Pro-Jihadist news service Al-Jezeera apologized for its coverage of the celebration in Lebanon of the release of convicted baby killer Samir Kuntar but mind you, it was only after a threat of a boycott of Al-Jezeera by Israel. Here's what Al-Jezeera had to say about it all, at Haaretz:
As you can see, this wasn't just about the coverage but the fact that Al-Jezeera PARTICIPATED in the welcoming home celebration and speeches. This asshat bin Jiddo is a known supporter of Hezbollah and yet is head of the Al-Jezeera office in Lebanon...think about that...it would be like Keith Obermann being a supporter of al Qaeda and reporting on the trial of bin Laden's driver's trial.
The weird part of this is the actual apology from Al-Jezeera - like when has that happened before? When's the last time you saw ANY Arab say they were sorry. Well, we know this media giant in the Middle East isn't really sorry but my guess is this is a business decision in that they want to keep the door open to being able to interview Israelis in the future.
In an official letter, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, Al Jazeera's general director, Khanfar Wadah, wrote that "elements of the program" broadcast in Kuntar's honor on the night of Saturday, July 19, "violated [the station's] Code of Ethics," and he "regards these violations as very serious."
The boycott threat was issued by the director of the GPO, Danny Seaman, in response to a program broadcast from Lebanon that covered the welcome-home festivities for Kuntar. In it, the head of Al Jazeera's Beirut office, Ghassan bin Jiddo, heaped praises on Kuntar, for instance by calling him a "pan-Arab hero."
As you can see, this wasn't just about the coverage but the fact that Al-Jezeera PARTICIPATED in the welcoming home celebration and speeches. This asshat bin Jiddo is a known supporter of Hezbollah and yet is head of the Al-Jezeera office in Lebanon...think about that...it would be like Keith Obermann being a supporter of al Qaeda and reporting on the trial of bin Laden's driver's trial.
The weird part of this is the actual apology from Al-Jezeera - like when has that happened before? When's the last time you saw ANY Arab say they were sorry. Well, we know this media giant in the Middle East isn't really sorry but my guess is this is a business decision in that they want to keep the door open to being able to interview Israelis in the future.
Al-Jazeera apologizes for 'unethical' coverage of Kuntar release
The Al Jazeera television station admitted Wednesday that its coverage of Israel's release of convicted Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar violated the station's own code of ethics. The admission came in response to a threat by Israel's Government Press Office to boycott the satellite channel unless it apologized. In an official letter, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, Al Jazeera's general director, Khanfar Wadah, wrote that "elements of the program" broadcast in Kuntar's honor on the night of Saturday, July 19, "violated [the station's] Code of Ethics," and he "regards these violations as very serious." He also said he had ordered the channel's programming director to take steps to ensure that such an incident does not recur.
The boycott threat was issued by the director of the GPO, Danny Seaman, in response to a program broadcast from Lebanon that covered the welcome-home festivities for Kuntar. In it, the head of Al Jazeera's Beirut office, Ghassan bin Jiddo, heaped praises on Kuntar, for instance by calling him a "pan-Arab hero." Kuntar was convicted of the murder of four Israelis, including two children, during a terrorist attack in Nahariya in 1979. He was released last month as part of a deal with Hezbollah. In exchange, Israel received the bodies of kidnapped soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. Bin Jiddo is known to be sympathetic to Hezbollah, and he was even awarded Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's first interview of the Second Lebanon War. A few weeks ago, he was interviewed on a Syrian television station and said that he would never agree to interview Israelis, even though he knows that Al Jazeera's official policy is to interview Israelis. This is not the first time Israel has protested Al Jazeera's coverage, but for its protests to result in an apology is unusual.
1 comment:
The lesson to learn from this is that the Jihadists will back down when opposed. Seaman is known by the foreign media in Israel as no nonsense, direct, tough official. Most importantly when he says something he means it and does not back off, even when confronted by the media. Al Jazeera knew he was serious and would not give in so they caved. BTW - their apology in the media was not acceptable by him and the sanctions continue!
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