BBC censorship of Gaza appeal sparks outrage

The British Broadcasting Corporation has refused to broadcast an appeal for humanitarian aid in Gaza, alleging it wanted to remain “impartial.”

Protesters stage a sit-in in solidarity with the people of Gaza at the BBC headquarters, Jan. 26.

The Disaster Emergency Committee, an umbrella organization for several major aid charities such as the British Red Cross, has been airing such appeals for years. For this particular appeal, the DEC wanted to raise funds for people in Gaza whose lives have been devastated by Israel’s latest round of military aggression.

The BBC’s stated concern about impartiality is an unabashed display of hypocrisy. If anything, the BBC has exposed its clear bias toward imperialist militarism and racist colonialism. Britain’s Sky News has joined BBC in its censorship efforts.

Thousands of Palestinian civilians have been injured or killed during the recent military offensive. So why would the BBC refuse to broadcast an appeal for aid? Simply put, because any attempt to humanize the Palestinian people hinders the regional agenda of the U.S. government and its British junior partner .

The “public service broadcaster” did not hesitate for a moment before airing appeals for the people of Kosovo or Darfur—who, unlike the people of Gaza, made excellent propaganda pieces for drumming up support for imperialist intervention. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have been the cornerstone of resistance against foreign domination in the Middle East for over six decades.

British media certainly are not alone when it comes to misinforming the public. U.S. corporate media coverage of Israel’s cowardly invasion of Gaza and the public outcry that followed has been anything but impartial.

In the United States, the media has blacked out all dissent concerning Israel’s massacre in Gaza. In January, the Washington Post closed its eyes to four major Palestine solidarity demonstrations that attracted thousands of people.

The public has not let this imperialist propaganda disguised as impartial journalism go unchallenged. On Jan. 16, people protested at the Washington Post headquarters, dumping hundreds of copies of the newspaper, which they identified as “damaged goods.” In Britain, 21,000 viewers have denounced the BBC’s decision to keep the appeal off the airwaves. Hundreds of British politicians—who had little to say against Israeli aggression—had to make a save-face plea to the BBC in response to the public outrage the broadcasting company aroused.

Despite the media boycott, British organizations have raised $1.4 million in aid for the people of Gaza. However, charity cannot liberate Palestine from the grips of colonialism. Solidarity with the Palestinian cause must go hand in hand with unconditional support for the Palestinian resistance and denunciation of the collusion between the government and the corporate media in carrying out this imperialist agenda.