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Have
you heard…
that the BBC has now expanded its perceived anti-Israel/anti-Semitic
format from discussion and news items into Religion & Ethics?
 On
Thursday Feb 10, 2005, John Bell, of the Iona Community, whilst
a guest on the BBC 'Thought for the Day', related
a story he claimed was told to him by an Israeli Arab whom he met
in Canada. (Story reproduced below)
Every
morning at 7:45, BBC Radio broadcasts an inspiring 'Thought
for the Day' from a religious cleric or philosopher. On February
10 broadcast, Rev. Dr. John Bell (right) used the platform
to describe 'Adam' an Arab-Israeli who was..
conscripted
into the Israeli Army. There he had distinguished himself as a
good soldier and was made a corporal. He was also imprisoned
for refusing to shoot unarmed schoolchildren.
Neither
John Bell nor the programme’s executive producer, Christine
Morgan, thought it appropriate to verify the many inaccuracies contained
in the piece, or seemed to appreciate the anti-Semitism of it’s
message. As a result, the BBC’s Religion & Ethics Department
was apparently inundated with complaints. So much so, that the programmers
immediately removed the offensive recording from it’s website
and, within a few days, posted an apology, of sorts.
The
following is a reproduction of the Thought for the Day story with
some examples of the criticism raised.
Thought
for the Day, 10 February 2005, John Bell
Two
years ago, in a Lebanese restaurant in Vancouver, I talked to a
waiter called Adam who was an Arab Israeli.That
means that he was of Palestinian Muslim stock, born in the state
of Israel and, like his Jewish compatriots, he had been conscripted
into the Israeli Army.
There
he had distinguished himself as a good soldier and was made a corporal.
He was also imprisoned for refusing to shoot unarmed schoolchildren.
And one day, when off-duty, he saved many lives by killing a suicide
bomber who entered the bus on which he was travelling. At the end
of our conversation, he asked 'How old do you think I am?' I was
sure he was 29, but I said 27 to flatter him. 'No,' he said, 'I
am only 19. But this is what happens when you have been through
what I have been through.
It
will not be in his singular life that the memory and the pain of
the conflict he has witnessed will die. His stories will be recounted
by his children and by his children's children. And with each retelling
some animosity will surface. For Adam's history will be in their
genes. I say this today when many people will rightly be celebrating
the accord between Palestine and Israel agreed to on Tuesday. For
as with any peace agreement or truce, it is not so much that the
devil is in the detail. The devil, if we must use that term, is
in memories of hurt and feelings of revenge which will not be requited.
What
is sectarianism in Northern Ireland, what is white-settler animosity
in Wales, what is racism in British cities if not the expression
of people on whose memories is etched real and false information
about an enemy which created mayhem in the past and might do so
again in the future?
The
sins of the fathers.... as an old scripture says... are visited
on the children.
And
in Israel-Palestine where the pain of history is physically manifest
in everything from a ruined temple to a half-built wall, a handshake
and two signatures can never be enough.
There
is no quick fix, no kiss and make up opportunity. Dealing with the
genetic and psychological legacies of a brutal past is a spiritual
thing.
It cannot be enforced by agreement, predicted by science, or enabled
by logic. It needs imagination, sensitivity, humility and all the
virtues which cannot be gained through reading or conjecture. And
maybe, in place of the wild war music it needs the kind of mantra
which Desmond Tutu so winsomely taught his hurting compatriots:
Goodness
is stronger than evil Love is stronger than hate Light is stronger
than darkness Life is stronger than death.
Some
examples of the criticism this “story” raised.
John
Bell’s 'thoughts' in Thought for the Day (Thursday) were also
strongly tainted by political 'spin', straying way beyond a remit
of being a 'religious' or moral piece.
Despite
his assertions, there was no "accord between Palestine and
Israel agreed to on Tuesday" - the accord was between the Palestinian
Authority and Israel. He misleadingly suggested Arab Israelis are
conscripted; he is incorrect.
