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shira

(30,109 posts)
Sun Jan 11, 2015, 06:20 PM Jan 2015

BBC Reporter Slammed for Anti-Semitic Comments at Paris March

Jewish rights groups have expressed their shock and outrage after a BBC news correspondent made comments claiming that Palestinians "suffer at Jewish hands" during Sunday's mega demonstration against terrorism in Paris, with some accusing him of blatant anti-Semitism.

BBC reporter Tim Wilcox was interviewing a French Jewish woman at the Paris mega rally, held after Islamist terrorists murdered 17 people in a string of attacks, including at a kosher grocery store. The latest attack on France's embattled Jewish community has left French Jews feeling understandably shaken, yet after hearing the woman's fears that Jews are being targeted in Europe, Wilcox interjected, saying: "many critics though of Israel's policy would suggest that the Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well."

His interviewee, clearly taken aback by the question, begins to respond by telling him that the two issues aren't comparable, at which point Willcox interrupts again: "but you understand everything is seen from different perspectives?"

WATCH:




more...
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/189800#.VLL2gIrF8Yc
23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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BBC Reporter Slammed for Anti-Semitic Comments at Paris March (Original Post) shira Jan 2015 OP
More from OP... shira Jan 2015 #1
Not a surprise, I'm afraid. NaturalHigh Jan 2015 #2
I'm at a loss for words .... Israeli Jan 2015 #3
Why should French Jews be punished for Israel's actions? hack89 Jan 2015 #4
In short ... Israeli Jan 2015 #8
Of course. nt hack89 Jan 2015 #11
Yes, it would have been better if he had said "at Israeli hands". potone Jan 2015 #5
Thank you potone ... Israeli Jan 2015 #9
The "Jewish hands" part oberliner Jan 2015 #6
Not surprised you just don't get it King_David Jan 2015 #7
Oh I get it KD ..... Israeli Jan 2015 #10
No I don't think the 150-200 post Zionists do represent Israel in any fashion whatsoever. King_David Jan 2015 #12
If you say so KD .... Israeli Jan 2015 #13
Of course King_David Jan 2015 #14
Maybe .... Israeli Jan 2015 #15
He's running into the same problems as Greta Berlin, Alex Kane and the ISM and half this group King_David Jan 2015 #17
You are the one that does not get us KD ..... Israeli Jan 2015 #18
For someone at a loss for words... NaturalHigh Jan 2015 #16
Anytime at all NaturalHigh ....nt. Israeli Jan 2015 #19
He himself thought he did something wrong , he apologized King_David Jan 2015 #20
Agree he should be fired leftynyc Jan 2015 #21
I think he gets it now KD .... Israeli Jan 2015 #22
Still wouldn't matter b/c he's suggesting Jews get what they deserve... shira Jan 2015 #23
 

shira

(30,109 posts)
1. More from OP...
Sun Jan 11, 2015, 06:24 PM
Jan 2015

It is not the first time Wilcox has been accused of anti-Semitism.

Less than two months ago, during a live daily review of the morning's papers hosted by Willcox, one of his guests claimed that a "Jewish lobby" was trying to subvert Labor party leader Ed Milliband's "principled" support of a controversial, symbolic bill to recognize "Palestine" as a state, by pulling funding for his election campaign.

Instead of calling out his interviewee for invoking an anti-Semitic trope, Willcox not only concurred, but added his own, commenting that "a lot of these prominent Jewish faces will be very much against the mansion tax" which Milliband supports.

Watch: BBC interview discusses "Jewish lobby" and "rich Jews"




The Campaign Against Antisemitism, a grassroots initiative formed several months ago to combat rising anti-Semitism in the UK, has called on British Jews and BBC viewers in general to lodge an official complaint on the BBC's website against Wilcox's "disgraceful" comments.

"Tim Willcox’s latest statement to offend Jewish viewers is that the Palestinians 'suffer hugely at Jewish Hands'... only weeks after he suggested that 'prominent Jewish faces will be very much against the mansion tax,'" noted Jonathan Sacerdoti, Director of Communications at the Campaign Against Antisemitism.

"This latest statement was made in response to a Jewish woman in Paris telling him that the situation there reminds her of 1930s Europe. It was a disgraceful slur given that four Jews had been massacred in a Jewish supermarket just two days earlier."

"The BBC denied there was any antisemitic intention behind his November statement, but we are continuing to pursue our complaint with them regarding this. Our lawyers are now preparing a new complaint," Sacerdoti continued, slamming the BBC for continuing to allow him to broadcast despite his questionable record.

"Tim Willcox is becoming a frequent offender of Jewish viewers and the BBC needs to deal with this issue urgently. Does he have a problem with Jews? So much for BBC impartiality!"

The BBC itself has been criticized by some groups, including the Campaign Against Antisemitism, for fanning the flames of anti-Semitism in its one-sided portrayal of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

In particular, after the BBC's own director of television - who is himself Jewish - revealed that he had "never felt so uncomfortable being a Jew in the UK" due to a dramatic spike in anti-Semitism over the summer, Sacerdoti suggested he consider what role his own company had played in stirring that hatred.

