Is the BBC anti Israel and/or antisemitic

[Newbutoldfather]

BBC coverage ‘institutionally hostile’ to Israel, say Jewish groups

https://www.thetimes.com/article/a4aa31e2-0084-4bf4-bb33-b93d02917440?shareToken=e38d95867859d345f297becf90753213

As a secular Jew who recognises that the current Israeli government has made many mistakes and is arguably racist, I still do find the BBC’s coverage to be horribly biased against Israel.

It isn’t just the words they use but the tone they use, the juxtaposition of the words and images, errors off omission, and also the time allocated to either side’s perspective.

As an example, when Nasrallah was killed, there was about 5 minutes about how Israel had killed a major leader of the Axis of Resistance, delivered in a stentorian and sad tone, pictures of mourning Lebanese and lots on whether this wouldn’t push the conflict over the edge (with lots of powerful images of the bombing, crying women etc). There was then a very brief cut to the IDF statement with very little comment.

Both Orla Guerin and Jeremy Bowen have been accused of antisemitism many many times over the years, but they are knowledgeable, clever and slippery. And, most importantly, very litigious with licence payer’s money. It is very hard to nail them as, as I mentioned above, a lot of it is about juxtaposition, tone and only telling half the story (see link attached).

But maybe I am wrong? I would love to hear others’ opinions. Remember this is about BBC bias only, not your overall view on Israel or the ‘Axis of Resistance’.

I think there are some good points on here about media bias, although I'm inclined to say that some of it just seems to be poor reporting, or perhaps editing reports to fit a small slot.
Nuance is lost.

There have actually been reports written on bias in the BBC so it’s not like no-ones noticed.

As a journalist you're not there to be liked, just reported. She doesn't pander to Israel. Does that mean she "hates Jews". Probably not. In her job it would be more than just a suspicion. It would be evident. You probably just don't like what she has to say.

Listening to Times the BBC might want to get onto the nuclear issue in Iran

All feels very sleepwalking into something potentially bad

Tbh I don’t really understand why so many lefties like aligning themselves so fully with islamic fundamentalists. I mean who the fuck would have sympathy with people who happily murder gay people, oppress women and minorities. Theres a difference between feeling sympathy with civilians and whitewashing terror groups. Hezbollah has been killing Syrians happily whilst no-one batted an eyelid. Most Lebanese don’t even like Hezbollah but you have sad faces in the west over Nasrallah, probably because they have no idea what it’s actually like living with a drug dealing, murdering armed militia.

They found a Yezidi woman who had been bought by a Hamas member in Gaza, she’s just been reunited with her family. Thats who some of these people are.

Islamist. Not Islamic.

Why do the general public think that this all began on the 7th Oct?
Ignorance is widespread isn't it.
Please read up on your history and then have an opinion

Generalising a bit too much, do you think everyone in the Middle East does what you’re saying. Why can’t you see that those lefties you’re attacking are caring about innocent civilians that are being killed , tortured and displaced ?

We’ve seen the narrative for Israel as a type of opposition take hold in the media and on SM / irl

If we want to think about threat I’d suggest looking at Iran and their nuclear ability

Why do you persistently twist people's words? She explicitly stated "fundamentalists".

And yes, some lefties subscribe to a very inflexible and binary anti-Western/capitalist ideology and see themselves as punching up, regardless if they're supporting or spreading propaganda for terrorist groups or murderous regimes like the Islamic Republic or Russia. They think they're being progressive and anti-racist, and nothing could be further from the truth.

The 'right places' so you want it to be told from a certain way?

I think it's biased. When Israel launches an offensive, it's "Israel attacks" as the headline, and then when Iran launched 200 missiles the headline is "what we know about the Iranian missiles" or something. And that's before we come to the unbelievable incident of the hospital. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

Lefties? What and who are they? Have you been reading a too much daily mail?

There's a difference between feeling sympathy with civilians and whitewashing terror groups
Yes massive difference and the majority of posters on this sire are doing the former.

