BBC refuses airtime to Gaza aid appeal

The BBC has refused to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, leaving aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group for 13 aid charities, launched its appeal yesterday saying the devastation in Gaza was "so huge British aid agencies were compelled to act".

But the BBC made a rare breach of an agreement dating to 1963, saying it would not give free airtime to the appeal. Other broadcasters followed suit. Previously, broadcasters had agreed on the video and script to be used with the DEC, to be shown after primetime news bulletins.

The BBC, which has been criticised in the past over alleged bias in its coverage of the Middle East, said it did not want to risk public confidence in its impartiality. A BBC spokesperson said: "The decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of [a] news story."

The DEC's chief executive, Brendan Gormley, said: "We are totally apolitical ... this appeal is a response to humanitarian principles. The BBC seems to be confusing impartiality with equal airtime."

DEC appeals have recently raised £10m for the Congo and £18m for Burma.

An ITV spokesman said the broadcasters, after assessing the DEC's needs, had been unable "to reach a consensus necessary for an appeal".

Sky said: "By convention, if all broadcasters do not carry the appeal, then none do. The decision was effectively made for us."

The Guardian

wednesday wrote:

Who watched Gaza Unseen last night at 11.05 C4?

Is that anything like Ibiza Uncovered?

wednesday wrote:

Ya'qub wrote:

wednesday wrote:

Who watched Gaza Unseen last night at 11.05 C4?

Is that anything like Ibiza Uncovered?

What's that like?

Like a fitna factory!

You wrote:

BBC refuses airtime to Gaza aid appeal

The BBC has refused to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, leaving aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group for 13 aid charities, launched its appeal yesterday saying the devastation in Gaza was "so huge British aid agencies were compelled to act".

But the BBC made a rare breach of an agreement dating to 1963, saying it would not give free airtime to the appeal. Other broadcasters followed suit. Previously, broadcasters had agreed on the video and script to be used with the DEC, to be shown after primetime news bulletins.

The BBC, which has been criticised in the past over alleged bias in its coverage of the Middle East, said it did not want to risk public confidence in its impartiality. A BBC spokesperson said: "The decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of [a] news story."

The DEC's chief executive, Brendan Gormley, said: "We are totally apolitical ... this appeal is a response to humanitarian principles. The BBC seems to be confusing impartiality with equal airtime."

DEC appeals have recently raised £10m for the Congo and £18m for Burma.

An ITV spokesman said the broadcasters, after assessing the DEC's needs, had been unable "to reach a consensus necessary for an appeal".

Sky said: "By convention, if all broadcasters do not carry the appeal, then none do. The decision was effectively made for us."

The Guardian

bbc has long been a zionist controlled platform and itv also has strong zionist backing. will C4 be showing it ?

Never saw it - is it available online?

BDB wrote:

bbc has long been a zionist controlled platform and itv also has strong zionist backing. will C4 be showing it ?

You do realise that the BBC is publicly funded?

If you read that article, you will notice that none will be - the broadcasting agreement is all or nothing from what it says. If one pulls out, they all do.

You wrote:

BDB wrote:

bbc has long been a zionist controlled platform and itv also has strong zionist backing. will C4 be showing it ?

You do realise that the BBC is publicly funded?

.

more the reason for there to be public outcry.

You wrote:

Never saw it - is it available online?

It's on 4oD

BDB wrote:

You wrote:

BDB wrote:

bbc has long been a zionist controlled platform and itv also has strong zionist backing. will C4 be showing it ?

You do realise that the BBC is publicly funded?

.

more the reason for there to be public outcry.

LOL. That means you have no idea what the phrase 'zionist backing' means.

Unless WE are the zionists... (looks around suspiciously)

in looking at this depressing news from Gaza, there is the patience needed for all Muslims to reflect

many times, we can see instances of "bad things" really being good things

Joseph’s brothers throwing him in the well........a good thing
moses's mother throwing her son in the river........a good thing

Even recently, we saw how september 11 brought droves of new Muslims into our ummah, we see how the Taliban have regrouped, stronger

in Iraq, the kuffar have been dealt a devastating defeat

all the while, as these things were happening, Muslims were despondent and lost heart

and now today, we see the Muslims in Gaza still calling the adhan, as the israeli soldiers are going door to door, killing women and babies

now we hear Hamas speaking of victory, the world has abandoned the Muslims in Palestine

So, in summary, Muslims are learning the strength of independence from the UN, from the USA, from the EU, from world opinion and learning to trust in Allah, that their strength comes from Allah, that our help comes from Allah, that we cannot let the world dictate what we should and should not do, that we should not even turn to the EU, UN, USA

These entities are kufr, and they have shown us, over and over, that they are not fair, they are not interested in helping the Muslims, that they will watch us get slaughtered if it will further their interests and increase their profits

slowly, Allah is showing us that there is no power nor strength except in Allah

Allah says, this is the book, without doubt

so let us stop doubting it, and put our trust in Allah

He took care of us when we were in the wombs of our mother, He has not forgotten us...........as long as we don’t forget Him

Ya'qub wrote:

BDB wrote:

You wrote:

BDB wrote:

bbc has long been a zionist controlled platform and itv also has strong zionist backing. will C4 be showing it ?

You do realise that the BBC is publicly funded?

.

more the reason for there to be public outcry.

LOL. That means you have no idea what the phrase 'zionist backing' means.

Unless WE are the zionists... (looks around suspiciously)

. . .

wednesday wrote:

Interesting. Question: Would Allah *really* forget us, even though we fail to remember Him every second?

And that question can be applied to humans (generally) of all faiths/beliefs. For the sake of being Allah's Creation, does Allah not remember those who are non-muslims? Would he *really* abandon His Creation, ever?

