The BBC ignores the beating of Palestinian journalist they interviewed only days before

[mary rizzo]

David Halpin has sent me some letters he wrote to the BBC. I've put them on Palestine Think Tank. It is amazing how the BBC can interview a journalist on one day (to show that the west is so great and awards Palestinian photojournalists) but when that same man is beaten to a state of unconsciousness, they become shallow and don't report it..... Thank God for Independent Media!!

LETTERS TO THE BBC BY DAVID HALPIN
To BBC News online

Dear Olivia,

My first message to you was on 06/28/2008 at 08:33 PM.

I see no report of the assault on this journalist on the BBC web site. Assuming you are on holiday, I am copying this to senior colleagues. To this lay person, there would appear to be several reasons to report that which Mohammed Omer has and is suffering.

1. The BBC were sufficiently interested to interview him on BBC World Service just before he left for France. I provided the contact number for that to happen.

2. It is true is it not that an unprecedented number of journalists have been killed in Iraq - at least 250? 9 have been killed in Gaza. The alleged barbaric treatment of this young journalist should be reported; the louder the silence, the greater the state impunity.

3. If this was Alan Johnston and not a Palestinian (albeit of great talent), the story would have been number one.

4. I ask what would have been reported by yourselves if the boot which trod on his throat had lead to his death. It has been a near thing and I have not had a report today. Would his dying from this assault by agents of Israel have been reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation?

5. His courage is exceptional - and our world needs that more than ever.

His own web site http://www.rafahtoday.org/

I ask that you report it. He was/is in the European hospital near Khan Younis. Its number is Tel 00970 - 8- 2054495

Yours sincerely David Halpin FRCS

Dear Olivia,

A more explicit report http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43005 and an up to date report from a Swedish journalist who has taken Mo’s writing and photos for these last 5 years. Lotta Schullerquist spoke with him in the European hospital. He is on a ‘drip’ because he cannot swallow and his speech is faint. It is likely that the boot was ‘placed’ across his larynx as he lay supine. A major ‘broadsheet’ will carry the details tomorrow. They were celebrating the birth of a ‘democracy’ 60 years ago in Trafagar Square I am told.

For truth David

BBC Online

Dear Olivia,

You were aware of this prize giving 14 days ago. I was honoured to attend. We were distressed when we learned that a tired but happy Mo had been stopped from entering Palestine. I have returned from another enjoyable Palestinian exercise last night in London to learn of this assault on an unarmed young man, who with his family has already suffered greatly under the Israelis. A brother was shot dead, his mother was shot in the leg and the family home was demolished in Rafah in 2004.

I thought you would wish to report this. I have his number for corroboration but I imagine he will not to hear from the west at present.

With best wishes David

from www.palestinethinktank.com

[Iqbal Tamimi]

Unfortunately BBC is biassed, I never knew that until I have added its link to my page. Every single day I could read its biassed chosen headlines that shows Israel a victim and manipulates the chosen words to dilute the blood of Palestinians. Covering every single mishap to Israelies but rarely cared to mention the tortured torn apart Palestinians.
Even our couragous colleague Allan Johnston when he was gifted with the Palestinian Koffiya during the NUJ conference in Belfast by the Chair of the Palestinian Cyndicate of Palestinian Journalists Mr Naeem Tobasi... all the people on the conference stage wore the gift around their necks but Alan, even though I know for sure that he respects the Palestinians and his colleagues the Palestinian journalists because he told me so, he thanked them for their role in securing his release and I was there. When I mentioned that incident in the presence of other collegues who were there present with me, I was told he could not wear the Kofia because of BBC rules and guidelines!!! how strange? All other high profile people working for different journalism bodies did.. but he could not...does that say something?

[mary rizzo]

That is such an interesting anecdote, Iqbal! It is no doubt that the BBC and other mainstream companies are censoring, but to even go this far so as to tell a person what he or she can or cannot wear as long as it is not indecent steps beyond the line of giving a person some salary for their work, but in controlling their private lives. I know that the Shin Bet is the "examination board" for foreign journalists working in Israel, but one would think that while not being filmed by the cameras of the BBC which get their journalists to work "thanks" to the GSS, when a journalist is living his own life, there would not be such restrictions made. Very sad to know this, but not surprised.