The
appalling assertion that Adam "was also imprisoned for refusing
to
shoot unarmed schoolchildren" was deeply offensive. He intimates
it is IDF
policy to "shoot unarmed schoolchildren" and disobeying
this "policy" will
result
in a soldier facing prison. Have you verified this story, and can
you provide documentation to support it?
I would
be grateful if you will ensure religious presenters are advised
not to abuse Thought for the Day in order to push their political
perspective.
TM
Last
week you broadcast a wonderful 'Thought for the Day' about
Christianresponsibility for the Holocaust. Yesterday, John Bell
told a pack of liesabout the role of the Israeli army. Don't you
think that allowing people like John Bell to broadcast their political
and factually inaccurate
propaganda is contributing to the attacks on people like me? I can
assure you that the statements made by John Bell about the Israeli
army are not only untrue, but will help those who wish to destroy
the Jewish community in this country. What price Holocaust Memorial
Day then?
I
L
John
Bell's outrageous anti Israel rant does Thought for the
Day no credit. Even Thought for the Day is not immune from allowing
the spread of outright lies about Israel. No Israeli Arab is conscripted
into the army, although Druse and Bedouin volunteers serve with
great distinction.
No
soldier has ever been imprisoned for refusing to shoot unarmed
children. In fact he would be more likely to face prison if he DID
shoot
unarmed children.Can we have the evidence of which bus this mythical
convenient Arab is supposed to have saved lives on by killing a
suicide bomber? If this had happened it will be well documented
and the evidence can be produced.
If
people tell lies they should at least have the wit to make them
plausible.
I am shocked the BBC allowed this.
J W
Mr.Bell
goes on to say that our friend Adam was imprisoned for
refusing to shoot unarmed Arab children. How libellous! And to sink
to such low depths! This is followed by yet another invention that
Adam thwarted a suicide bomber on a bus. I am sure this act of bravery
would have been advertised the length and breadth of Israel. Where
is the documentary evidence to support this?
A M
John Bell of the Iona community should remember
the ninth commandment. What a pity that, at a time when there is
a better hope for peace than ever before, more hatred should be
propagated so naively through the repetition of repeating an implausible
and, possibly, malicious story.
S G
John
Bell's Thought for the Day today was outrageous and a provocation.
G D P
There
was one thought that did not, apparently occur to him:
that the Arab waiter’s story might not have been true.No Arabs
are conscripted into the Israeli army .Druze and Bedouin citizens
of Israel who volunteer for army service, have distinguished themselves,
and sacrificed their lives on active service. It was a nice touch
for the waiter to add that
“: when off-duty, he saved many lives
by killing a suicide bomber who entered the bus on which he was
travelling.”
Such
an incident would have created a media sensation here; I remember
no such incident.
The
fact that it is retold by John Bell as “gospel” reveals
more about John Bell than about “Adam the waiter.” It
also proves the truth of what Artemus Ward wrote:
“It’s
not so much our ignorance
that gets us into trouble; it’s the things we know that ain’t
so.”
The
fact that such a travesty could be broadcast by the BBC, once universally
respected for its impartiality and fidelity to truth, is evidence
of its fall from public esteem.
M A
Israel
does not conscript Palestinian Arabs of Muslim stock.
Druze are proud to serve in the IDF and many Bedouin volunteer,
but neither are "Palestinians of Muslim stock".
Israel
does not ask its soldiers to shoot unarmed schoolchildren.
On the contrary, the IDF indicts soldiers who shoot innocent civilians,
children or adults. Arab children are frequently shot while being
used as human shields. Just look at the BBC's photos. You will frequently
see children in front of Arabs, who are firing at Israelis.
How
about a "Thought for the Day" based on honest reporting?
CO
I
grew up with the sure knowledge
that if one heard a piece of news broadcast on the B.B.C. then it
was the truth. How sad it is that this has changed so drastically
in the last few years, especially where reporting on the Middle
East is concerned.
