At times we take our collective memory of Guardian coverage of Israel for granted, so we've decided to provide a list of some egregious examples of bias and over the years - information helpful in contextualizing our ongoing analysis of the 'liberal' British newspaper.
This blog has been monitoring the Guardian daily since 2009.
Though several years ago we expanded our coverage (and changed our name) to include all UK-based news outlets, the Guardian is still our primary focus due to their unique role – given their influence and reach – as a purveyor of anti-Israel bias in the UK.
At times we take our collective memory of Guardian coverage of Israel for granted, so we’ve decided to provide a short list highlighting some of the more egregious examples of bias over the years – information helpful in contextualizing our ongoing analysis of the British newspaper.
1. Until threatened with legal action a few years ago, The Guardian used to tell readers, in their official Style Guide no less, that Tel Aviv ‘is’ Israel’s capital.
Guardian Style Guide, 2011
2. The Guardian continues to promote the antisemitic play by Caryl Churchill, Seven Jewish Children.
3. Guardian associate editor Seumas Milne (who recently took a leave of absence to serve as Jeremy Corbyn’s communications chief) published two op-eds explicitly endorsing Hamas’s right to fire rockets at Israel, while arguing that Israel has no right to defend itself. (Before joining the Guardian, Milne previously worked for a pro-Stalin communist publication called Straight Left.)
4. In 2013, Guardian’s Steve Bell published a cartoon indistinguishable from the kind of explicitly antisemitic cartoons on ‘Jewish control’ found routinely in the Arab media.
5. A Guardian columnist likened Israel to an autistic child.
6. Guardian journalist Deborah Orr published an op-ed employing a version of the “chosen people” canard against Jews, and bizarrely argued that Israel’s 2011 prisoner swap, in which Gilad Shalit was released by Hamas for the release of 1027 Palestinian terrorists, was evidence of Israeli racism. (Orr was forced to apologise – see here.)
7. The Guardian’s new editor-in-chief, Katherine Viner, was the co-creator of an anti-Israel propaganda play called ‘My Name is Rachel Corrie’, a piece of theatrical agitprop about the International Solidarity Movement activist killed in 2003 while attempting to stopan IDF anti-terror operation in Gaza.
There are of course countless other incidents we could have highlighted. Feel free to add your own picks for worst Guardian moments in the comment section.
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COMMITTEE FOR ACCURACY IN MIDDLE EAST REPORTING AND ANALYSIS
7 things you should know about the Guardian’s coverage of Israel
This blog has been monitoring the Guardian daily since 2009.
Though several years ago we expanded our coverage (and changed our name) to include all UK-based news outlets, the Guardian is still our primary focus due to their unique role – given their influence and reach – as a purveyor of anti-Israel bias in the UK.
At times we take our collective memory of Guardian coverage of Israel for granted, so we’ve decided to provide a short list highlighting some of the more egregious examples of bias over the years – information helpful in contextualizing our ongoing analysis of the British newspaper.
1. Until threatened with legal action a few years ago, The Guardian used to tell readers, in their official Style Guide no less, that Tel Aviv ‘is’ Israel’s capital.
2. The Guardian continues to promote the antisemitic play by Caryl Churchill, Seven Jewish Children.
3. Guardian associate editor Seumas Milne (who recently took a leave of absence to serve as Jeremy Corbyn’s communications chief) published two op-eds explicitly endorsing Hamas’s right to fire rockets at Israel, while arguing that Israel has no right to defend itself. (Before joining the Guardian, Milne previously worked for a pro-Stalin communist publication called Straight Left.)
4. In 2013, Guardian’s Steve Bell published a cartoon indistinguishable from the kind of explicitly antisemitic cartoons on ‘Jewish control’ found routinely in the Arab media.
5. A Guardian columnist likened Israel to an autistic child.
6. Guardian journalist Deborah Orr published an op-ed employing a version of the “chosen people” canard against Jews, and bizarrely argued that Israel’s 2011 prisoner swap, in which Gilad Shalit was released by Hamas for the release of 1027 Palestinian terrorists, was evidence of Israeli racism. (Orr was forced to apologise – see here.)
7. The Guardian’s new editor-in-chief, Katherine Viner, was the co-creator of an anti-Israel propaganda play called ‘My Name is Rachel Corrie’, a piece of theatrical agitprop about the International Solidarity Movement activist killed in 2003 while attempting to stop an IDF anti-terror operation in Gaza.
There are of course countless other incidents we could have highlighted. Feel free to add your own picks for worst Guardian moments in the comment section.
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