Lloyd Scott upset at having to repeat Israeli propaganda (Jul. 14, 2010)

An Israeli military investigation into its naval takeover of a Gaza-bound flotilla six weeks ago found that it was plagued by errors of planning, intelligence and coordination but the killings of nine Turks on board were justified, according to an official summary of the findings released Monday. Giora Eiland, a retired major general led the probe.

Radio New Zealand National, Wednesday 14 July 2010

Lloyd Scott read out the 5 a.m. news. Scott is a particularly sensitive and intelligent man, and he was clearly affected by having to read the following: “An Israeli military investigation into its own killing of nine peace workers has found there were errors of planning, intelligence and coordination but the killings were justified. It also rejected calls for an independent inquiry, saying that it would have been biased.” As he read this last sentence out, his voice rose in dismay. He read some more items and then the weather forecast. 

Then, several minutes later, Scott returned to the item about the “inquiry” into the murder of nine peace workers. He said: “That last bit really gets me, you know. Especially the last sentence: ‘An independent inquiry would have been biased.’ Does that mean the Israeli report into their own killing of peace activists was NOT biased?’

Other newsreaders on New Zealand radio and TV often indicate their dissent at having to read out what are often little more than propaganda broadcasts and PR releases for Israel. Greg Boyed on TV1 is adept at raising an eyebrow to undermine the nonsense he is forced to read out, and Peter Williams, Warwick Burke and many other newsreaders find it hard to hide their visceral disgust  at Israeli criminality.

More dependably servile this morning was the BBC’s Adam Mynott, who read out the official Israeli statement without betraying even a quiver of emotion. Interestingly, the BBC’s news coverage of this latest Israeli outrage---not only murdering unarmed civilians, but murdering sense itself---was followed, a couple of items later, by the announcement that Sudan’s President Bashir has a warrant out for his arrest---for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is not insignificant that these items were separated--- somebody at the BBC obviously decided it would have been too embarrassing for Israel to have the two items juxtaposed, therefore highlighting the absurd gulf in treatment of the two outlaw regimes. 

One wonders if the BBC would read out a self-serving justification of the Janjaweed militia in the same dutifully “neutral” manner as it read out Giora Eiland’s preposterous “report”.