Sunny has a good article on the BBC's mistake in the way it handled the DEC's request for an appeal on Gaza . There is a clear distinction between taking a stance on the national question in Israel/Palestine and humanitarian issues. The BBC blurred the line by thinking that running a humanitarian appeal would blunt its neutrality. The only people who would think it would are people who are probably so die-hard and unreasonable in their views that they would criticise the BBC for "anti-Israel bias" automatically as a knee-jerk response whatever it did. Such people can not be placated.
I am actually quite sympathetic with the dilemma the state of Israel faces - given that it has a lot of hostile neighbours and that it has an implacable ideological opponent in Hamas who has launched rocket attacks from territory that Israel unilaterally left. But it is also obvious that many civilians have suffered as a result of the Israeli government's bombardment of Gaza. It is the duty of charities and humanitarian agencies to assist the Gazans in such a situation - and the BBC should be prepared to allow them to advertise as they allowed them to after the Asian tsunami (and as they have allowed for Darfur).
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