[Iqbal Tamimi]

I have been told imagine if he was seen wearing the Kofiya, what kind of comments would appear in the media with his picture then?

I could not imagine anything, because it was just a gesture of love and respect. And I mentioned to a colleague then that I saw leaders like Bush, and Tony Blair wearing the little cap the Jews wear in warship areas when they visited Palestine, nothing came up in my mind. Such clothing did not mean that they became Israeli's or Jews or that it is a sign of agreement with Israel's policies ( even though I know both of them are totally devoted to defend Israel's policies regardless of anything), but in such visits wearing the little cap was only a sign of respect for the host since they were invited to a holy place.

What I mean clothes or accessories do not change a person or his way of thinking but such touches shows respect and acceptance of other people's traditions. But BBC seems to analyse every single thing to a point the people working for it do not know where they line is drawn. What time they can consider themselves free as individuals outside working hours. A BBC employee is never alone, he is never himself. He is always trying to please his employer.

I wonder how many BBC colleagues have some sympathy for the Palestinians and can see nothing because they do not want to lose their jobs, or get themselves into trouble with their bosses!!!

Working for the media is another kind of slavery. There is never an independent media, and there is no free media. Every journalist is a slave to the employer that provide him with the cost of his loaf of bread, otherwise ... I'm sure by now you would have heard about the attack on the Palestinian journalist.

[mary rizzo]

You are right, there is no truly independent media, except the kind you, me, Haitham, Steve, Paola, Fausto, etc., create. We actually have to PAY to do it! (All tlaxcala translators, in addition to working for free, pay a yearly fee to keep our site running, it's very expensive, but this is the price for being free to translate what we want). Not to mention, all the articles we write and send around, never seeing money for it... Oh well.... perhaps one day this will change. I do know that a few years ago, there was LESS censorship, but also, less outlets for getting the information and opinions out. We can only keep on doing what we can.

Of course, it would be nice if some famous person would "make the keffiyah ok"... A good friend of mine wrote a paper on this that I put on my blog a while back: http://peacepalestine.blogspot.com/2007/01/hebron-is-my-wailing-wal...

check it out!

[Andrew J Silvera]

You're both right, there is no independent media, even George Galloway's Talksport Radio Show is restricted as is owned by Radio Ulster I think.

This has been a bad month for the BBC:

First this:

SteveLendmanBlog: BBC's Pro-Israeli Bias
Source: sjlendman.blogspot.com

In its near 86 year history, BBC has a long, unbroken and dubious distinction. Today it's little different from its corporate-run counterparts in America, Britain and throughout the world. In fact, on its tailored for a US BBC America audience, what passes for news matches stride for stride what people here see every day - mind-numbing commercialism, shoddy reporting, pseudo-journalism, celebrity and sports features, and other diverting and distracting non-news that should embarrass correspondents and presenters delivering it. It offends viewers and treats them like mushrooms - well-watered, in the dark, and uninformed about the most important world and national issues affecting their lives and welfare. [Link to a plethora of examples

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2008/06/bbcs-pro-israeli-bias.html

This was posted on a Yahoo Group with no link just recently:

Dear Helen Boaden,

I am recording this complaint direct to you because experience tells me that complaints through the web-site are not taken seriously.

I set out below the BBC website report on breaks in the Gaza truce, from which there is a clear impression that breaches of the truce are being committed equally by both sides.

Yesterday, UN produced a report which covered 6 breaches of the truce by Israel and only one by the Palestinians. Perhaps UN has a less corrupt view of reality.

Yours sincerely,

Christopher Leadbeater

& now Mohammed Omer's situation; the fact that they interviewed him recently, you'd think they would have followed up on it and shows the bias to be blatant.

