Complaint
The bulletin included an interview with Husam Zomlot, Head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, who referred to mass detention of Palestinians by the Israeli authorities. A listener complained that the presenter’s subsequent question, “isn't it understandable that they round people up when they feel threatened by those people?” was an inappropriate response to well-documented breaches of international law, reflecting bias towards the Israeli government narrative. The ECU considered the complaint against the standards for impartiality set out in the ѿý Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
The ECU accepted that the manner in which the question was expressed could have given the impression that rounding up civilians irrespective of their innocence was a justifiable response to security concerns. However it considered viewers in general would have understood it as an attempt at devil’s advocacy. This is a technique common in political interviewing of this kind, and one with which audiences are familiar. Putting a position to a guest for their response is not the same as endorsing it, but is intended to provide an opportunity for rebuttal – an opportunity which Dr Zumlot took, responding that Israel had misused the excuse of self-defence.
Not Upheld