"Many suggest that the BBC has contributed to the rise in anti-Semitism in the UK and beyond, through its slanted news coverage. We will have to see if Mr. Cohen is able to contribute towards turning that tide, despite his putative separation from BBC News," he fired.

NaturalHigh

(12,778 posts)
2. Not a surprise, I'm afraid.
Sun Jan 11, 2015, 08:33 PM
Jan 2015

Anti-Semitism is on the rise, and it usually gets a pass from the media, even here.

Israeli

(4,132 posts)
3. I'm at a loss for words ....
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 04:25 AM
Jan 2015

..now shira has me feeling sorry for some British journalist that I have never heard of until now .

Maybe you can explain to me what exactly is " Anti-Semitic " about the following :

"many critics though of Israel's policy would suggest that the Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well."

??????

Are the Palestinians suffering hugely or not ?

If 'not' ......you are delusional .

If ' yes ' .....then by whose hands ?

If he had said " at Israeli hands as well " .....would that be more truthful and less " Anti-Semitic " ????

In other words .....stating that the Palestinians are suffering is either untrue ...or if true , you are antisemitic

hack89

(39,171 posts)
4. Why should French Jews be punished for Israel's actions?
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 11:27 AM
Jan 2015

The plight of the Palestinians is irrelevant to violence against French Jews unless one thinks all Jews bear some responsibility.

potone

(1,701 posts)
5. Yes, it would have been better if he had said "at Israeli hands".
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 11:48 AM
Jan 2015

His statement makes it sound as if ALL Jews are responsible for the Israeli government's actions, which they are not. An attack in France on French Jews is in no way justified by the Israeli government's actions, as I am sure you will agree.

 

oberliner

(58,724 posts)
6. The "Jewish hands" part
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 11:52 AM
Jan 2015

As you mention, "Israeli hands" would have been the "less anti-semitic" way to make that statement.

King_David

(14,851 posts)
7. Not surprised you just don't get it
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 11:54 AM
Jan 2015

When you said you don't know anything about Jews in the Golah you weren't kidding .

Be it as it may the 150 Post Zionest movement in Israel does not represent Any kind of opinion of Israeli or Golah .

Thankfully

Israeli

(4,132 posts)
10. Oh I get it KD .....
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 12:25 PM
Jan 2015

as to the rest of your post .......we represent our own country more than any American Zionist tourist from the Golah does

Thankfully.

King_David

(14,851 posts)
12. No I don't think the 150-200 post Zionists do represent Israel in any fashion whatsoever.
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 01:20 PM
Jan 2015

You guys are not at all representative.

Even less so those post Zionists from small town kibbutzim isolated from the rest of the world who are no longer regular Kibbutz Chalutzim.

King_David

(14,851 posts)
14. Of course
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 02:57 PM
Jan 2015

Israel is a fantastic democracy.

All 150 of you will probably vote for a Zionist party - like Meretz -- win win win win.

King_David

(14,851 posts)
17. He's running into the same problems as Greta Berlin, Alex Kane and the ISM and half this group
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 07:49 PM
Jan 2015

From your link :

Balad MK Haneen Zoabi criticized the former Labor lawmaker for “preaching to the Arabs” about what they should do.



He wants to be their leader.

Similar to even members of our group who explain to Israeli Arabs what they should call the Temple Mount and why they should be offended at being called Israeli Arabs .



Israeli

(4,132 posts)
18. You are the one that does not get us KD .....
Tue Jan 13, 2015, 06:38 AM
Jan 2015
Beilin, my friend: Your ideological path has reached its end. Let's try something else

The Hadash party is the only one that proposes a different kind of Israeli partnership.

By Avraham Burg

Former cabinet minister and peace negotiator Yossi Beilin is the most important person in my political life. It is thanks to him that I entered politics, thanks to him that I ran for the Knesset, and I will forever be grateful to him. My regard for him, although not necessarily my agreement with his views, is absolute and does not come with any reservations or “buts.”

At the beginning of last week, in the Israel Hayom daily, Beilin lamented my positions and criticized my support for the Hadash party and for ideas of equality and Jewish-Arab partnership. In clean and precise language, he defined the lines of the disagreement between us regarding the definition of Zionism and the definition of Israel as a democratic Jewish state. I would like to honor Beilin’s path in the dispute and answer him in kind. Perhaps in the process together we can contribute something to public discourse here, which has greatly declined recently.

Beilin’s personal and emotional approach caused me distress. I understand it. His ethical and ideological path has reached its end. Beilin is the man who went the furthest possible when it comes to the limits of the Zionist genre. His accomplishments were amazing, but reality demonstrates that that was not enough and his life’s work is being destroyed in front of his eyes. That is frustrating to him and many of our friends, almost to the point of despair. It appears that there is something erroneous in his fundamental assumptions, but he refuses to acknowledge this. He still believes that the remedy will come from tiring repetition of the old slogans. In contrast, I believe that the time has come for a change in perception of the highest order.

