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What Do Hamas ‘Militants’ Have to Do for the BBC to Call Them Terrorists?

by Ian Price
17 October 2023 3:00 PM

On Monday night, a protest took place outside the BBC’s headquarters in London – jointly organised by the National Jewish Assembly, U.K. Lawyers for Israel and the European Jewish Association – against its continued bias and inaccurate coverage of the atrocities committed by Hamas.

No red paint was sprayed on the walls of Broadcasting House; there were no fireworks nor chants exhorting violence or ethnic cleansing. All that took place was a few speeches from campaigners, some songs and a few prayers.

The BBC’s decision to refer to Hamas as ‘militants’ rather than ‘terrorists’ is the latest example of a long history of sanitising Jew-hatred among Palestinians while demonising Israel’s efforts to defend itself. Given the scale and barbarity of the 7/10 atrocities, one has to ask the question: What would have to happen for the BBC’s leadership to get around a meeting table and agree: “Okay, Hamas has reached the bar now. Let’s start referring to them as terrorists”?

As a group of campaigning U.K. Jewish lawyers has already pointed out, Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation and has been for two years. That is not a matter of debate or discussion. It is a matter of legal fact.

As recently as July 2023, the BBC was compelled to apologise for the line of questioning taken by Anjana Gadgil with Naftali Bennet following a military operation in Jenin. She asked if “Israeli forces are happy to kill children”. This question and the pervasive BBC mindset behind it seems in particularly poor taste with the knowledge of what came to pass three months later. Unlike Hamas, the IDF has never entered a country with the express intention of murdering civilians.

The BBC has a history of sanitising the antisemitism that exists among many Gazans. The 2019 BBC documentary One Day in Gaza recorded daily life for Israelis in southern Israel and also that of Palestinians in Gaza. And yet when it recorded Gazans’ dialogue referring to Israelis as ‘Yehudi’ – Arabic for ‘Jews’ – it subtitled the word as ‘Israelis’. Why do this if not to sanitise Palestinian attitudes?

In the 2004 Balen Report, the BBC compiled its own investigation into historic antisemitism within the broadcaster but has not only refused to publish the report, it has spent some £350,000 of licence payers’ money on legal fees in order to prevent efforts to force it to do so.

In December last year, a parliamentary investigation was announced into the BBC’s coverage of Jews and Israel. This followed a petition set up by the Jewish Chronicle stimulated in part by the BBC’s coverage of an antisemitic attack on Jewish schoolchildren on London’s Oxford Street. The BBC said that an audio recording made during the incident included an anti-Muslim slur made from inside the bus, something for which there was no evidence. Ofcom found “significant editorial failings” in the BBC’s coverage.

At the same time that the parliamentary probe was announced, the BBC reformed its Arabic service, employing Output Monitors to enforce standards. As to how well that process went, we can only judge by some of the activity on social media by BBC News’s Arabic reporters. One endorsed a post describing October 7th as “a morning of hope”.

Language is important and never more so in the face of barbaric murder, outright terrorism and a climate of racial hatred and incitement to violence. During the Corbyn years, casual antisemitism and hatred of Israel became conflated but also normalised. The BBC has played an influential role in this normalisation. Last night’s small protest may have little or no impact and was dwarfed in scale by those over the weekend supporting Palestine. A small and marginalised Jewish community in Britain is grateful for government support and ministerial condemnation of those glorifying Hamas. It now needs the same from its national broadcaster.

Ian Price is a Business Psychologist. Find him on Twitter.

Tags: Balen ReportBBCIsraelOfcom

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80 Comments
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FerdIII
FerdIII
1 month ago

Not good news. Seems he/Trump caved in to the leftard violence against Tesla. That just emboldens the fascists.

Will DOGE survive? Will the US survive the coming civil war that the Leftards are agitating for, and apparently planning for?

9
-4
MadWolf303
MadWolf303
1 month ago
Reply to  FerdIII

Whitehouse says story is bollox.

5
0
FerdIII
FerdIII
1 month ago
Reply to  MadWolf303

Yes don’t see it anywhere else.

Good news if false. It would just show weakness as the leftard fascists gear up to start a civil war.

1
0
Cirdan
Cirdan
1 month ago
Reply to  MadWolf303

yep, when a 2nd April article quotes an article written the day before …

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0
rms
rms
1 month ago

I suspect it was his activities in Wisconsin for this week’s election that created the pressure from the Cabinet that put him over the edge.

Meantime, fun while it lasted. And hopefully lessons learned now by Cabinet and some trickle into UK (probably not).

4
0
Jack the dog
Jack the dog
1 month ago

Whatever els3 the Overton window has shifted considerably.

