Britannia Radio

May 13, 2011 BBC Focus BBC profile of Hamas downplays targeting of civilians and ideological extremism 'While sporadic references are made to suicide bombings and rocket attacks, at no point is there any indication that these are aimed primarily at unarmed men, women and children. Indeed, the word 'civilian' does not appear at any stage in the profile... The absence of any close discussion of Hamas' methods of attacking non-combatants is compounded by the lack of information about its extreme ideology, which mandates the destruction of Israel by force. Most strikingly, the BBC's profile of Hamas makes no mention of the group's founding charter'. In light of the recent announcement that Hamas and Fatah, the two leading Palestinian factions, are to end a bitter and often violent division by forming a unity government, the BBC News website has updated its profile of the Gaza-based Islamist group. 'Profile: Hamas Palestinian movement' purports to be an in-depth examination of the group, covering its history and political role. However, throughout the article, there are two major failures: a refusal to address how the group specifically targets civilians, and an almost total omission of its radical ideology. Commitment to violence against civilians The first reference in the article to Hamas' relationship to violence sets the tone for the rest of the article, showcasing the BBC's disinclination to explicitly set out the group's notoriety for killing Israeli civilians. Opening by giving equal weight to Hamas' initial goal of providing social welfare alongside performing 'armed resistance', the article continues: 'Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and EU, due to its refusal to renounce violence and recognise Israel.' The explanation that Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation due to its public positions evades the more pertinent point, which is that the 'violence' and 'armed resistance' referred to by the BBC has targeted civilians as a matter of policy -widely regarded as a key factor in defining terrorism. Read more>> The Wire Media ignores Hamas leader ruling out ever recognising Israel Thurs. 12 May 2011 @ 13.12 - Mahmoud Zahar statement ruling out ever recognising Israel unreported in British media, even when unity deal discussed. Yesterday Just Journalism reported comments made to Ma'an News Agency by Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, in which he disavowed any suggestion that Hamas would ever recognise the state of Israel. Zahar's comments, which featured as a top news story on Haaretz, included the assertion that truce was 'part of the resistance not its rejection', and that 'truce is not peace'. Zahar said that recognition would never be granted as it would: 'cancel the right of the next generations to liberate the lands'. These statements have not been reported in the mainstream British media. A number of fresh stories relating to Israel-Palestine, including allegations that Israel took away residency rights from 140,000 Palestinians over a 27 year period - which was also a top story on Haaretz yesterday - do appear in the British press today. Of particular note is a substantial blog post by Harriet Sherwood, which appears today on The Guardian website. 'Unity deal leads to 'sceptical optimism' among Palestinians' discusses the new reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas at length, and contains a number of statements made by Hamas on the new arrangement, without referencing the Hamas leader's recent and inflammatory declarations. Read more>> The Wire Guardian commentator praises 'religious tolerance of Islam' for treatment of Copts Thurs. 12 May 2011 @ 13.14 - Art critic's blog piece on Egyptian Copts describes their survival as 'tribute' to 'religious tolerance of Islam', despite ongoing persecution by Islamic extremists. Writing on his Guardian art blog yesterday, Jonathan Jones' 'Who are the Coptic Christians?' examines the history of the minority group via the prism of its contribution to Egyptian culture. Jones opens the piece by acknowledging there have been some recent difficulties for Copts: 'Attacks on churches, communal divisions - Cairo has recently seen conflicts between some Muslims and Coptic Christians.' He immediately moves on to discussing the cultural history of Copts in Egypt, and no further mention is made of their current situation until the final paragraph. However, rather than addressing the longstanding persecution of the religious minority, Jones instead chooses to portray the treatment of Copts as a 'tribute' to the 'religious tolerance of Islam': 'Their survival is a tribute to the religious tolerance of Islam. How many Islamic communities survived in medieval Christian Europe?' Read more>> The Wire MEMO contributor excoriates Israel's creation on Hamas website Wed. 11 May 2011 @ 18.54 - MEMO contributor who referred to 'kikes' on blog uses Hamas website to argue that birth of Israel was a 'brutal act of rape'. Yesterday, Just Journalism reported that Khalid Amaryeh, a frequent contributor to Middle East Monitor (MEMO), had used the derogatory term 'kike' in a public forum. He made the comment during an online discussionabout Just Journalism spokesperson Michael Weiss' criticism of Amnesty International for hosting a MEMO event, given the latter's pro-Hamas stance. Amaryeh's comment read: 'Anyway, I don't give a damn whether you are a kike or not. 'well, you seem to lie as often as you breathe. Fow [sic] how could you enslave, torment, savage, persecue [sic] and deny millions of people freedom while you claim to love freedom? you are simply fornicating with language. If you were a woman, you probably would be a whore. 'you are obviously a burden upon youself [sic], your family, and upon the Jews.' Following the exposure of his comments, MEMO released a public statement, acknowledging that an anti-Semitic remark had been made, while still maintaining it was subject to a 'coordinated campaign' by the 'pro-Israel lobby'. Read more>>