Some of you may recall I was mulling over whether to send a complaint to Points of View, and eventually did so. This is it. I've waited a couple of weeks in case the BBC decided to respond (apart from an Automatic Reply) but they haven't. I know you are reeling in shock from this revelation, but you'll just have to swallow your incredulity.
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The BBC claims, indeed boasts, that it strives to be impartial in its news and current affairs programmes and aims for "balance" between opposing views. On Question Time (2 November) Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, was on the panel, obviously invited as a spokesperson for the Jewish community on the conflict between Israel and Gaza. A woman in the audience spoke up for the Palestinians but there was no "official" spokesperson for them on the panel. Why was that? Reflecting on this afterwards, I imagined an alternative scenario in which there was a Palestinian spokesperson on the panel and no one representing the Jewish community. We all know what would have ensued: the howls of outrage and accusations of bias and anti-Semitism. Yet no one seemed concerned that the Palestinians were not represented. But for the audience member, their views on the conflict would not have been heard. So where was the famous BBC impartiality and balance? I find it hard to believe that the producer and Question Time staff didn’t consider and discuss this in view of the highly sensitive and controversial nature of the subject. Do you have a satisfactory answer?
Re: Email to BBC Points of View...Good luck with that nm