If only Tesla made a petrol powered truck I’d seriously consider buying one.

In the spirit of solidarity.

5
0
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack the dog

If Tesla did make a proper car it wouldn’t be possible as a business – the ONLY way it has ever turned a profit is by having greenwashing politicians shower it with money for “saving the planet”.

Musk is a genius, just not in the ways most people think.

Last edited 1 month ago by Marcus Aurelius knew
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Jack the dog
Jack the dog
1 month ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

Yes, and no. The money was there, and he took it, and spent it saving free speech for sceptics.

I think he is indeed a business and engineering genius.

4
0
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack the dog

“I think he is indeed a business and engineering genius.”

Please qualify this statement.

0
-3
Norfolk-Sceptic
Norfolk-Sceptic
1 month ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

Did that rocket really ‘return to base’?
And in the Private Sector?
Amazing!

1
0
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago

Trump has realised what I have known since 2016 at least : Musk is an effing liability and a conman.

0
-9
Jack the dog
Jack the dog
1 month ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

No on this I disagree. He is certainly a multifaceted character but amongst the great tech bilionaires he’s a stand out figure.

6
-1
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack the dog

“Stand out figure”… for what, exactly?

Last edited 1 month ago by Marcus Aurelius knew
-1
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Jack the dog
Jack the dog
1 month ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

By far the smartest, capable of independent thinking and my gut instinct is he’s broadly on the side of freedom and individualism.

But I also have hunch that nothing I say will change your mind, so there we are.

6
-2
Pequay
Pequay
1 month ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

MDS muchly?

1
0
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  Pequay

What does MDS mean?

Musk Derangement Syndrome?

Not at all. I know too much about him.

0
0
Solentviews
Solentviews
1 month ago

DOGE is bigger than Musk (as it should be). He has shown what can be done and has assembled a good team.

The DOGE concept and it’s underlying principles are sound. I think it is probably a good time for Musk to step back.

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Purpleone
Purpleone
1 month ago

Thinking seems to be he’s established it, and him stepping back will remove an obvious hate figure for the left to attack, while allowing DOGE to continue to pursue efficiencies – Tesla share price could do with a little more of Musks focus I’d say as well, so good move

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Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago

This split is being dressed up as amicable because:

Trump is vain and proud and can’t admit to having been conned by someone he so publicly got into bed with.

Musk has realised the game is up now that Trump has figured him out for what he is and cannot afford to fall out with Trump lest Trump gets angry and tells the world the real reason he has kicked him out.

Mark my words. I have been watching Musk closely since 2011.

And don’t give me all the “Musk has saved free speech” crap. The minute it suits him he will be censoring Twitter/X. He already has, regarding negative events at SpaceX. Heck, the reason he bought Twitter was to silence critics of Tesla. Musk is a very petty person and a megalomaniac and a bully.

I am not happy about any of this. The state, US state included, needs to be shrunk, of course, and I hope DOGE continues.

Reminder: Musk wanted Trump on side to protect Tesla despite Trump’s very necessary war against all things “save the planet” (electric cars being one of those things). Without TSLA being the price it is, Musk is DEAD IN THE WATER.

If I was wealthier than I am, I would now be taking out a strong SHORT position in TSLA. It’s something I was considering a while back, thank god I didn’t pull the trigger…

As always, follow the money.

Good luck to all.

Last edited 1 month ago by Marcus Aurelius knew
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-6
Jack the dog
Jack the dog
1 month ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

But you’re not wealthy he’s the richest man in the world.

That tells me he’s doing something right which you’re not unless of course material comforts are not your cup of tea, which is also an entirely legitimate indeed admirable position.

3
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Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack the dog

I have no problem with wealthy people. I consider myself successful enough in this regard and I am very happy with my life and achievements so far. But it’s the manner in which Elon has become wealthy – theft and crony capitalism.

And by the way – despite what is written everywhere (including in the article referenced above), he did not found Tesla, for a start. He stole it, and drove the founder to an early grave.

And his wealth is almost entirely in TSLA paper. Which, if the price crashes, will leave your hero all but penniless.

Musk MUST continue to sell his TSLA, to fund his incredibly wasteful and messed up endeavours (private and professional). But he mustn’t sell too much, because he could trigger a rush by all to sell. That’s already happening, anyway…

Don’t suffer from Hero Worship. If you do, at least choose someone perhaps worthy of it. Your first candidates should be those people you know, first hand.

Last edited 1 month ago by Marcus Aurelius knew
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0
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

Correction, I was wrong that Martin Eberhard (co-founder of Tesla with Marc Tarpenning in 2003) died, he has not. Apologies. Not sure why I thought that.

