BBC ME editor Jeremy Bowen’s annual Lebanon story

On May 23rd the BBC’s Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen tweeted a thread about an incident which occurred twenty-two years ago.

Bowen wrote: [emphasis added]

“On this day in 2000 Abed Takkoush, long time driver/producer for the BBC in Lebanon, was killed by a shell fired at 1km range by an Israeli tank crew. They tried to kill cameraman Malek Kanaan and me with the tank’s heavy machine gun. Their excuse – we might have been terrorists

Abed was 53 and left a wife and three teenage sons. Israelis claimed we were behaving like terrorists. Malek was filming me doing a piece to camera, Abed was in the car which they hit. It was midday, bright sunshine, and from one km with modern optics they could see us clearly

Back in Israel a general told me: there were scared boys in that tank. BBC investigation concluded they opened fire recklessly.”

Looking into south Lebanon from the Menara area

As we have had cause to point out on the many occasions in the past when Bowen has told this story in interviews or on Twitter, early on the morning of Tuesday May 23rd 2000 – the day before the completion of the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon – a tank crew stationed on the border fence near Kibbutz Menara received an intelligence alert concerning the likelihood of terrorists firing anti-tank missiles at IDF tanks and armoured vehicles.

Later in the day, the crew spotted a Lebanese vehicle transporting men in civilian clothing and suspected that these were Hizballah terrorists carrying equipment for firing an anti-tank missile. The tank crew was given permission to fire at the suspected terrorists. 

Subsequently it emerged that the men were actually a BBC film crew headed by Jeremy Bowen and that driver Abed Takkoush had been killed. The IDF investigated the incident and issued an apology. Understandably, that tragic incident appears to be still very much at the forefront of Bowen’s mind, although he clearly still does not accept that it was possible to mistake three men travelling in a war zone in a car with Lebanese plates and carrying camera equipment, for Hizballah terrorists dressed – as was very often the case – in civilian clothing. 

Bowen’s account of the trauma he experienced 22 years ago must however be considered within the framework of the position of Middle East editor which he chose to accept a few years later. That role makes him the gatekeeper of all “accurate and impartial” BBC reporting from the Middle East.

Yet as we see, in his fairly frequent accounts of that day in May 2000, Bowen continues to publicly promote a version of events that calls into question his objectivity on Israel.

Related Articles:

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JEREMY BOWEN’S PINK SHIRT

CONTEXT-FREE TWITTER MESSAGING FROM BBC’S JEREMY BOWEN

JEREMY BOWEN’S ANNUAL REMINDER OF WHY BBC COVERAGE OF ISRAEL IS AS IT IS

BBC’S BOWEN TELLS HIS ANNUAL LEBANON STORY ON RADIO 4

THE BBC ME EDITOR’S RESPONSE TO CRITICISM OF HIS RECENT REPORTING

BBC RADIO 4 LISTENERS HEAR A CONTEXT-FREE STORY FROM JEREMY BOWEN

BBC’S BOWEN MAKES INACCURATE CLAIM IN LEBANON WITHDRAWAL TWEETS

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4 Comments

  1. says: Sid+Levine

    Bowen is an anti Semite through and through!
    He is never impartial and should never been appointed to the position.
    Unfortunately the Israel Government Press Office gives him accreditation and issued him with a Press Card. He actually in the Netanyahu era reported direct from the PM Briefing Room anti Israel rhetoric after the conference finished and none of the security or GPO stopped him.

  2. says: Gimey

    Ideal incident for Bowen to get his antisemitic teeth into. If you look like the enemy, act like the enemy and spout enemy propaganda, don’t be suprised if the IDF make the mistake of believing that you are the enemy.

  3. says: Neil C

    Correct Martin, when it comes to Israel he displays nothing but hatred towards Israel and Jews worldwide and should be prosecuted under British law for hate crimes and antisemitism. #defundthebbc

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