Monday, March 02, 2009

Appalling anti-Israel propaganda on Sky News today

Just sent the following self-explanatory letter to Sky News:


Dear Sky News

I have just watched a news item (Sky News at 8.00pm today) on the Israel-Palestine conflict which can only be described as pure anti-Israel propaganda. I am extremely disappointed in Sky since I expect a more balanced approach. This was one of the most biased and ill-informed pieces I have seen from Sky - it would have even have embarrassed Al-Jazeera. .

The item started with the story of Hillary Clinton at a conference in Egypt pledging some $1 billion for 'Gaza reconstruction'. The item, however, then went on to investigate the 'reasons why there was little hope of resolving the conflict'. These reasons were given as:

-"illegal settlement activity by the Israelis"
- "Israeli destruction of Palestinian houses in Jerusalem" (with the inevitable interview only of 'dispossessed Palestinians')
- "likely intransigence by the next Israeli government which 'will probably shift to the right'."

In other words only Israel was an impediment to peace. No mention at all, curiously of that rather more fundamental obstacle to peace, namely that Gaza is run by the terrorist organisation Hamas which is committed by charter to the total destruction of Israel and the murder of all Jews. Moreover, Sky News seem not to be aware that, in the last few days Hamas has relaunched its relentless rocket attacks against southern Israeli towns. These have caused direct hits, for example, on schools in Ashkelon and Sderot, but apparently Sky news does not think this worth a mention even on a 24-hour news channel. Nor was there even the slightest concern raised at why billions of dollars should be poured into Gaza while the rocket attacks were continuing, or that the notion that money poured into Gaza might itself be an obstacle to peace, given that the Palestinians clearly see it as a reward for their continued rocket attacks.

The failure to report the rocket attacks on Israel is especially reprehensible given the nature of the news item. But then of course Sky, along with other news media, also failed to report on the massive barrage of rockets that Hamas launched against Israel in December that led to Israel's retaliatory offensive. No doubt that if and when Israel responds to the current unbearable unprovoked attacks against it Sky News will again be leading all its news items with Israel's 'aggression' . And no doubt the Gazans will look forward to more billions of dollars for reconstruction without anybody questioning the morality of such largesse..

Yours

Edgar Davidson