Last edited 1 month ago by Marcus Aurelius knew
1
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
1 month ago

And there’s me thinking it’s because he wants to spend more time with his ever-expanding family.🤥
Is it 14 kids he’s up to now? Does he live with any of them? Where does he even find the time to be a dad?
Kids preferably need a present father growing up, not a mostly absent sperm donor. No amount of money can be a substitute for that.

3
-1
Jack the dog
Jack the dog
1 month ago
Reply to  Mogwai

How do you know he’s not present or doesn’t want to be present?

Has it not occurred to you that perhaps these various mothers simply wanted to have a kid by the most brilliant and virile man in the world?

Do you actually understand human nature?

Last edited 1 month ago by Jack the dog
3
-2
Mogwai
Mogwai
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack the dog

How can you be “present” in 14 kids’ lives, who are all obviously at various stages in their childhood, reaching milestones and going through the different challenges of child development along the way? Do you even have the first clue what you’re on about? 🤔 “Human nature”, as I understand it, generally means a man wants to father children and actually stick around to bring them up. I know, right? Radical.🙄

Do you happen to be privy to the set-up of Musk’s personal family life? Because I never said I was. But if he’s got that amount of kids with several women he can hardly be fully committed to being a dad to all AND a successful businessman of this calibre, can he?
Or perhaps this basic concept didn’t occur to you, given you so obviously idolise the guy and think the sun shines out of his arse. 😏

Last edited 1 month ago by Mogwai
1
-1
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  Mogwai

Jack is suffering from a bad case of Hero Worship where Musk is concerned. I understand he isn’t alone.

1
-1
Mogwai
Mogwai
1 month ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

Totally. I mean, for sure the guy has done some impressive stuff and I’m not going to deny he’s transformed Twitter compared to what it was, but nobody is beyond reproach. Some people acting like we’ve just insulted their mother because we dare to say anything critical about the world’s richest man that nobody’s ever going to meet..LOL Blimey. Probably a man-crush 😉

0
0
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack the dog

“…most brilliant and virile man in the world”

Keep drinking the Koolaid, Jack!

1
0
rms
rms
1 month ago

https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2025/04/02/fake-news-karoline-leavitt-calls-report-that-musk-is-on-the-outs-at-doge-garbage-n2187426

The Mail story, and this repost, **might** be fake news.

Last edited 1 month ago by rms
2
0
MadWolf303
MadWolf303
1 month ago
Reply to  rms

Whitehouse says it is bollox.

4
0
Heretic
Heretic
1 month ago

I think that one of the main reasons was this:

“…There were mutterings of tension with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. 
Musk was reported to not follow the White House chain of command, which would require him to keep Wiles in the loop more.”

He was trying to do a lot of pioneering stuff, and I reckon the woman drove him out by endless nagging complaints, in order to solidify her own authority, and put the brakes on everything.

Who was organizing all the terrorist attacks on Tesla, we wonder? It’s all very strange.

Last edited 1 month ago by Heretic
1
0
Scunnered
Scunnered
1 month ago

”Musk is a “special government employee,” which has a 130-day time limit, meaning he was scheduled to go back to business life at the end May anyway.”

Seems highly unlikely; with only a month to go Musk would simply depart with the message “foundations of DOGE well established” and everyone’s egos in tact.

Last edited 1 month ago by Scunnered
2
0
Covid-1984
Covid-1984
1 month ago

Surprised the Sceptic has fallen for this. Musk has an opportunity to make history. History that will be blurred out in any corporate success. Musk is no Henry Ford in terms of EV’S. My milk float was electric 60 years ago

1
0
NeilofWatford
NeilofWatford
1 month ago

FAKE NEWS ALERT
Musk is going nowhere, suggest DS corrects its post
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/fake-news-media-says-elon-musk-is-stepping/

0
0
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  NeilofWatford

Erm, what does POTUS say? Has he said it’s fake?

0
0
Less government
Less government
1 month ago

Draining the swamp was never going to be easy. Elon has made a fantastic contribution to exposing and destroying widespread corruption. We need to do the same in the UK. Vote Reform.

0
0
Peter Sutton
Peter Sutton
1 month ago

People need to be very careful about supporting Musk.
.
His words are all very splendid but everything he does, from building ridiculous and unnecessary electric vehicles to littering our skies with low orbit satellites, seem tailor made for the digital gulag the so called “elites” are determined to lock all of humanity in.

0
0
GMO
GMO
1 month ago

Right from the beginning it was planned for Musk’s position to be temporary.

0
0

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