Freedom For Pale*****

Many people have asked me why I brought up the issue of Palestine in my BBC News interview on Friday night.  After all, it was unrelated to the topic at hand, which was the Metropolitan Police’s self-investigation, concluding that there was ‘no case to answer’ in regards to my treatment at the hands of the police.  The reason I mentioned Palestine so early on, but didn’t in a Channel 4 interview earlier that evening, was simple; the BBC’s censorship of the word is completely unacceptable, and amounts to a denial of a people’s history.

Today, ‘Freedom For Palestine’, the brainchild of Faithless member Dave Randall, has been released on pre-order.  The question is, how far can the BBC’s censorship of this issue stretch?  If the single was to reach the charts, would the BBC add a note to listeners that, “I’m sure Israel would have a response to the title, but they’re not here at the moment.”

The BBC’s interpretation of the word ‘impartiality’ seems to negate all boundaries of common sense.  Each time I presented my opinion on the role of the Metropolitan Police or the morality of their actions, I was met with an interview intent on reasserting the point that the police were not there to respond.  But the Metropolitan Police’s official statement, broadcast on every major news website before it had even been sent to my lawyer, was the only reason I was being interviewed in the first place!  So of course they were present, through the constant repetition of an investigation completely devoid of any credibility.

The BBC’s ‘impartiality’ over Palestine follows a similar line.  No pro-Palestinian voice is allowed, unless there is a pro-Israeli voice is present to counter the argument.  But this is to miss a basic point; the pro-Israeli voice is constantly present and always heard, from the media’s acceptance to portraying a military occupation as a two-sided conflict, to the British government’s investment in the weapons used to sustain that occupation.  Allowing pro-Palestinian voices to air does not show bias, it is a glimpse of honesty through a wall of deceit.

The ‘Freedom For Palestine’ single follows a growing tide of artists speaking out against the Israeli occupation.  In the last year, bands such as Faithless and Massive Attack, and artists including Elvis Costello, and the late Gil Scott-Heron, have all cancelled trips to Israel, as part of a growing boycott campaign in response to calls from Palestinian civil society.  Inspiration has been taken from the struggle to overthrow apartheid in South Africa, led by a brave and determined South African resistance, but supported by a global boycott movement.

It seems that an eventual victory for the Palestinian resistance is inevitable.  The only question for us is, how can we support them in their struggle?  As Gil Scott-Heron would say, “The revolution will not be televised, the revolution will be live…”

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• gemmell

  Look at which members, of all parties, are ‘friends of israhell’. It is obscene. BTW you didn’t have to mention that you are ‘pro-israhell’ as you can tell by your style that you are a megafony.

  use straw men
  use ridicule

• alanpaul1

  try answering the question I posed instead of resorting to personal attacks.

• NadePaulKuciGravMcKi

  controlled media
  controlled BBC

• lovetruncheon

  personally, i’d rather not see any women and children getting beaten or shot on the news while i’m eating my tea, ta very much.

  is that what you’re into?
  )

• lovetruncheon

  well, judy up above gives a list of folks that haven’t went to israel.

  i’m just giving a list of all the folks that are going to israel.

  in the interests of balance, you know?

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UDNAAKOI2RDO4RHI5JXQ3M7MTM Jimm Milenski

  When you said “Freedom For Pale***** “, I thought you meant Palefaces.

• http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=575498996 Haneefah Khanum

  Hey Jimm….go back under the rock you crawled out from. PLEASE.

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Sakib-Hameed/1317751091 Sakib Hameed

  Most of the Parliamentarians are from Conservatives and Labour, many are whom are Friends of Israel. In fact, about 80% of Tories are CFI. It would not surprise me if near 90% were supportive of Israel.

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Sakib-Hameed/1317751091 Sakib Hameed

  News corps always show things in a bad light. They make Iran look somewhat worse than it actually is and never show positive things about it. 

  However, the truth about Israel’s terrorist government should be reflected in news rather than nonsensical propaganda put forth by corps like the BBC. If you don’t like the truth then go back to your sleep.