I have
no idea whether John Bell who was responsible for the pack of lies
broadcast in the, "Thought for the Day," programme on
10th February, is a cleric or a layman, but to anyone in possession
of the facts, he is, to put it kindly, a gullible fool who allowed
himself to be taken in by an evil fairy story. That he saw fit to
use this as the basis of a religious broadcast is bad enough but
it is even worse that those responsible for this programme allowed
this vicious, anti-Israel rubbish to be aired.
Far
from an Israeli soldier being imprisoned for, "refusing to
shoot unarmed schoolchildren," the reverse would be the case.
Many Israeli soldiers have lost their lives because of the value
they placed on the lives of Arab children and civilians for whose
safety they have put their own lives at risk.
I would
love verification of the story that this young man who called himself,
'Adam,' told about killing a suicide bomber on a bus. Strange it
never reached the news.
I very
much hope that this letter will be shown to the misguided John Bell
and the even more misguided producers of, "Thought for the
Day."
N
W C
The following item is what
passes for an apology from the BBC
BBC
& THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
On
Thought for the Day on Thursday 10 February, the Rev Dr John Bell
told the story of an Arab man who was an ex-soldier in the Israeli
Army. We are unable to verify all of the details of the story told
by Dr Bell but we now understand that he made two factual mistakes
in his script. Those facts should have been checked before the broadcast.
The Religion and Ethics Department apologises on behalf of the BBC
for the errors and for the offence that was caused.
The
Rev Dr John Bell has written to the BBC to express his own deep
regret as follows:
"It
is clear that I made two factual errors. The one was that he [the
soldier] was 21 and not 19, thus he would have been of the age
to be a corporal. The second is that he did not say he was conscripted.
My presumption regarding conscription is wrong as regards Arab
Israelis.
The
purpose of my contribution was to highlight the fact that in any
peace process, the concordat is not the conclusion, but a stage
in a process which will take centuries before peaceful co-existence
is secured. It was my specific intention to avoid any bias against
one of the two national communities.
I
perfectly understand that at a time when Jewish sensitivity in
Britain is running high because of anti-Semitism that part of
my remarks might have been interpreted as furtive racism. However,
such a conjecture would be completely untrue. For any unintended
dismay I may have caused, I apologise unreservedly. "
Revd.
Dr John L. Bell The Iona Community
An
explanatory letter issued to Scottish Friends of Israel in response
to a request for clarification:
To: Correspondents re Thought For The Day 9th February 05
From:
John L. Bell
There
seems to have been a considerable volume of adverse comment made
following the above broadcast, for the text of which I have sole
responsibility. While the full text may be found on the BBC Website,
a number of correspondents have asked for a detailed explanation.
The
issue causing concern surrounds the person of Adam. I was recounting
my meeting with him from memory. It involved three or four conversations
in the restaurant where I had arranged to have a meal with a young
native American Indian called Daniel. The restaurant serves, in
the main, the theatre-going public. We dined at around 8 o clock
by which time it had emptied and we were the only diners for most
of the two hours spent in the premises. Hence the opportunity to
spend a long time talking to the waiter.
It
may be helpful if I give verbatim notes from my diary which I managed
to unearth on Friday (11th Feb)
The
entry is for Tues Jan 14th 2003
Vancouver
"Evening
to a Lebanese restaurant with Daniel.
Waiter
was Arab-Israeli ex Israeli army - Adam -
stunning
guy and story - a real hero who was
imprisoned
for seven months for saying No.
Adam
- 21, killed a suicide bomber with 3 kilos of amo,
refused
to shoot children who threw stones, 7 mths in jail.
Said
that considerable number of Israeli soldiers have been
put
away for disobedience."
From
that extract it is clear than I made two factual errors.
The
one was that he was 21 and not 19, thus he would have been of
the
age to be a corporal. The second is that he did not say he was
conscripted.
I presumed that to be the case, based on friends who
have
served in the Israeli army, and from a newsletter which I
received
this week from a Catholic order of priests:
"Another
day, another young man. This one in uniform.
