Cunters will be well aware of the furore caused when the BBC recently aired a *cough* ‘documentary’ about Gaza, which turned out to have been narrated by the son of a Hamas government minister.
Enter stage left one Deborah Turness, CEO of News and Current Affairs at al-Beebra, who recently ‘earned’ a hefty payrise to take her salary north of £430k a year. In a transparent attempt to cast a veneer of impartiality over the documentary and justify it being aired, Thickness stated ‘it’s really important that we are clear that Abdullah’s father is a deputy agriculture minister, a member of the Hamas-run government. I think it’s important to continually remind people of the difference’. Ah, so there’s a distinction to be drawn between that worthy organisation’s ‘military’ and ‘political’ wings then. Good show, and thanks for pointing that out.
Well here’s the thing Debs. It may have escaped your attention but Hamas as an organisation is proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation IN ITS ENTIRETY, military wing and political wings both. As William James put it, ‘a difference which makes no difference is no difference at all’. Abdullah’s dear dad didn’t get to be a senior official of Hamas by virtue of being one of the good guys, bent on a policy of peace and reconciliation and growing stuff. It’s like saying that Hitler and Goebbels were a couple of okay guys you’d have a pint with because they were head of the Nazi party’s political wing.
This is a blatant attempt by Turness to excuse the BBC’s lack of editorial rigour, or indeed what may well be deliberate bias, by trying to draw a meaningful distinction where none actually exists. To this day, al-Beeb still refuses to refer to Hamas as a terrorist organisation. I draw my own conclusion from this with regard to Mzzzz Turness and the Beeb, as you no doubt will draw yours.
Nominated by Ron Knee.