Don't ask, "what can America do for me?" Ask, "What can I do for America?"

Israeli PM in war crimes pledge

Any Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip will be given state protection from prosecution overseas, the country's PM has said.

Ehud Olmert said troops should know Israel would keep them safe after they acted to protect their country.

Palestinians say 1,300 people died during the offensive, and UN officials want independent probes into whether war crimes were committed...

Read more @ BBC News

Hamas offers $52m handouts to help hardest-hit Gazans

• Israelis destroyed or damaged 21,000 buildings
• Food factories among those hit during invasion

Hamas officials stepped in yesterday to offer cash handouts worth a total of $52m (£38.1m) to Gazans who had lost family members, homes or businesses, as fresh evidence emerged of Israel's destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including the territory's largest concrete factory and the only operating flour mill - both of which are now in ruins.

As well as the heavy toll on human life, more than 21,000 buildings and apartments have been wholly or partly destroyed, including at least 219 major factories, among them several industrial sites, including food processing plants.

Palestinian surveyors said an initial estimate shows overall damage of $1.9bn. Israel's leaders insisted its war was against Hamas and its structures in Gaza. But much of Gaza's private industry had already been forced out of business by Israel's economic blockade over the past year and a half. The rest has now been severely damaged by war.

"They are destroying the infrastructure of the economy," said Amr Hamad, head of the Palestinian Federation of Industries. "They want us to be dependent on their economy."

The damage severely limits any hope of swift reconstruction and drives Gaza closer to complete aid dependency.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert yesterday said the Israel Defence Forces had done "everything in order to avoid hitting civilians." "I do not know of any military that is more moral, fair and sensitive to civilians' lives than the IDF," he said.

One of the most striking targets was the al-Badr flour mill in Sudaniya, in northern Gaza, built in the 1920s and the largest mill in the strip.

After Israel halted imports of wheat flour into Gaza in early November, al-Badr became the last operating mill in the territory because it had a large store of wheat. Before dawn on January 10 the mill's main production lines, spread over five floors, were destroyed by an Israeli air strike - half the bomb casing remains on the first floor - and by several shells, apparently fired from tanks and Apache helicopters...

Read more @ The Guardian

BDB wrote:

You wrote:

BBC refuses airtime to Gaza aid appeal

The BBC has refused to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, leaving aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group for 13 aid charities, launched its appeal yesterday saying the devastation in Gaza was "so huge British aid agencies were compelled to act".

But the BBC made a rare breach of an agreement dating to 1963, saying it would not give free airtime to the appeal. Other broadcasters followed suit. Previously, broadcasters had agreed on the video and script to be used with the DEC, to be shown after primetime news bulletins.

The BBC, which has been criticised in the past over alleged bias in its coverage of the Middle East, said it did not want to risk public confidence in its impartiality. A BBC spokesperson said: "The decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of [a] news story."

The DEC's chief executive, Brendan Gormley, said: "We are totally apolitical ... this appeal is a response to humanitarian principles. The BBC seems to be confusing impartiality with equal airtime."

DEC appeals have recently raised £10m for the Congo and £18m for Burma.

An ITV spokesman said the broadcasters, after assessing the DEC's needs, had been unable "to reach a consensus necessary for an appeal".

Sky said: "By convention, if all broadcasters do not carry the appeal, then none do. The decision was effectively made for us."

The Guardian

bbc has long been a zionist controlled platform and itv also has strong zionist backing. will C4 be showing it ?

ITV has actually been pro-Palestinian, they've described Israel's reaction as unjust, but the question is : is that enough? At least they're better than the BBC.

Turkish PM storms off in Gaza row

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stormed off the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos after an argument with Israel's president.

Mr Erdogan clashed with Shimon Peres in a discussion on the recent fighting in the Gaza Strip, telling him: "You are killing people."

Mr Peres said Mr Erdogan would have done the same had rockets hit Istanbul.

Mr Erdogan accused the moderator of not allowing him to speak and said he did not think he would return to Davos.

He was cut off as he attempted to reply to a passionate defence of Israel's actions made by Mr Peres.

Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries to have dealings with Israel, but relations have been under strain since the Islamist-rooted AK Party was elected to power in 2002.

"I do not think I will be coming back to Davos after this because you do not let me speak," Mr Erdogan shouted before marching off the stage in front of Mr Peres, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and an elite audience of ministers and international officials...

Read more and watch the video @ BBC News.

Good on him.

If anyone can find a youtube/embeddable video for the debate, please link to it/create a blog post. Thanks.

It looks barbaric.

Kind of what happens when you kill the people up top who can put a leash on the more uncontrolled elements.

Inshallah all the oppressed (no matter who they may be) will get justice. I have heard that Allah (swt) never rejects the dua of an oppressed person - even if the person is not Muslim (no idea if its true or not).

Saying that, the targeting of some others who were providing the IDF with information - that is less hard to justify.

You wrote:

I have heard that Allah (swt) never rejects the dua of an oppressed person - even if the person is not Muslim (no idea if its true or not).

That's a hadith btw.

In one narration: The dua of the oppressed is accepted even though he be a sinner or even a disbeliever.

Rise of the moderates

Each and every Jew who protested as a Jew against the Gaza war had a personal Jewish imperative for doing so. Some simply expressed dismay; most demanded action to end the carnage. To say that we failed is neither an expression of despair nor a statement that dissent wasn't worthwhile. Realism suggests that it was inevitable.

Let's be clear: diaspora and Israeli Jewish support for the war was extensive - and extremely dispiriting. It raises the question: critical Jewish voices may have increased, but can we ever trigger decisive change in mainstream Jewish opinion? An unsentimental look at developments may give reason for hope...

Read more @ The Guardian