Hezbollah has been killing Syrians happily whilst no-one batted an eyelid.
I have not seen any western nations stand back and have no opinion on what has been happening in Syria over the years. Many many Syrians have found refuge in European nations, no western state funds or arms Hezbollah
Israel bombed Damascus yesterday killing innocent civilians and yes very few batted an eyelid which is wrong.

Most Lebanese don’t even like Hezbollah but you have sad faces in the west over Nasrallah, probably because they have no idea what it’s actually like living with a drug dealing, murdering armed militia.
I don't think anyone is claiming they do but people are also going to be concerned for the innocent civilians that will and are losing their lives in Lebanon. I have not seen any sad faces in the West that Nasarallah has been killed, have you evidence for this claim? People are rightly concerned about the escalation and what this means for innocent civilians in the middle east.

On the BBC I don't watch enough of their news or listen to their radio to honestly know, but I do know if I hear something happening it will be their sites I go to first to get the facts because I do trust them more than most.

I would say it is quite pro-israel as this was the dominating headline the entire day. And barely a mention in contrast that on the same day Israel bombed an orphanage in Gaza and killed 51 people.

And yes, some lefties
You are using a very fluffy word for what is essentially extremist views, they may identify as being on the left but extremes exist on the left and right, majority of people lean slightly one way or the other.

Um no. I've seen twice now them completely cut people off when they've used ethnic cleansing/genocide type language. They've literally just cut the video.

@HelenHen ,

‘As a journalist you're not there to be liked, just reported. She doesn't pander to Israel. Does that mean she "hates Jews". Probably not. In her job it would be more than just a suspicion. It would be evident. You probably just don't like what she has to say.’

Ok, let’s look at some facts.

This was Orla Guerin’s comment after interviewing a holocaust survivor on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz:

“In Yad Vashem’s Hall of Names, images of the dead. Young soldiers troop in to share in the binding tragedy of the Jewish people. The state of Israel is now a regional power. For decades, it has occupied Palestinian territories. But some here will always see their nation through the prism of persecution and survival.”

She has also claimed that there is no evidence Hamas are using human shields.

And, as long ago as 2004, this is what she said about the arrest of a terrorist who actually had explosives attached to his chest:

”cynical manipulation of a Palestinian youngster for propaganda purposes".

All of the above were officially complained about at the time, but the BBC stood by her.

How is any of the above reporting rather than giving her own biased narrative?

They also said lefties .. isn’t that generalising a bit too much ?

I think there is adequate coverage of both perspectives. Part of the problem is that some of the far right Israeli government/IDF spokespeople come across so incredibly badly that they paint Israel in a very negative light, and the BBC probably gets blamed for the negative portrayal.

@Newbutoldfather , 62% believe that the BBC are either balanced in their reporting of Israel or positively biased in favour of Israel. What a joke! The BBC has been investigated in this respect and found to be biased AGAINST Israel. What does this say about the prejudice of that 62%?

Very occasionally the BBC World Service will have some balanced reporting but as a whole the institution is to Jewish people and Israel as the Metropolitan Police are to people of colour.

It says they have a different opinion to you.
From the results so far, the majority think the BBC is balanced.
38% think BBC is biased against Israel
22% think BBC is biased pro Israel

“In Yad Vashem’s Hall of Names, images of the dead. Young soldiers troop in to share in the binding tragedy of the Jewish people. The state of Israel is now a regional power. For decades, it has occupied Palestinian territories. But some here will always see their nation through the prism of persecution and survival.”

I'm struggling to find an untruth in that quote.

I said theres a difference between caring about civilians and mealy mouthed excusing of terrorism.

I didn’t say everyone on the left I said so many.

It’s like Iran, that time during the revolution where the communist got into bed with the Islamists and then got murdered by them. Theres a naivity on the part of much of the left is astounding. If these groups were christians they would have no problem identifying them as extremists, if the were Jewish, no problem as identifying them as extremist, present them with hamas, hezbollah and the houthis and they turn a blind eye to absolutely everything they do.

@HelenHen ,

‘I'm struggling to find an untruth in that quote.’

Well, the truth, or otherwise, is a matter of opinion. It is when she decided to say it.

It would be the same as covering the Mecca pilgrimage and deciding to segue into a discussion about Islamist terrorism, totally inappropriate and showing your views.