Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Middle East

Kiwis for Balanced Reporting On The Mideast New Zealand Media bias

May 24, 1020

Misguided mission in the West Bank

In December 2009, the NZ Herald published a strongly anti-Israel article, ‘Student on a mission in the West Bank’, about the experiences of a NZ-born Palestinian activist in the West Bank. KBRM complained to the Herald and, not getting a satisfactory answer, to the Press Council. The Herald then came to life and after further correspondence:

The Press Council rejected our complaint. The reasons given were twofold: first, as an article cast in the form of an interview, the Council decided it was opinion, which can apparently say anything the author likes. Second, we complained about the statement that Israeli West Bank settlements are ‘all illegal under international law’. The Council supported the 2004 International Court of Justice opinion about the legality of the West Bank security barrier, which claimed that Israel was an Occupying Power in the West Bank.

This opinion has been strongly disputed by international legal experts, and appears to accept that the 1948 Jordanian invasion of the West Bank and east Jerusalem was legitimate (contrary to international treaties and UN Resolution 181), and that Israel's recovery of the territory in 1967 was therefore illegal. Since the ICJ is an organ of the UN, this seems just another proof that the law is an ass. As it was a legal opinion, not a court case, it can't even be appealed. So anyone can say that israel is occupying the West Bank, and it's illegal under international law, and claim the endorsement of the UN.

The UN is a discussion forum not a legislature. It's no trouble to find enough members of the General Assembly to sponsor an anti-Israel resolution, which means that the UN spends a large part of its time condemning Israel. The UN Security Council, which is the body that matters, is a lot more circumspect, mainly because of the US's permanent membership. Unfortunately the UN is widely seen as being beyond criticism. The UN itself doesn't agree — it rescinded its notorious resolution 3379 which said that Zionism was racism. But usually the wilder pronouncements of the General Assembly are just ignored in the hope they'll be forgotten.

On the positive side, one of our members' letters criticising the article was published, and the author hasn't appeared again in the Herald..