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Just Journalism Update 16 August 2010

Panorama's 'Death in the Med': What you need to know Tonight at 8.30pm, BBC Panorama will broadcast 'Death in the Med,' a half-hour programme examining the 'Free Gaza' flotilla and the Israeli raid of the Mavi Marmara on May 31. Jane Corbin will be the presenter. Just Journalism has learnt that the Israeli government gave 'full cooperation' to the BBC, including access to unseen footage of Israel naval commandos engaged in training exercises and material on IHH - the militant Turkish 'charity' that organised the Free Gaza flotilla - compiled by Rueven Erlich, the current Head of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Israel. IHH will be the focus of the Panorama programme, which features interviews with the group's senior leadership in Turkey. However, none of the combatants aboard the ship were questioned and, curiously, the charity's longstanding political and financial ties to Hamas were not investigated. Panorama's website already carries three related teaser articles with accompanying video of Israeli Naval Commando 13, the elite unit which raided the Mavi Marmara, as it trains for future operations. A photographic slide show also shows what Israel says were captured weapons from the ship. Finally, there's an in-depth profile of Cevdet Kiliclar, the website manager of IHH, who was killed on May 31 but made no secret of his intentions. The title of this BBC feature is: Flotilla activist "wanted to be a martyr". In the interest of keeping our readers fully informed in advance of the broadcast, we have distilled all of our coverage of the flotilla affair into the following compendium, consisting of both Just Journalism's in-house briefings and externally published articles by Executive Director Michael Weiss. Tomorrow, we will follow-up with an analysis of Panorama's content. Background on the IHH The Mavi Marmara was part of the 'Free Gaza' flotilla, six ships with the stated aim of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian goods to the Palestinians. The flotilla was organised by the Turkish charity Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, better known by its Turkish abbreviation, IHH. Just Journalism Executive Director Michael Weiss has written extensively on the background of the IHH. Contrary to its image as a charity solely interested in humanitarian aid, the IHH is an avowedly Islamist organisation with several ties to terrorism. It was initially so controversial that it was barred by the Turkish government from participating in the disaster relief following an earthquake in 1999. However, it has recently found favour with Ankara as the Erdogan regime re-aligns itself closer to Iran, Syria and Hamas - an organisation that the IHH is dedicated to fund-raising for. To read 'The dark truth about those Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla 'humanitarians'' in the New York Daily News, click here. To read 'What David Cameron doesn't know about Turkey' in The Weekly Standard, click here. To read 'Ankara's Proxy' in Standpoint, click here. Humanitarian activists? Initial reporting of the incident suggested that the Israel Defence Forces had killed several unarmed activists while storming the Mavi Marmara, provoking world-wide protests and international condemnation. However, in the hours following the breaking of the story, Israel released video footage that showed its soldiers being violently attacked as soon as they rappelled onto the deck of the ship. In the days that followed, evidence appeared that strongly suggested that many of those aboard the Mavi Marmara had initiated the violence as part of a pre-meditated assault, and supported the IDF's claim that it had only resorted to lethal force in self-defence. To view the video of IDF soldiers being attacked, see our initial account of the reporting here. To read about how the media narrative shifted as more information came to light, click here. To read our special report on the media presentation of Israeli video footage, click here. Conflicting narratives In the days that followed, two distinct sets of testimonies from those on board the Mavi Marmara began to be disseminated to the press. Firstly, the first-hand accounts of the soldiers began to appear in the Israeli media. Their descriptions of being attacked with lethal intent were picked up to various degrees by British outlets. Secondly, as the passengers were released from custody and began to return home, various activists held press conferences to promote their political agendas - irrespective of what they had actually seen. For example, in one notable appearance, Sarah Colborne of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign was forced to admit that she hadn't been present when the fighting occurred. To read our Viewpoint on how Israeli soldier testimony failed to penetrate the BBC's narrative, click here. To read our analysis of Sarah Colborne's appearances in the media, click here. To read how The Independent cited the testimony of a PLO gun-runner, click here. Donating to Just Journalism Just Journalism is a not-for-profit organization and relies entirely upon the generosity of our supporters. If you wish to make a donation, please contact donate@justjournalism.com for more information. For more information about Just Journalism, or to contact us, please visit www.justjournalism.com