As Beilin would have it: “Zionism means support for the approach that says that the Jewish people are entitled to self-determination in a state of their own.” I do not take issue with this, but hasn’t that already happened? From my standpoint, Zionism was an essential network of scaffolding designed to move the Jewish people from a structure involving Diaspora communal governance to a sovereign structure, and that happened in 1948. It took another few years to sturdy and solidify the new home, and today Israel is a stable and strong edifice. Hasn’t the time come to take down the scaffolding?

Zionism has been an amazing success for Israel’s Jewish citizens, but it has been a cause of despair for everyone else. The duty therefore is to continue ahead to the next stage in Israel’s evolution, toward full equality and democracy. With Israel’s establishment, the role of the Zionist movement came to an end and it should be succeeded and filled by a sense of Israeliness.

Israeliness means equal citizenship that would assure the legitimate existence of the Jewish people and remedy the major injustices committed against the Palestinians. Israeliness is the last name of all of us, and our first names reflect what we belong to culturally and spiritually as individuals and collectives (Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Arab and everything else). What do we need the Zionist definition for unless we want to continue to perpetuate injustice and discrimination in the name of an ideology that has already been a success and has outlived its use?

It’s sad and hurtful to say this, but the contemporary version of Zionism in Israel is the main system that creates discrimination between Jews and everyone else. I believe that the only way to save Israel from the threat of destruction from within is by exchanging nationalist discourse for civil discourse. It involves a transition from a terrible struggle between preferential rights for Jews and excessive distress for Arabs to creating a joint, fair civil space.

The Israel that I would like to see is a society committed to civil normality, a democracy that belongs to all of its citizens in which every individual is equal despite the differences among us. In which every one of us has the inherent right to the same rights. An Israel in which there is a real separation between religion and state, between tribal affiliation and rights and freedoms. One in which the principle of equality of the individual allows for collectives to unite into a national “together.” The Jews will express their self-determination as they choose, as will the Palestinians, as long as the self-determination of one does not imply the crushing of the other. In other words, a nationalism of equals — yes; a nationalistic creed of “chosen” ones who look down upon the minority in their midst, and are hostile toward those around them — no. And every one who is not prepared to give up on the tools of arrogance, separation and discrimination — is by definition a nationalist.


The Hadash party, at present, is not perfect, and many of its members refuse to break free of their fixations, which have become set over the years. But Hadash is the only party that proposes a different kind of Israeli partnership. Yossi, we have known each other many years. From you I learned that from a set of values lies the potential to shape a truly new reality. Maybe the time of Hadash has arrived? Maybe, paradoxically, within my view, lies the only chance to save what is so dear to you from the claws of your Zionist nationalist partner-enemies?

Source : http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.636404

NaturalHigh

(12,778 posts)
16. For someone at a loss for words...
Mon Jan 12, 2015, 05:57 PM
Jan 2015

you sure have a lot to say.

First of all, yes it would have been better if he had said Israeli in stead of Jews.

As for the suffering at "Israeli" hands, maybe some time we can discuss the actions of Palestinian factions and how they affect the situation to begin with.

King_David

(14,851 posts)
20. He himself thought he did something wrong , he apologized
Tue Jan 13, 2015, 10:28 AM
Jan 2015

Guess you just don't get it ? 😊


BBC reporter faces calls to resign after he tells daughter of Holocaust survivors after Paris attacks: 'Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well'


Willcox has today apologised for his comments, taking to Twitter to say he had not meant to cause offence.






http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2906539/Calls-BBC-reporter-resign-told-daughter-Holocaust-survivors-Paris-Palestinians-suffer-hugely-Jewish-hands-well.html


Fire the Bigoted POS
 

leftynyc

(26,060 posts)
21. Agree he should be fired
Tue Jan 13, 2015, 02:24 PM
Jan 2015

and sent a note to the BBC (who really make you jump through hoops to lodge a complaint) in that vein. I had just finished defending the BBC for their coverage this weekend and then this clown opens his stupid mouth. Why the fuck should French Jews (or any Jews anywhere other than Israel) have to answer for the actions of Israel?

Israeli

(4,132 posts)
22. I think he gets it now KD ....
Tue Jan 13, 2015, 02:35 PM
Jan 2015
" 'Really sorry for any offence caused by a poorly phrased question in a live interview in Paris yesterday - it was entirely unintentional.' "

" poorly phrased question " ......my point exactly .

Now if he had said .....

" many critics though of Israel's policy would suggest that the Palestinians suffer hugely at Israeli hands as well."

.....would you agree with that ?
...or would you still howl antisemitism ????

 

shira

(30,109 posts)
23. Still wouldn't matter b/c he's suggesting Jews get what they deserve...
Tue Jan 13, 2015, 03:09 PM
Jan 2015

....due to Israel's actions.

The lady interviewed was talking about recent attacks on Jews in France. She's the daughter of Holocaust survivors and was comparing recent events to the 1930's.

The reporter bringing the Palestinians into the interview was ridiculous.

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