[Iqbal Tamimi]

[Timmy]

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY



CHECK THIS>>>>>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7483801.stm

[Andrew J Silvera]

H'mm, last night I sent this but what was Steve Lendman saying about the BBC?:

Another article that should be here, especially considering:

The Israeli official said at the end of the search Mr Omer "lost his balance and fell, for some reason unknown to us".

is:

Khalid Amayreh - Full account of Muhammed Omer’s hair-raising encounter with the Shin Bet
Posted: 01 Jul 2008 03:19 AM CDT

From his hospital bed at the European Hospital in Gaza and with barely audible voice, award-winning Palestinian journalist Muhammed Omer has given a full account of the hair-raising encounter he had last week with Shin Bet agents at the Allenby Bridge border-crossing between Jordan and the West Bank.
Omer, a co-winner of the 2008 Martha Gelhorn Prize for Journalistic Excellence, said he was abused, assaulted, humiliated, ridiculed, kicked, and strip-searched at gunpoint by undisciplined Shin Bet officers until he had a nervous breakdown in which case he lost consciousness for at least 90 minutes. http://tinyurl.com/6ztacn


, "2day" , "news24" , "newsnight" , "panorama" , "worldservice"

Caabu Condemns - Shame About the beeb!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Action4Palestine/

--- On Mon, 30/6/08, CAABU wrote:

Date: Monday, 30 June, 2008, 5:57 PM

Press Release:

CAABU condemns Israel's treatment of Palestinian journalist, Mohamed Omar

CAABU condemns the appalling treatment of the Palestinian journalist and joint winner of the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, Mohamed Omar. On returning from a tour of Europe, that included three days in London, he was detained by Israeli security forces at Allenby Bridge. Here he was interrogated and subsequently beaten up for over four hours. He lost consciousness and was hospitalised. He has now returned to the Gaza Strip, and is in hospital where he is being treated, not least for broken ribs. CAABU calls on the Israeli government to launch an immediate independent inquiry into this outrage and to ensure that Mohamed Omar is fully compensated for what happened.

CAABU was delighted to have been involved in helping arrange the programme for the visit of the award winning Palestinian journalist from Rafah. He came to London to receive the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism from 16-18 June. CAABU helped arrange briefing sessions with politicians, academics, NGOs and other interested parties, where Mohamed gave an outstanding but harrowing presentation of life in Gaza. This included a great deal of personal accounts of the brutality of the Israeli armed forces, not least the killing of his brother, and the demolition of his family's home in Rafah.

CAABU Director, Chris Doyle, said, "Having had the pleasure of meeting Mohamed Omar extensively during his visit, I could not help but be impressed with his courage and integrity, and as an outstanding journalist who valued his political independence. To find that he has been targeted and abused in such a fashion is deeply disturbing and our thoughts go out to him as he recovers in hospital. However, the international community should no longer remain silent about Israel's treatment of journalists, which has over the years involved harassment, censorship, intimation and even killing at a level that it totally unacceptable."

For further information please see http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/997593.html

For further details, information and interview requests, please contact Chris Doyle

1 Gough Square

London

EC4A 3DE

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Mobile: [phone]

[e-mail]

About CAABU

[Al-Khansa]

Wellahi I was shocked and sickened to read of the treatment of this young man by the Israelis at the boarder crossing, that was more than horrendous enough. But words fail me at the sheer blatant hypocracy of the BBC.

[Andrew J Silvera]

‘MOHAMMED OMER IS A LIAR!’ SO SAYS THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT
Steve Amsel
Desert Peace
The Israeli government clarified the entire situation regarding his ‘beatings and torture’ in a Reuters report just issued… THEY DENIED EVERYTHING!

Israel would NEVER lie…. I can’t understand why Reuters would even give coverage to such blatant lies… especially considering that Israel has still not given them details of the MURDER of their own reporter Fadel Shana two months ago.

(May the lying bastards rot in hell!!! That’s all I have to say about Israel’s statement)


It’s not too late to demand a full investigation of the incident….

[Al-Khansa]

Well one can tell who has their filthy fingers gripped vice like around the throat of the media.It appears Andrew that you feeel the same imppotent rage that I do....Thank you for saying in brackets that I was to shy to say myself.

[Al-Khansa]

And ironicly enough to add insult to injury,the BBC is all to happy to have a story of a bulldozer crashing into cars in Jerusalem."Deadly Bulldozer Attack" "Jerusalem Rampage".Full glorious detail,shock and horror of eye witnesses a comment by the mayor.....and yet on the shocking horror of the beating of Muhammed Omer a deafening silence....