Revisiting the BBC’s promotion of an anti-Israel activist

Readers may recall that back in November 2012 the BBC News website published a very one-sided account of the sentencing of anti-Israel activist Bassem Tamimi which included extensive amplification of content from a press release put out by the political NGO Amnesty International and – as noted here at the time – was illustrated with a staged image of Tamimi’s daughter.Tamimi 1

Nearly three years after that BBC article appeared, Bassem Tamimi went on a speaking tour in the US which included a controversial event at a school. The ‘Legal Insurrection’ website continues the story:

“On Friday morning, September 18, 2015, the third grade classes at the Beverly J. Martin School in Ithaca, NY, heard a presentation on “human rights” by Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi and local anti-Israel activists, led by Ariel Gold. We broke the story a couple of days later, Anti-Israel activism hits elementary school in Ithaca, NY.

Based on documents produced pursuant to a NY Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request and court rulings, previously we were able to document that the Tamimi event was an anti-Israel propaganda event. At least one third-grade student suffered nightmares and a Letter of Reprimand was issued to the school principal for attempting to cover-up the nature of the event.

Previously, though, we didn’t have any video of the Tamimi Event, just the paper and electronic record of communications. While that paper and electronic record was shocking, only video could fully convey what happened.

After over a year of investigation and litigation, including a court order under the NY Freedom of Information Law, Legal Insurrection has obtained a partial video of the Tamimi Event. That partial video shows how, after the main portion of the presentation was over (for which there is almost no video), the third-grade students expressed strong hostility to Israel and were encouraged to do so.”

The rest of the article and the videos can be found here.

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BBC’s Yolande Knell dons her campaigning hat yet again

 

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