Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Middle East

Kiwis for Balanced Reporting On The Mideast New Zealand Media bias

January 18, 2009

British army colonel defends Israel's actions in Gaza on BBC

The concern voiced by much of the media about casualties in Gaza has led to a spirited defence of Israel's actions, not only by KBRM members, but by a British Army Colonel on BBC (which has been among Israel's worst critics). Col. Richard Kemp, a former senior advisor to the British government on the Middle East, said,

‘...Israel doesn't have any choice other than to defend its own people.... I don't think there has ever been a time in the history of warfare when any army has made more efforts to reduce civilian casualties and deaths of innocent people than the IDF is doing today in Gaza... Hamas, the enemy that they are fighting, has been trained extensively by Iran and by Hizbollah to fight among the people, to use the civilian population in Gaza as a human shield, and they, Hamas, factor in the use of the civilian population as a major part of their defensive plan... ’ (See the YouTube Video)

Following are letters written by KBRM members in response to letters or articles that attacked Israel for causing civilian casualties:

To The Press (not published):

January 25

With reference to the editorial on Jan 22, while we all recoiled in horror at the recent fighting in Gaza, I believe Israel did everything it could, under the circumstances, to keep casualties to a minimum. Hamas are Islamic extremists who have no regard for anything other than their idea of the Muslim religion, as evidenced by their war against Fatah in 2007.
During the incursion Israel dropped leaflets in Arabic warning people to leave areas before bombing. I even read, Hamas militants dressed as Israeli soldiers and forced Palestinians to remain in buildings knowing the Israelis were about to bomb. It is well documented that Hamas stored ammunition and inflammable substances under or near houses, mosques, schools, UN facilities and hospitals and fired mobile rocket launchers from those areas contravening the Geneva Convention.

To the NZ Herald:

Demonstrators shouted in the streets of Wellington, defaced a public monument and spoke of ‘crimes against humanity’, when Israel finally acted in self-defence against the terrorist organisation Hamas in Gaza.
Where were these people when Hamas published its 1988 charter, calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state and the Jewish people? Where were they when Hamas murdered more than a hundred Palestinian Fatah supporters in 2007? Where have they been since 2004 when Hamas rockets and missiles started raining down on Israeli schools, shops, playgrounds and homes, terrorising, maiming and killing Jewish children and their families? I have not seen these people marching through New Zealand streets to denounce the terrorist acts committed by Hamas and their supporters against Jewish men, women and children in Israel. I have not heard them publicly protest about Hamas' intimidation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
These people may like to see themselves as peace activists, but shouting slogans and vandalising public property will not bring peace to the Middle East. Only when Arab leaders reject terrorism and become willing to accept that Jews are entitled to live peacefully in Israel without threat of terror attacks, will there be peace.

To the NZ Herald:

I am greatly disturbed by the constant blame put on Israel, by the NZ press, for the current situation in the Middle East. Many facts are distorted and very little, if any, understanding is shown of the position Israel is in.
How would we react if our nearest neighbour not only vowed to destroy us, but actually threw rockets at say, Whangarei, on a daily basis? We would be screaming blue murder!
Would WE increase our longstanding aid to OUR ENEMY in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis? I doubt it. Yet Israel has done this and many other barely reported acts of humanity. All we Kiwis expect is ACCURATE and NON-BIASED reporting.
We in NZ must exercise caution before backing the Hamas in Gaza since supporting Hamas, is directly supporting the destruction of a sovereign state: Israel (Hamas' own charter states this).
Until some Palestinian statesmen finally arises and commits their people to a peaceful future with their neighbours, Hamas is probably here to stay. The Hamas path is one of constant conflict, and we can only feel sorry for the Palestinians doomed to ignorance and poverty, through fanaticism and war - the inevitable result of fundamentalist Islamic rule.

To the Otago Daily Times (not published):

While going through my trunk I found a letter to the ODT by a (Paul Martin), dated Jan. 23, 1944. (I sincerely hope that the Otago Daily Times at some point acknowledges the enormous suffering inflicted upon the German people by the Allied governments and armies, and stops supporting such repressive governments.) That made as much sense then as does the current letter by Paul Martin about the Palestinians (Jan. 23, 2009).
As for Peter Basquin's charge of ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘pushing the Palestinians out of Israel’, the 1.4 million Arab citizens of Israel will be a bit surprised to hear about that.

To the Otago Daily Times:

To picture the Israeli action in Gaza comparable to those of Nazi Germany is more than offensive, it is in fact sick and repulsive Having lived in Holland during the Nazi occupation I write from experience.
For him to equate the situation in Gaza with the Holocaust when six million Jewish men, women and children were systematically slaughtered is not only monstrous but beyond words.

To The Press (not published):

I would like to point out that the UN building was not ‘mistakenly attacked.’ According to Israel's report, ‘[Israeli] troops came under intense anti-tank fire by a group of Hamas gunmen positioned next to the compound. The IDF returned fire and hit a fuel tanker parked next to the compound as well. The fuel spread into the compound and set the warehouse on fire.’
As for ‘allegations that Israel used white phosphorus shells against civilians’, the International Committee of the Red Cross investigated this and ‘found no evidence that Israel was using phosphorus in a questionable way, such as burning down buildings or consciously putting civilians at risk.’

January 7

To the Otago Daily Times

We are constantly being bombarded with distorted and emotive reporting as Israel defends its right to exist. All war is horrible, but every nation has a duty to protect its citizens. Alan Dershowitz, a law professor at Harvard University wrote the following: ‘Until the world recognizes that Hamas is committing three war crimes — targeting Israeli civilians, using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and seeking the destruction of a member state of the United Nations — and that Israel is acting in self-defense and out of military necessity, the conflict will continue.’
The Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, warned of ‘those who are seeking political gains at the expense of the Palestinian people.’ He was not referring to Israel, but to the Islamic radicals who use them to further their cause.
I am concerned that extremist Muslim groups intend inflicting their faith upon the West. Another Harvard man, Samuel Huntington, who was a political scientist at Harvard University, predicted that religion would play a major role as a source of conflict in the world. The Otago Daily Times published his obituary on Saturday December 3, 09.