And in other obvious news: The BBC is biased

I’m trying to recall all my interesting experiences from this recent trip. The only English language television stations were MTV Europe, CNN, CNBC and the BBC, so I saw a lot of news and Britney Spears. (Maroon 5 is really popular too – go figure).

Anyway, there was a BBC story about how Palestinians were farming an olive garden somewhere in the occupied territories but that they were forced to pass through an Israeli checkpoint and often wait for hours before being allowed through. There was an unmistakable tilt to the story as the BBC camera focused in on the worn faces of Palestinian women as Israeli soldiers waved them through a checkpoint. Then the BBC provided some context from the Israeli side of the story: [pictures of razor wire] “Israel says the checkpoint is required to keep out suicide bombers.”

That was it. Well? Is it true? Have there been suicide bombing threats at this particular checkpoint or is it part of a larger security measure? In other words, are the actions of the Israelis justified or are they extreme? Who knows? Instead, the BBC provided that throwaway line that practically sneers: “You know how those Jews lie.” That was my immediate reaction at the time, anyway.