about the BBC but its deliberate bias is outrageous. For example, last Monday evening I took an exception to the clear tone of bias/bigotry.

For once I quickly checked our TV’s teletext for the BBC News of 26th November and selected ‘World Reports’.  I spotted and opened ‘Israel and Hamas begin Gaza talks’, which reports as follows.:

‘Representatives of Israel and Hamas have begun indirect talks about implementation of the ceasefire deal that ended recent violence in Gaza. The negotiations are being led by Egyptian intermediaries in Cairo. Hamas is expected to press for an end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza, while Israel wants arms smuggling to cease.

‘At least 158 Palestinians and 6 Israelis were killed by the 8-day offensive which Israel said it launched to stop rocket fire from the territory.’

What I’ve underlined is what I took a great exception to – it insinuates that Israel is lying or saying that as an excuse for violence. Why not simply state the plain substantive fact by deleting ‘said it’ ??

Any reasonable person can read the BBC is making a sly, subtly derogatory comment in order to mislead.  Anyone who has been closely following ‘front-line’ news on Israel for years, as I have, well knows its south has been subject to unending bombardment – which is why Mike Evans has solicited funds for the provision of bomb shelters!

The fact is, THE VIOLENCE HAS BEEN COMING FROM THE GAZA STRIP ever since Israel vacated it. Since 2005 OVER 8,000 missiles have been fired by terrorists into Israel from Gaza…almost 1,700 in this year alone! (per IDF Rocket Attacks report) 

So it was happening well before Israel decided enough was enough.

The BBC has never, ever bothered truthfully reporting upon that fact.

Hence, B.B.C. does mean ‘Bigoted Broadcasting Corporation’!

If the BBC were a professional organisation it would be aware of the truth of the matter and not have produced highly slanted news reports throughout this latest clash. Yes, it was tragic for the baby son of one of its Arabic services staff to have been killed. But I was most uneasy not only over the propriety of this report but also whether or not it was truly as claimed. Happening to be on-hand to cover this in a sensational way was a tad unprofessional – it smacked of ‘yellow journalism’ (see definition and background), as does the history of the BBC’s coverage.

I had to ask, why were the family in harm’s way? – is there truth in the Israeli claim that Hamas are guilty of war crimes by using civilians as ‘human shields’?

That particular tragedy has been investigated by BBC Watch, who conclude:

It is implausible that the BBC…is unaware of the Masharawi family’s connections to Hamas – a terror organization proscribed by the British government and many others.

The BBC’s funding public will naturally find it unacceptable on all levels that a BBC employee should engage in propagating lies and antisemitic vitriol on a television station owned and run by a terror organization. (To read in full click here and then scroll down page.)

Stop Press: Breaking News >> The Government Press Office has issued a formal warning to the BBC reporter on the above case for his use in an unrelated matter of ‘unverified and misleading material’ – see BBC’s Jon Donnison gets yellow card. [Clarification 30/11: earlier report refers to Israel’s GPO; not UK’s as may be inferred.]

I also read there are serious questions about BBC Middle-East editor Jeremy Bowen’s partiality – click that link for report (again, scroll to read).

Others who share my concerns:

In BBC leads Hamas spin…again The Commentator castigates the Corporation and urges readers to file complaints.

With his usual subtle wit, His Grace Cranmer recognises the same issue, as herein.

Controversial yet sensible Melanie Philips now posts ‘REAL News Bulletins’ on her blog, starting with Here is the (real) news. (“Here is some information about the war between Gaza and Israel that for some unaccountable reason you may have missed today in Britain’s mainstream media…”)  Melanie has also written about The real BBC scandal.

One of my readers tells of someone’s distress and faulty logic as a consequence of the  media reports. I shall, therefore, consider this pernicious effect of ‘yellow journalism’ another time…