A
young Israeli soldier asked to see my passport. I asked
him
if he liked his job, he said he hated it. He had come
from
India because of his Jewish faith, to support what he
saw
as 'his nation', but as soon as he finished his
’compulsory“
military service he would be leaving Israel
and
returning to his medical studies so that he could
'cure
people rather than harass them'
(newsletter
of the Columban Mission, Hendon, London
NW4
4TY. Spring 2005)
I am
also aware of some other details - that the 7 months were not all
at one stretch and that he was also disciplined for refusing to
participate in an attack on a church, after informing the officer
in charge that there were worshippers as well as terrorists within.
And
I remember vividly him speaking of how one day he was travelling
off duty in a bus full of Jewish citizens and he shot and killed
a potential suicide bomber who had got on the bus.
With
the exception of his age, I remember these other details clearly
partly because I retold his story several times over and also because
I felt that he so symbolised within himself the tensions in the
Middle East. I have often prayed for him and regretted that when
I visited Vancouver in autumn 2004, the restaurant had changed hands
and is now managed by a Middle Eastern couple who previously ran
an hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond.
With
regard to refusing to obey orders, I knew that this was not an isolated
incident or peculiar to Arab Israelis. It has been documented elsewhere.
And had the time for Thought for the Day exceeded the requisite
2mins 40 seconds, I might have corroborated Adam's experience with
a quote from a Jewish soldier as reported in the Guardian on June
24th, 2004:
'Every
mother should know that however cute their son was before he went
into the army, he will emerge very different after three years
- not knowing right from wrong.'
Without
being defensive, I think it is important to say that the purpose
of my contribution was to highlight the fact that in any peace process,
the concordat is not the conclusion, but a stage in a process which
will take centuries before peaceful co-existence is secured.
It
was my specific intention to avoid any bias against one of the two
national communities. Hence, as regards Adam, I indicated one act
of defiance against the Israeli Army and one act of heroism to defend
innocent Israelis. Towards the conclusion, I took symbols of ruins
painful to Jews as well as walls painful to Palestinians..
Finally,
I omitted the last line of Desmond Tutu's mantra ("Victory
is ours through him who loved us") lest its specific Christian
sentiment should intrude.
I perfectly
understand that at a time when Jewish sensitivity in Britain is
running high because of verbal and physical exhibitions of anti-semitism
that the section regarding Adam might have been interpreted as furtive
racism. However, I can say with total honesty that such a conjecture
would be completely untrue.
But
I do regret having made the factual error regarding Adam's age.
I must have confused him with Daniel, both of whom I met on the
same day. Had I unearthed my old diary, the mistake would not have
been made. And I do acknowledge that my presumption regarding conscription
is aberrant as regards Arab Israelis.
For
any unintended dismay I may have caused, and for the trouble
to
which I have put Christine Morgan, my producer, I apologise unreservedly.
Revd.
Dr John L. Bell
The
Iona Community.
Neither
John Bell nor the BBC has faced up to their responsibilities in
their separate “apologies”.
The
“story” was not upsetting because of some mistake in
the apparent age of the subject or through some oversight. It was
disturbing and distasteful because it was an obvious fabrication,
designed to show Israel and her Jewish citizens in a bad light,
and an example of narrative, used in times past, to demonise Jews
and encourage anti-Semitism.
The
BBC, in their poor attempt at an “apology”, referred
simply to the errors of “age” and “conscription”,
and thereafter, printed a response from John Bell which, in itself,
was a fobbing off with a few crumbs of contrition. Bell concedes
that his remarks “might have been interpreted as furtive racism”
but believes that whoever might have thought that was, at best,
guessing wrongly.
The
SFI has news for Bell, which needs no verification. Jews are old
hands at spotting anti-Semitic oration, whether meant, unintended
or just a symptom of the society in which they live.
Revd.
Dr. John Bell needs to show a little of the respect and concern
which he showed for his producer, Christine Morgan, to those whom
he has insulted.
Thought
for the Day – Must do better!
SG
(see
also Have you heard….what happened
next?)
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