NOVANEWS
Letter to the BBC – Palestinians Don’t Celebrate Their Own Expulsion!
Dear Sirs,
This morning, on both Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live news, yesterday’s protests by Palestinians to mark Nakbah Day were described as “demonstrations to mark the creation of the State of Israel”. On the Today programme, John Humphrys introduced a discussion about the events using the same words (i.e. that the protests were marking the creation of the State of Israel).
In reality, the occasion of the protests was “Nakbah day.” The demonstrators were not “marking the creation of the State of Israel” but the forcible expulsion of some 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in what has become known as the “Nakbah” – the Palestinian national disaster. They were also protesting against the continued refusal of the Israeli authorities to allow the refugees their right of return in compliance with UN Resolutions.
To describe the protests as marking the creation of the State of Israel was grossly misleading because any listener who did not already know the reasons for the demonstrations might be given the impression that the protesters were celebrating the creation of the State of Israel rather than highlighting the plight of Palestinian refugees.
This misrepresentation is likely to have caused considerable offence to anyone, Palestinian or not, who understands the meaning and importance of the Nakbah. Anyone who did not already know the purpose demonstrations would have been left misled and confused about yesterday’s events.
That the BBC should report the issues in this way is of deep concern. Those who wrote the news reports would surely have known that the demonstrations were organised to mark Nakbah day and highlight the plight of the refugees. I should therefore be grateful if you would confirm how the BBC came to report the event in the way that it did. Was there an editorial decision to avoid the use of the word “Nakbah” or the phrases “creation of Palestinian refugees” or “expulsion of Palestinian civilians”? If so, why?
Would the BBC also ensure that all further bulletins use wording that accurately describes the purpose of the demonstrations?
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours faithfully,
Simon Natas
