Michael White has won the ‘Most Senseless Talking Head’ Honest Reporting award for 2009 for his statement on BBC radio that:
In Israel they murder each other a great deal. The Israeli Defense Forces murder people because they don’t like their political style and what they’ve got to say and it only means that people more extreme come in and take their place.
Absolute rubbish of course. What makes it worse is that Mr White is fully aware of the consequences that outrageous public slurs against Israel have on British Jews. Just 18 days earlier he had written this in The Guardian:
But it behoves political leaders to be careful what they say on prominent public platforms about inflammatory subjects that can easily spark trouble. “It’s simply not true that intemperate attacks on Israel don’t lead to more attacks on Jews,” a Jewish friend of mine chided me the other day. He’d just had his car trashed outside his house – on purpose; a neighbour saw what happened.
White makes a very valid point, but it’s a shame he doesn’t follow it himself.
What was he thinking?
Hypocrisy thy name is The Guardian
A richly deserved award ….
I hadn’t seen White’s earlier article, thanks for pointing it out. Unfortunately I think his views about Israel are fairly commonly held among media types, it’s not really surprising that this stance comes through in their journalism. I also think part of the problem with the Middle East is its complicated nature, and journalists have a habit of simplifying and sensationalising things.
Anyway I’ve just set up my 2010 monthly donation to HR, I think those guys do some fantastic work.
Michael White has a Jewish friend?
chaitwoman: I’m sure some of his *best* friends are Jewish, as the saying goes
Does he have a track record of anti-Israel statements? I wasn’t aware of any others.
I actually think the second bit I quoted was very admirable of him, in isolation at least.
Its interesting because I think it was Micheal White who said recently that having started out broadly pro Israel and then gone the other way he had now returned to his original opinion!
Is he just very confused or is this kind of stuff just what you get by trying to square every cirle and perhaps please everybody too.
Mark2: I think he’s suffering from peer pressure, from which he’s partially recovered!
NM
I think that was pretty much what I as getting at. I think a lot of it is about peer pressure – not least among the ranks of anti Isreali Jews – the Roses, Marks and co.
Thanks for your comments everyone.
I heard this programme and passed it on to Honest Reporting and to the London Embassy. I am frustrated that the Israeli government doesn’t take this man to court for what must be slander against Israel and the IDF.
Is anyone aware of any legal, political or diplomatic constraints that prevent him being sued?
Perhaps Mr. White was confusing Israel and the IDF with the altercations between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza.
/sarcasm