Tuesday, 17 August 2010


Just Journalism
Just Journalism UpdateTop
17 August 2010
'Death in the Med': New footage supports Israel's claims

On 16 August 2010 BBC Panorama broadcast




'Death in


the Med

a carefully detailed investigation into Israel's raid of the


Mavi Marmara, the only ship of the Free Gaza flotilla



that became the site of a deadly confrontation between



passengers and naval commandos. Presented by



Jane Corbin, the half-hour programme included a raft of



new video and radio footage of the event, taken from both the Israeli Navy and


from confiscated passenger tapes, most of which were recorded by members of a


website calledCulturesOfResistance.org. This new footage enabled Corbin to


piece together the most comprehensive sequence of events of the night of May


31. (See below for both a full transcript of the programme and the broadcast


itself.)


During the programme, Corbin expanded on three key points:


1. That the IDF had faced a violent assault from activists


2. That the attack had been pre-meditated by a 'hardcore' group of activists


3

. That this core was organised by the Turkish Islamist charity, the Foundation

for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH).

Just Journalism Executive Director Michael Weiss issued a statement this morning:

'

I can scarcely think of a better piece of journalism on the flotilla raid than Jane


Corbin's in-depth investigation, which drew from eyewitness testimony from


both passengers and commandos aboard the Mavi Marmara. Notable in this


report was an unwillingness to gloss over crucial video footage showing the



upper deck of the ship laying siege to abseiling Israeli forces, or to take the


word of IHH officials at face value. The only thing missing, really, was IHH's


well-publicised role as both a fundraiser and ideological helpmeet of Hamas.'



To read the rest of our detailed analysis, click here.



To read our trancript of the programme, click here.