Posted on 12/15/2022 9:02:57 PM PST by Conservat1
The BBC has introduced a catalogue of reforms to its Arabic news service — including dropping the controversial terrorist sympathiser Abdel Bari Atwan as a pundit — in the wake of widespread criticism of the corporation's output, the JC can reveal.
The moves are taking place behind closed doors, even as its Director-General continues to publicly defend Mr Atwan, who has expressed sympathy for Sir Salman Rushdie's attacker and defended the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympians.
"Team leaders in BBC Arabic have told editors to stop using him [Atwan] because he said some problematic things on BBC English," a BBC source said. In response to an open letter, signed by 36 parliamentarians and public figures, demanding the broadcaster drop Atwan after reporting by the JC and media watchdog Camera, BBC Director-General Tim Davie insisted that using the pundit was "in the public interest".
However, the JC can disclose that behind the scenes, Arabic editors were informally told to drop him. The source added: "We used to have him on a lot, but we have been told not to."
Separately, the broadcaster is rolling out a package of reforms to the department. Amid job losses across the World Service, 70 positions are being cut in BBC Arabic. But at least four Output Monitors are being newly appointed to clean up Arabic language reporting, the source said. "They will watch BBC Arabic TV broadcasts both before they are aired and afterwards," the source said, "and monitor all the digital stuff to make sure it complies with guidelines." The source added: "The problem has been quality control. Attitudes in the Arab world are hostile to Israel, and this has been coming through BBC reporting via local journalists."
The reforms — which suggest the BBC is starting to take seriously calls to tighten up its Arabic output — are being implemented for April while the broadcaster maintains its staunch public defence of its output.
It comes after the corporation has suffered months of intense pressure about its Arabic-language service, which stands accused of repeated anti-Israel bias.
According to the source, BBC top brass "read the riot act" to Arabic language journalists in a virtual meeting in the wake of the recent public criticism. "They said, 'we are defending you on this, but we can't do it forever. You must abide by the BBC guidelines from now on'."…
* In 2007, he said in an interview on Lebanese television that he would dance in Trafalgar Square if Iranian missiles hit Israel. London Editor Prays for Nuclear Attack on Israel, Jerusalem Post, August 28, 2007.
The editor of an Arabic daily newspaper published in London said in an interview on Lebanese television that he would dance in Trafalgar Square if Iranian missiles hit Israel. Talking about Iran's nuclear capability on ANB Lebanese television on June 27, Abd Al-Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, said, "If the Iranian missiles strike Israel, by Allah, I will go to Trafalgar Square and dance with delight."
* In 2008, he justified the Mercaz Harav massacre - murdering 8 students. Arab daily: Mercaz Harav attack was justified The Jerusalem Post, Mar 15, 2008.
London editor says jubilation in Gaza after attack symbolized the "courage of the Palestinian nation." ... This article is alarming, since Atwan is perceived as a legitimate and unbiased analyst by the British media, and is often invited to voice his views in different media platforms," said Lior Ben-Dor, spokesman at the Israeli Embassy in London. "The problem is that when addressing the British public, he tends to hide his true opinions and ideology - his support for terror and the murder of civilians. This article reveals Atwan's real colors, a supporter of fundamentalism and terror, and hence he should be treated accordingly." In an interview on ANB Lebanese television in June, Atwan said, "If the Iranian missiles strike Israel, by God, I will go to Trafalgar Square and dance with delight. "If a war breaks out, where will the Iranians retaliate? If Iran is able to retaliate, it will burn the oil wells, block the Strait of Hormuz, attack the American bases in the Gulf and, God willing, it will attack Israel, as well," he added. Atwan was born in a refugee camp in 1950. He founded the pan-Arab daily in London in 1989, and today it has a circulation of around 50,000. In 1996 he interviewed Osama bin Laden. He is a regular commentator on CNN, Sky News and BBC News.
* In May 2011, he claimed, "I get worse coverage in the Jewish Chronicle than Hitler would!" Abdel Bari Atwan at Amnesty: "I get worse coverage in the Jewish Chronicle than Hitler would!" May 24, 2011.
