Words matter. You’d think that a broadcasting company would understand the importance of correctly describing those involved in terrorism. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the BBC.
BBC is British public television. It was established under a royal charter and operates under its agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. BBC came under criticism from seven ex-culture secretaries for refusal to call Hama terrorists. In its broadcasts, Hamas was called militants. Former secretaries urged the news corporation to ‘urgently reassess’ its description in the wake of its attack on Israel.
Some public figures warned that the BBC’s use of militant could legitimize Hamas’s attack.
The seven Conservative culture secretaries cite the BBC’s own guidelines, which state that impartiality does not require “absolute neutrality” on every issue or “detachment from fundamental democratic principles”.
They warned: “The BBC’s commitment is to impartiality, not indifference. This distinction is now in danger of being blurred.
“Worryingly, the imprecise language of ‘fighters’ and ‘militants’ also serves to conflate terrorists with the Palestinian people, who suffer more than anyone from Hamas’s actions.
“We therefore add our voices to the mounting concerns about the BBC’s language around this terror group. It is time to urgently reassess your approach.”
Glossing over calling terrorists what they are does show a tendency to fuzzy-up what is happening. Hamas are terrorists who kill innocent civilians, including women and children and the elderly, while a militant is aggressive and combative for a cause, usually a political cause. Terrorists are always evil. They don’t set out to change minds, they set out to kill.
Britain’s Chief Rabbi said, ‘This is not ‘resistance’ or ‘struggle’. It is terrorism. To purposefully avoid that word is to willfully mislead.”
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was criticized after he failed to condemn Hamas. Instead, he accused Israel of planning to “erase” Palestinian lives. His currently an independent MP.
We should condemn the targeting of all civilian life, no matter who does it.
Why can’t our politicians uphold this basic moral principle, and defend international law universally and equally?
How many innocent Palestinian lives should be erased in the name of self-defence?
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 12, 2023
Unlike Hamas terrorists who attacked Israelis, Israel’s military is not setting out to erase Palestinians. It is setting out to erase Hamas and must do so once and for all in Gaza.
Under pressure, BBC is now agreeing to call Hamas terrorists. The wording is reported to be “a proscribed terrorist organization by the UK government.” That’s a mouthful. Just say terrorists. BBC director-general, Tim Davie, will go before Parliament this week to discuss BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. He is scheduled to visit Parliament on Wednesday where the MPs will question him.
The BBC has spent the past fortnight defending its decision not to use the term “terrorists” to describe Hamas, in line with the regulator Ofcom’s guidelines on maintaining impartiality. However, it has come under increasing pressure to ditch the term “militants, with a BBC spokeswoman confirming: “We have been finding this a less accurate description for our audiences as the situation evolves.”
Viewers aren’t stupid. They know terrorists when they see them.
The Times of London quoted an anonymous member of Parliament. Viewers are changing the channel and leaving the BBC.
“The BBC are losing people because they aren’t behaving in a way that meets the majority of viewers’ expectations of them. Not to describe Hamas’s actions as a terrorist attack was pretty pathetic and that has undermined so much of what has followed.”
Leftists, including BBC, are slowly realizing that this is a moment of clarity and either you are with Israel or you are with Hamas. There is no in-between in this battle. Leftists can talk about innocent Palestinians all they want but Gazans elected Hamas by an overwhelming majority in 2006 to lead the country.
It’s time to call a terrorist a terrorist. Hamas must be destroyed.
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