Today there are demonstrations all afternoon at BBC London, Manchester and Bristol to protest about the mostly excellent Panorama last Monday about the Gaza flotilla incident. The following letter was hand delivered to BBC TV Centre London by me and another activist during the protest there.
I understand a similar letter is being delivered to BBC Manchester.
For personal attention of Mark Thompson BBC Director-General
Hand-delivered
22 August 2010
Dear Mr Thompson
We are not alone in wishing to place on the public record our view that Jane Corbin’s Panorama last Monday on the flotilla incident (“Death In The Med”) was for the most part balanced, well researched and well documented.
It was not without fault – for example there could have been more exploration of the IHH and the footage of the activists singing “Khaybar Khaybar Al Yahud” before the departure of the ship could have been shown (this is a well known anti-Jewish chant).
We are appalled that parts of the NUJ and Muslim activist organisations such as the Muslim Defence League have called for demonstrations in London, Bristol and Manchester today against the programme.
This is evidence that these people are trying to persuade the UK media not to show the truth about Middle East conflict.
We are equally appalled by their accusation that the BBC is biased in favour of Israel. They only have to look at the BBC Trust ruling against Jeremy Bowen to see that this is arrant nonsense.
We deplore the personal attacks on Jane Corbin which include the accusation that she is somehow in the pay of the Zionist lobby. This is a worrying echo of the infamous antisemitic claims in the well known fraudulent tract “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
We hope that if the BBC reports today’s hostile demonstrations, it also acknowledges that the programme has received positive reaction for fair coverage.