* On Sep 19, 2012, belittling the Holocaust, labeled the Sabra and Shatila massacre (carried out by Christian Lebanese militia in response to Damour massacre) "a Palestinian holoc#ust" [sic], part of a long series of “holoc..sts [sic]" inflicted upon Palestinians and Arabs until today, "not by gas ovens but by Israeli F-16 missiles, which are manufactured in the US." Apparently it still bears mentioning that no "F-16 missiles" were involved. It’s Time For The British Media To Stop Normalising Abdel Bari Atwan, Camera, August 30, 2021.
September 2012 – Atwan labeled the Sabra and Shatila massacre "a Palestinian holoc#ust", part of a long series of “holoc..sts [sic]" inflicted upon Palestinians and Arabs until today, "not by gas ovens but by Israeli F-16 missiles, which are manufactured in the US." Apparently it still bears mentioning that no "F-16 missiles" were involved in the Sabra and Shatila massacre, which was carried out by a Christian Lebanese militia contrary to prior * and real-time * understandings with top IDF commanders. The questions of Israel's indirect responsibility for not anticipating the massacre *, as well its leadership’s ability to realize what was happening on the ground and intervene on time, both remain disputed *. As for the way the civil war in Lebanon influenced the construction of the Sabra and Shatila narrative among Palestinians and Lebanese alike, see for example here *.
* In Feb 2013, he praised Osama Bin Laden: "Sheik Osama Bin Laden was a great Man."*.
Source: BBC Arabic (The UK). ... excerpts from an interview with Al-Quds Al-Arabi editor-in-chief Abd Al-Bari Atwan, which aired on BBC Arabic TV and was posted on the Internet on February 16, 2013.
* June 2013, he said, "Bin Laden was only half a terrorist." "Abd Al-Bari Atwan: Bin Laden Was Only Half a Terrorist," Memri, June 2, 2013. *.
* In 2014, in a tweet in Arabic, Atwan downplayed the Holocaust. The JC, Oct 28, 2022. IN a recently unearthed 2014 tweet, BBC commentator Abdel Bari Atwan downplayed the significance of the Holocaust. "Abbas considers the Holocaust the greatest tragedy in modern history. We strongly disagree, viewing the Nakba of Palestine as the greater, more severe one," he wrote on Twitter in Arabic. And in 2021, the prominent anti-Zionist activist said Israelus aught to "start learning how to swim" because the Jewish State could be invaded at any moment.
* In Aug 2021, he ranted that bloody terror scenes in Kabul will be repeated at Ben Gurion airport, saying that Israelis should learn how to swim because their only option to escape "will be the Mediterranean Sea."... ‘Kabul airport scenes will happen at Ben Gurion,’ claims pundit JewishNews, August 25, 2021.
Abdel Bari Atwan has been criticised by Jewish groups after claiming in an anti-Israel rant that scenes in Kabul will be repeated at Ben Gurion airport. Abdel Bari Atwan, who has appeared on mainstream channels such as the BBC, said that Israelis should learn how to swim because their only option to escape "will be the Mediterranean Sea."... The Simon Wiesenthal Centre said the video was "genocide-seeking haters of Jewish state inspired by Afghanistan debacle" while Michael Dickson of Stand With Us labelled Atwan a "raving propagandist."
*In 2022, he praised the (03/22/2022) ISIS "Palestinian" terror murder in Hadera.MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) Tweeted March 31, 2022:
British-Palestinian Journalist Abdel Bari Atwan Praises Hadera, Israel Shooters: I Am Truly Happy That Palestinians from Within Israel's 1948 Borders Took Up Arms and Killed Israeli Police Officers; This Spoiled the Negev Summit.
Thanks. I think, his name is spelled Atwan. With a T.
Rerror is a problem I guess.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie insisted that using the pundit was "in the public interest".
IOW, Tim Davie needs to be fired as well.
Yes.
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