Top 7 Guardian anti-Israel errors, lies and deceptions in 2017

Didge wrote:Narrowing down an entire year of Guardian anti-Israel reporting to the seven most egregious examples is not an easy task, but, as a public service to our loyal readers, here are some errors, deceptions and outright lies about Israel in 2017 that especially stood out:


1. Guardian op-ed by Diana Buttu claims Palestinians are arrested for ‘criticising Israel’ on Facebook
Diana Buttu’s allegations in the Guardian, including her bizarre claim that Palestinians have been arrested for criticising Israel on Facebook, were context-free and counter-factual – essentially everything you’d expect from a PLO propagandist with such a well-documented record of lying about the Jewish state.


2. Guardian falsely suggests existence of Haredi-only Israeli hospitals
The Guardian’s suggestion that there are haredi-only hospitals is just absurd, as anyone familiar with Israeli hospitals would surely know.  Whilst Bikur Cholim Hospital in Jerusalem likely treats a large number of Haredim (due to its close proximity to Haredi neighborhoods), like all Israeli hospitals, it treats all patients who come through its doors, regardless of religious background. 


3. Guardian falsely claims that Israel ‘banned’ Arab political parties in 2009
An official Guardian editorial claimed that Israel has ‘banned’ Arab political parties. In fact, as we noted in a complaint to editors, though there was, in 2009, a decision by the Israel Central Elections Committee to bar two Israeli Arab parties due to allegations they supported terrorism, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the ‘ban’ only two weeks later, before it could go into effect.  The Guardian upheld our complaint and issued a correction.


4. Guardian describes Palestinian violence over Temple Mount metal detectors  as a “largely non-violent campaign of civil disobedience”
The advocacy journalism practiced by the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Peter Beaumont seems to demand that the Palestinian cause be framed – regardless of the evidence – as a peaceful and progressive, and so all information that runs counter to this narrative must be whitewashed and obfuscated. 


5. Guardian columnist suggests that Israel’s defenders are akin to climate change deniers.
Guardian columnist Zoe Williams actually compares Israel’s defenders – whom she characterises as defenders of “killing children” – and climate change deniers. This analogy is indicative of a view of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, held by many in the media, which sees it as a binary tale of ignorance vs truth, good vs evil.


6. Guardian claims there’s a wall around Haifa
Following communication with UK Media Watch, Guardian editors removed the sentence bizarrely suggesting the existence of a wall surrounding the Israeli city of Haifa, and added an addendum noting the change.


7. Guardian erroneously claims Israel “censored” book by Dorit Rabinyan.
Israelis are free go to bookshops anywhere in the country and purchase the book, Borderlife, by Dorit Rabinyan. The book made it to the Israeli best seller’s list. Israeli students can borrow the book from libraries. Israeli teachers in advanced literature classes across the country are free to assign the book to their students if they choose. Yet, the Guardian somehow claimed that the book was “censored” by Israel.




https://ukmediawatch.org/2017/12/31/top-7-guardian-anti-israel-lies-in-2017/


Best ban the Guardian Ben

Maddog wrote:

Didge wrote:Narrowing down an entire year of Guardian anti-Israel reporting to the seven most egregious examples is not an easy task, but, as a public service to our loyal readers, here are some errors, deceptions and outright lies about Israel in 2017 that especially stood out:


1. Guardian op-ed by Diana Buttu claims Palestinians are arrested for ‘criticising Israel’ on Facebook
Diana Buttu’s allegations in the Guardian, including her bizarre claim that Palestinians have been arrested for criticising Israel on Facebook, were context-free and counter-factual – essentially everything you’d expect from a PLO propagandist with such a well-documented record of lying about the Jewish state.


2. Guardian falsely suggests existence of Haredi-only Israeli hospitals
The Guardian’s suggestion that there are haredi-only hospitals is just absurd, as anyone familiar with Israeli hospitals would surely know.  Whilst Bikur Cholim Hospital in Jerusalem likely treats a large number of Haredim (due to its close proximity to Haredi neighborhoods), like all Israeli hospitals, it treats all patients who come through its doors, regardless of religious background. 


3. Guardian falsely claims that Israel ‘banned’ Arab political parties in 2009
An official Guardian editorial claimed that Israel has ‘banned’ Arab political parties. In fact, as we noted in a complaint to editors, though there was, in 2009, a decision by the Israel Central Elections Committee to bar two Israeli Arab parties due to allegations they supported terrorism, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the ‘ban’ only two weeks later, before it could go into effect.  The Guardian upheld our complaint and issued a correction.


4. Guardian describes Palestinian violence over Temple Mount metal detectors  as a “largely non-violent campaign of civil disobedience”
The advocacy journalism practiced by the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Peter Beaumont seems to demand that the Palestinian cause be framed – regardless of the evidence – as a peaceful and progressive, and so all information that runs counter to this narrative must be whitewashed and obfuscated. 


5. Guardian columnist suggests that Israel’s defenders are akin to climate change deniers.
Guardian columnist Zoe Williams actually compares Israel’s defenders – whom she characterises as defenders of “killing children” – and climate change deniers. This analogy is indicative of a view of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, held by many in the media, which sees it as a binary tale of ignorance vs truth, good vs evil.


6. Guardian claims there’s a wall around Haifa
Following communication with UK Media Watch, Guardian editors removed the sentence bizarrely suggesting the existence of a wall surrounding the Israeli city of Haifa, and added an addendum noting the change.


7. Guardian erroneously claims Israel “censored” book by Dorit Rabinyan.
Israelis are free go to bookshops anywhere in the country and purchase the book, Borderlife, by Dorit Rabinyan. The book made it to the Israeli best seller’s list. Israeli students can borrow the book from libraries. Israeli teachers in advanced literature classes across the country are free to assign the book to their students if they choose. Yet, the Guardian somehow claimed that the book was “censored” by Israel.




https://ukmediawatch.org/2017/12/31/top-7-guardian-anti-israel-lies-in-2017/


Best ban the Guardian Ben

Maybe the Guardian is about issue retractions or corrections?  

“there is a threat…to the religious status quo, a threat instigated by radical settlers in and around Jerusalem, the heart of Christianity. 

The protection and accessibility of the holy places are understood through a set of rules called the “status quo”, which has been followed by all religious and governmental authorities of the region through the ages.

Now various sides want to claim the Holy Land, including Jerusalem, as the exclusive possession of only one people. This treats with contempt the mechanism that has maintained peace and our multi-religious landscape for generations.

one of the foremost threats to Christians in the Holy Land is the unacceptable activities of radical settler groups, which are attempting to establish control over properties around the Jaffa gate. The properties in question are in the heart of Jerusalem’s Christian quarter, the seat of all the patriarchates and headquarters of the churches, and less than 500m from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre….The Patriarchate has lodged an appeal with the Israeli high court of justice, but if our efforts prove unsuccessful the result would be immensely damaging to the integrity of the Old City.

If the settler groups were to gain control of the properties, they would be able to pursue their aggressive campaign of removing non-Jews from the City and from these strategic centres at the heart of the Christian quarter, threatening the very presence of Christians in the Holy Land.