« WCC Invites Israel-Hating Conspiracy Theorist to Interfaith Event in Switzerland | Main | Deutsche Welle Misreports Latest Terrorist Attack in Jerusalem »
September 29, 2016
Australian Broadcasting Corp. Vilifies Israel While Writing About its Humanitarian Efforts
Last week journalist Sophie McNeill published a heartrending story about Gazan babies and toddlers with cancer at the Australian Broadcasting Corp. This is a topic that is bound to stir up deep emotions on the part of readers. By omitting important information about the context within which these children are receiving treatment, however, McNeill manages to vilify Israel while writing about its humanitarian efforts.
McNeill focuses her story on four children that have traveled to Israel or the West Bank for cancer treatment accompanied either by grandparents or older family friends, and on the fact that their parents were not permitted to accompany them. She omits, however, that terrorists have, in the past, attempted to exploit entry permits granted for medical reasons. In December of 2014, for example, Israeli forces discovered and stopped a woman who planned to obtain an entry permit from the West Bank for medical reasons, and then disguise herself as being pregnant in order to detonate a suicide bomb.
McNeill does not inform her readers about Hamas actions that may contribute to the lack of available or appropriate medical care within Gaza. She fails to discuss that during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Hamas and other terrorist groups used hospitals to launch attacks into Israel, and omits that in some cases medical facilities were damaged by misfired rockets from within Gaza. Moreover, while billions of dollars in international aid flow into Gaza, the IDF reported in July that “Hamas spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each month on tunnel infrastructure.�?
These omissions are compounded by two factual errors in the story. First, McNeill claims that Israel’s blockade on Gaza is almost ten years old. The blockade was actually imposed in 2009, two years after Hamas took control of the strip, and it was found to be legal in a U.N. Report. McNeill also writes that “to exit Gaza, you need permission from the Israeli authorities.�? Egypt, however, controls the Rafah crossing at one of Gaza’s borders.
Maybe more can be done for Gaza's sick children... mostly by Hamas that rules the territory and ill-treats its residents.
--KB
Posted by SC at September 29, 2016 04:57 PM
Comments
Guidelines for posting
This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material.