OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY MARKED AS ‘ISRAEL’ – COMPLAIN TO THE RADIO TIMES

Once again, Gaza and the West Bank have been incorporated into Israel – on this occasion by the Radio Times.

The latest issue of the magazine (22-28 August) features an article on a new series called The Frankincense Trail, in which presenter Kate Humble visits Bethlehem and gives her reasons as to why she was unable to film in Gaza. In the magazine, her comments on Bethlehem and Gaza are printed under the heading of ‘Israel’, implying they are part of that country. No Israeli locations are mentioned in the article.     

WRITE TO THE RADIO TIMES DEMANDING A CORRECTION IN THE NEXT ISSUE.

You may want to use the sample letter (below)

Email to: radio.times@bbc.co.uk
Write to: Radio Times, MC1D2, 201 Wood Lane, London, W12 7TQ

PSC has also written a letter of complaint to the Radio Times – see below

Sample Letter for members to send:

Dear Editor

I am writing to complain about an inexcusable inaccuracy in the most recent edition of the Radio Times (22-28 August).

In an article about a new series called ‘The Frankincense Trail’, mention is made of Gaza and Bethlehem under the heading ‘Israel’, implying they are part of that country.

This is blatantly not the case. Gaza is Palestinian territory that has been under illegal Israeli occupation since 1967. Bethlehem is a town in the West Bank, not in Israel. The West Bank is also Palestinian territory that has been subject to illegal occupation by Israel for 42 years. Neither Gaza nor the West Bank are recognised under international law as being part of Israel, and UN Resolution 242 unequivocally calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Such sloppy and inaccurate journalism from an organisation such as the BBC is disgraceful, and a higher standard of knowledge of both geography and politics should be expected of its reporters.

I fully expect a correction to be printed in the next issue of the Radio Times, making it clear that Gaza and Bethlehem are part of Occupied Palestine, not Israel as your article implies.

Yours faithfully

Letter sent by the PSC to Radio Times:

20 August 2009

The Editor
Radio Times
MC1D2
201 Wood Lane
London
W12 7TQ

Dear Editor

I am writing with regard to the disturbing inaccuracy contained in the most recent edition of the Radio Times (22-28 August 2009).

In a feature on Kate Humble’s four-part series, ‘The Frankincense Trail’ (p20-22), there is a paragraph sub-headed ‘Israel’, which mentions how Ms Humble was unable to visit and film in Gaza so recorded a programme in Bethlehem instead.

It should not need to be pointed out to BBC journalists that neither Gaza nor Bethlehem are in Israel. Such sloppy and inaccurate journalism in a BBC publication is inexcusable.

The Gaza Strip is Palestinian territory that has been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967. Bethlehem is a town in the West Bank, not in Israel. The West Bank is also Palestinian territory, again under illegal occupation by Israel since 1967.

Under international law, neither Gaza nor the West Bank are recognised as being part of Israel. UN Resolution 242 demands the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Israel remains in breach of these, and many other, UN resolutions that pertain to these territories.

In 2007, the Radio Times carried an advertisement placed by the Israeli Government Tourist Office that used a map of Israel which wrongly incorporated Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights into Israel. In April 2008, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the map was misleading and breached its ‘Truthfulness’ clause.

For this reason alone, the Radio Times should have become aware of the correct geographical location of Bethlehem and the international status of Gaza and the West Bank.

Ms Humble also mentions that she and her film crew didn’t visit Gaza because they were advised ‘it was too dangerous to go there’. The truth is that Gaza is under blockade by Israel and has been banning not just journalists, but essential supplies such as food, medicine and reconstruction materials from entry. Convoys carrying humanitarian aid have been turned away at Gaza’s borders, as have doctors and aid workers.

It would have been more truthful and accurate if the Radio Times had mentioned this as a reason Ms Humble had to film in Bethlehem instead. Just as journalists were banned by Israel from entering Gaza in December and January during an aerial and land assault that killed 1,400 Palestinians, so journalists are restricted in their entry now, and consequently prevented from reporting fully on the devastation caused by the Israeli assault. It is extremely disingenuous of the Radio Times to gloss over these facts in the way it has done so.

On p20, Ms Humble makes political comments that have nothing to do with frankincense on Saudi Arabia’s justice system. It would therefore have been just as easy for her to comment on the blockade on Gaza, and more relevant, as this is a reason she was unable to film there.

It would have been equally possible for her to comment on her reaction to seeing the residents of Bethlehem living like prisoners in their town, surrounded by the illegal Israeli Separation Wall and illegal Israeli settlements, in the same way she made social comments on Yemen, Jordan and Egypt. Instead, she describes filming in Bethlehem, a town whose people live under military occupation, denied land and water rights, with their movements restricted by checkpoints and a 25-foot high concrete wall, as ‘a wonderful end to our journey’.

Ms Humble, when describing her claustrophobia at wearing the abaya, says she ‘relishes freedom above all other things’. It is interesting, therefore, that she chooses to ignore, in her comments, the denial of freedom to Palestinians, and the feeling of claustrophobia that comes with being imprisoned in your own town, a situation which should have shocked a truly freedom-loving person.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign asks for a correction to be printed in the next issue of the Radio Times, amending the misleading impression that has been given that Gaza and Bethlehem are part of Israel. The correction should state clearly that Gaza is an Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Bethlehem is in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of the West Bank.

The manner in which you have currently presented the situation is wholly inaccurate, and not befitting a publication like the Radio Times, whose readers expect high standards of knowledge and accuracy from its journalists.

I look forward to hearing from you on this issue.

Yours faithfully

Palestine Solidarity Campaign