Over the last several days the BBC News website has covered the recent escalation in violence between Israel and militants operating out of the Gaza strip. Coverage of this intensification, in particular by BBC correspondent Jon Donnison, predominantly focuses on the effects of Israeli counter-strikes, rather than Hamas rocket fire. 'Driving into Gaza City from the border, loud explosions could be heard. A huge plume of black smoke rose up to the north from an apparent Israeli air strike. Ambulances overtook us, speeding the injured to Shifa hospital.' Tues. 12 Apr. 2011 @ 11.28 - Ghanem Nuseibeh is a civil engineer by training but, perhaps owing to his pedigree as a member of one of the oldest and most distinguished Palestinian families, he's been a close observer of recent Middle East upheavals, writing critically, for instance, about Al Jazeera's fulsome endorsement of revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia but near-silence on the murder of protestors in Bahrain and Syria. He recently corresponded with Just Journalism Executive Director Michael Weiss about Al Jazeera's role in Arab revolutions, Palestinian state-building and the short window of opportunity for Israel to normalise its relations with a new Arab constituency. Michael Weiss: You come from an incredibly storied Palestinian family, which, if I've done my homework right, descends from one of the companions of the Prophet. Your father was the founding chancellor of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, and your cousin Sari, a former Palestinian Authority representative, has just written a much-discussed book arguing for a three state-solution: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Tell me about the Nuseibeh clan and growing up in it. Mon. 11 Apr. 2011 @ 14.17 - Israel calls on UN to stop the IHH-sponsored flotilla to Gaza, following last year's clash aboard the Mavi Marmara, as the head of the controversial Turkish charity describes Zionism as a 'virus'. The head of the Turkish charity IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation), Bulent Yildirim, gave a speech on Thursday in which he gave full expression to his hostility to the state of Israel and his willingness to confront its soldiers once more. According to MEMRI, Yildirim stated that: 'we do have a problem with one place, and we declare it boldly, without fear, and without hesitation: Our problem is Zionism, which has infected all of humanity like a virus.' 'Just because we had shahids [martyrs] does not mean we are afraid. We will not step back. Let everyone know that, until the blockade on Gaza is lifted, and until our march to Al-Aqsa is completed, this Intifada by sea and by land will continue!' Just Journalism Executive Director Michael Weiss writes inStandpoint on the use of Israel as a cudgel by both rulers and protesters across the Arab world. The United Nations General Assembly is not known its for displays of ludic wit, but one anecdote stands out as an exception to the dire earnestness of the chamber's proceedings. In 1961, Adlai Stevenson, then US ambassador to the UN, was forced to give a robotic and deeply uncomfortable comment on the recent Bay of Pigs invasion, which at the time included a denial that the Kennedy administration had had anything to do with it. Addressing the First Committee of the General Assembly, Stevenson lapsed into a rare malapropism tied to Communism's intolerance of religion: "Fidel Castro has..." he said, turning a page in his prepared statement, "circumcised the freedoms of the Catholics of Cuba." Gideon Rafael, the Israeli delegate who had spent the better part of this speech doodling in his notepad out of boredom, grew suddenly alive to the moment. Turning to his Irish counterpart, the great historian and statesman Conor Cruise O'Brien, Rafael announced: "I always knew that we should be blamed for this, sooner or later." If ever there was a lesson to be learnt from the last three months of Arab and Persian revolts, it is that Zionism is perhaps not the most meddlesome ideology to interfere with Middle Eastern affairs. That it's been the most convenient scapegoat for why the region still seems a forbidding desert of dysfunction, the land of torture chambers, rigged elections and every shade of obscurantism, is more a matter of rhetorical convention than empirical reality. Fri. 8 Apr. 2011 @16.46 - The anti-tank missile that Hamas fired into southern Israel yesterday and thathit a school bus near Nahal Oz kibbutz, injuring both the driver and a 16 year-old boy, was a Russian-made Kornet, Just Journalism has learnt. An Israeli security source confirmed today that the Kornet, which uses a laser guidance system and can be operated by night or day, is 'among the most sophisticated anti-tank missiles' in existence. It carries a range of up to 5 kilometers, one of the longest ranges for this type of weapon. Operating the Kornet requires 'high level military training,' our source confirmed, suggesting that Hamas has dramatically improved its weapons capabilities since the 2008 Gaza War.
April 12, 2011 BBC Focus Absence of correspondent in southern Israel affects BBC coverage
The most recent upsurge in violence comes after Hamas fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli school bus in southern Israel on Thursday, seriously injuring a teenaged boy.
The first article to appear on the BBC News website about this attack featured an 'At the scene' analysis by Jon Donnison. However, the 'scene' was not that of the bus attack near Nahal Oz kibbutz, but Gaza, following the swift Israeli counter-strikes against militants:The Wire Just Journalism Interview: Ghanem Nuseibeh
Ghanem Nuseibeh: My family is Jerusalem's, and Palestine's, oldest Muslim family and Custodians of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity's holiest site. The name "Nusseibeh" is the name of a female companion of the Prophet, who might be described as the first Muslim feminist! For many centuries, my forefathers have been adjudicators between the various religions and sects in the city, and have maintained excellent relations with the city's Jews and Christians throughout the past one and a half millennia. This history almost conditioned me to be cautious when it comes to making opinions or decisions that could not only have a momentary impact, but could literally affect centuries of history. Being a Nusseibeh means that the current suffering of Palestinians and regional politics in general, are not seen as a subject of chitchat, but something that we breathe in and live, day in day out. My family and the Palestinian and Arab cause in general are so closely intertwined, that makes me feel that the suffering of anyone in the region, regardless of creed or race, is almost a personal burden. Most importantly, we tend to think in centuries, rather than quarters.The Wire IHH prepares to launch second flotilla as head claims Zionism has 'infected' the world
Op-eds and Features The Israel Scapegoat
The Wire Hamas in Gaza: 'Sophisticated' missile hit school bus, Israeli source tells Just Journalism
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
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