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Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

(www.theguardian.com)
523 points mhga | 2 comments | 08 Jul 25 02:18 UTC | HN request time: 1.354s | source
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rich_sasha ◴[08 Jul 25 06:21 UTC] No.44497577[source]▶
Offending or over-accusing sides of this conflict is a very asymmetric risk. Misrepresent Palestinians negatively and you may eventually get an angry, vague letter - with a quarter of signatories doing so anonymously. Misrepresent Israelis negatively and you get very powerful and well-organised protests. BBC is sadly doing the rational thing of staying clear of suggesting Israel may be doing some bad things. It is a Corporation after all and so acts in corporate ways.

But this is also the example coming to them from the top. On the occasions where Israel has clearly committed egregious violations, such as shooting at people massed at the aid dispensal locations or the medics who then got buried in shallow graves, Israel gets barely a whimper of criticism from European politicians - and apparently full-throated cheering and support from the US. The ICC arrest warrant is as forgotten as last year's snow.

So why are we surprised the BBC doesn't want to stick its head above the parapet?

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raxxorraxor ◴[08 Jul 25 09:23 UTC] No.44498415[source]▶
There was a study about negative bias towards Israel at the BBC. It contradicts your explanation.

Do you have a single example of a protest you try to summon here? I very much doubt it.

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rich_sasha ◴[08 Jul 25 10:45 UTC] No.44498814[source]▶
> Do you have a single example of a protest you try to summon here? I very much doubt it

Here's one example. The UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, faced calls to have her visit to the LSE cancelled by various groups, including Campaign Against Antisemitism and Union of Jewish Students. She was also called unfit for office by the US ambassador to the UN.

On another occasion, an organization called UK Lawyers for Israel attacked an article in the Lancet, a medical journal, claiming a high projected death toll and decrease in health in Gaza as a result of the hostilities. A key point made by the organization was that the famine would help reduce obesity prevalent in the territory. UKLFI is an all-star group of legal heavyweights and not one you can easily cross.

And since you ask for sources, could you kindly share yours please?

> There was a study about negative bias towards Israel at the BBC. It contradicts your explanation.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2024/nov/11/pro-israel-camp...

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/10/uk-lawyers-for...

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1. _DeadFred_ ◴[08 Jul 25 16:41 UTC] No.44501695[source]▶
You don't link to why she was called unfit. There are seemingly valid concerns with her ability to be an impartial UN Rapporteur as required for that position.

The Lancet item was a letter, not an article. It is a speculative letter than was then pushed as a 'Lancet article' (something you do in your comment) to give it credibility/authority it does not have.

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2. _DeadFred_ ◴[09 Jul 25 21:20 UTC] No.44514848[source]▶
More background on the UN Rapporteur:

In July 2014, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese fundraised for her former employer UNRWA by posting that America is “subjugated by the Jewish lobby.”

In January 2015, immediately following the Charlie Hebdo terror attack, Albanese posted an article from Iranian state-owned media PressTV with the title “CIA and Mossad carried out the Paris attack.”

In November 2022, Albanese told a Hamas conference: “You have a right to resist.”

On October 7th, 2023, as the Hamas massacre was still unfolding, Albanese minimized the atrocities by posting: “Today’s violence must be put in context.”