Posted
7th August 2001
BBC Buckles
By
Robert Fisk of The Independent, UK.
T In a major surrender to Israeli diplomatic pressure, BBC officials
in London have banned their staff in Britain and the Middle
East from referring to Israel's policy of murdering its guerrilla
opponents as "assassination". BBC reporters have been told that
in future they are to use Israel's own euphemism for the murders,
calling them "targeted killings". BBC journalists were astonished
that the assignments editor, Malcolm Downing, should have sent
out the memorandum to staff, stating that the word "assassinations"
"should only be used for high-profile political assassinations".
There were, Mr Downing said, "lots of other words for death".
Up to 60 Palestinian activists ‚ and numerous civilians, including
two children killed last week ‚ have been gunned down by Israeli
death squads or missile-firing Israeli helicopter pilots. The
White House has gently chided Israel about these attacks, but
already this week the BBC has been using the phrase "targeted
attacks" for the policy of murder. The Palestinian killing of
Israelis, however, is regularly referred to ‚ accurately ‚ as
"murder" or "assassination". Mr Downing's memorandum suggests
that the murder of a leading Israeli ‚ the late prime minister
Yitzhak Rabin, killed by an Israeli extremist ‚ is worthy of
the word "assassination" while the killing of Palestinians is
not.
The memo apparently says that "assassination" can only be used
"sparingly" and with "attribution". The ban resulted from a
discussion between Mr Downing and Vin Ray, deputy head of newsgathering
at BBC World TV. Israeli diplomats have been lunching with BBC
officials and complaining that the corporation's coverage was
anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian. The Israeli murder campaign
is, in fact, far from "targeted". In the first such killings,
two middle-aged Palestinian women were killed. After the initial
reporting of the incident, the BBC dropped all reference to
the female victims. ...
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