Western media completely supportive of Israel’s Gaza killings
Pro-Palestinian activists have been angered at the Western, particularly British and American, media’s coverage of Israel’s constant assault of Gaza since October, according to Middle East Monitor, January 25
Media in the Western world were swift in their condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine but when Israel has been oppressing Palestinians for nearly 80 years the response… “it’s complicated” and pro-Palestine voices are often given a hard time in comparison to Zionist loud mouths.
This is perfectly emphasised on Talk TV, a right-wing, British, Murdoch-owned news outlet, where prominent presenters such as Piers Morgan and Julia Hartley Brewer, veterans of the British media industry, have often shouted over guests showing solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.
On Morgan’s show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, Guardian journalist and socialist activist Owen Jones, pro-Palestinian and Islamophobia-challenging Youtuber Mohammed Hijab, and British-Iraqi activist and rapper “Lowkey” have all felt the brunt of the controversial pundit’s pro-Israel, which he denies, questioning.
Owen Jones rightly pointed out Morgan’s double standards when on his show. He noted that Piers Morgan “rightly” called the Russian invasion illegal and shameful but has been an apologist for Israel despite committing a killing spree in Gaza.
Emphasising his strong support for the country, Piers Morgan tweeted on September 2022, “Something big is happening in Ukraine – multiple reports of Russian forces being run out of town. Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine).”
READ: UK TV host panned for vulgar interview with Palestinian MP
Other right-wing news outlets such as The Telegraph and The Daily Mail have often demonised pro-Palestine marches in the country.
If anything, the pro-Israeli sentiment in American media is more visible. US-based news outlet The Intercept carried out a report on January 9 which concluded that prominent newspapers such as New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times have published articles biased against Palestine since the escalation of tensions between Hamas and Israel.
This is shown by them being quick to believe Israeli sources on what is happening in the Palestinian enclave but often downplaying the death doll data stressing, “This is the Hamas-run health ministry’s data” therefore it “lacks reliability.”
Such narratives will lead many to believe that Israel is the oppressed when in fact the complete opposite is happening, the report found.
The report also added that the word “children” is often missed out in pieces when talking about Israel’s attacking the Gaza Strip, which recent data found that its population has an average age of 18 years old and that leading newspapers have mostly referred to Palestinians being killed as “deaths” whereas when the roles are reversed, Israeli deaths are dubbed, “slaughter” and “massacre”.
Despite the negative coverage of Palestine and the Middle East more generally by British and American media and its politicians, its populations have deep concerns about the Gaza massacre and numerous polls have found that the overwhelming majority support a permanent ceasefire.
The Intercept/ Al Jazeera/ Middle East Monitor
