The opposition party is preparing to complain over the new Panorama<\/em> episode<\/a><\/strong><\/span> entitled Is Labour antisemitic?<\/em>. It told the Sunday Times<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n We have serious concerns about how they have used taxpayers\u2019 money to produce this programme. Rather than investigating antisemitism in the Labour Party in a balanced and impartial way, Panorama appears to have predetermined its outcome and created a programme to fit a one-sided narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n A spokesperson for Panorama <\/em>told The Canary<\/em>:<\/span><\/p>\n The Labour Party is criticising a programme they have not seen. We are confident the programme will adhere to the BBC\u2019s editorial guidelines. In line with those, the Labour Party has been given the opportunity to respond to the allegations.<\/span><\/p>\n But the record of John Ware, the journalist behind the programme, is raising concerns. In a previous Panorama<\/em> episode on Jeremy Corbyn in September 2015, Ware claimed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that the Labour leader had attended an event in Cairo that called for violence against British and US troops. In other words, he suggested that Corbyn himself had advocated attacks against British forces. Yet Corbyn was actually in Islington, London; and there is no evidence behind this claim.<\/span><\/p>\n In response, the BBC<\/em> claimed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that Corbyn\u2019s team \u201cdidn\u2019t offer any response or proof that he did not attend the conference\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n At the time, a leading scholar on the BBC \u2013<\/em> Tom Mills \u2013 took down the programme\u2019s \u201cshoddy reporting and overt political bias\u201d in openDemocracy<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/span> Mills said:<\/span><\/p>\n Interspersed with condescending \u2018vox pops\u2019 with Corbyn supporters were interviews with luminaries of the Labour right, who were free to offer their apparently authoritative analysis unchallenged by the programme\u2019s presenter, the veteran broadcaster and former Sun journalist, John Ware.<\/span><\/p>\n The BBC<\/em>, meanwhile, claimed<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>that the episode \u201cclearly reflected the growth of support for his campaign within the party, union members and activists\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n But, in the new Panorama<\/em> episode, will Hare inform viewers that accusations of antisemitism in Labour reportedly relate<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to 0.1% of the party\u2019s 540,000-strong membership<\/strong><\/span><\/a>? Will Hare let people know that academics at the Media Reform Coalition concluded<\/strong><\/span><\/a> that corporate media reporting on Labour and antisemitism has been a \u201cdisinformation paradigm\u201d? Given that the BBC<\/em> played<\/strong><\/span><\/a> a leading role in not only the so-called disinformation paradigm but also the 2016 coup<\/a><\/strong><\/span> against Corbyn and the general demonisation<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of progressive views, that seems unlikely.<\/span><\/p>\n Concerns about Ware go beyond his previous conduct towards Corbyn. The Muslim Council of Britain, for example, has branded<\/strong><\/span><\/a> him \u201can agenda-driven pro-Israel polemicist\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2013, the Electronic Intifada<\/em> was highly critical of Ware\u2019s portrayal<\/strong><\/span><\/a> of the state of Israel as the victim of Palestinian aggression in BBC documentaries. Yet it\u2019s Palestine which is under Israeli military occupation<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. And despite the persecution and segregation<\/strong><\/span><\/a> of Palestinians living in Israel itself, Ware has said<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that Arab citizens in Israel \u201ccould become a fifth column\u201d (the enemy within).<\/span><\/p>\n This apparent bias is problematic. Former Labour MP Clare Short summed<\/a> up the connection between Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestine and accusations of antisemitism in Labour on BBC Newsnight<\/em>:<\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s happened is there\u2019s been a widening of the definition of antisemitism to include criticism of Israel. Then, anyone who\u2019s sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians is called antisemitic. That is what\u2019s happened.<\/span><\/p>\n In September 2018, the Labour leadership adopted<\/a><\/strong><\/span> a definition of antisemitism that \u2013 some say \u2013 risks blurring<\/a> the line between criticism of Israel and antisemitism. 24 Palestinian organisations, trade unions and networks are highly<\/strong><\/span><\/a> critical<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of the IHRA definition<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n This non-legally binding definition attempts to erase Palestinian history, demonise solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality, suppress freedom of expression, and shield Israel\u2019s far-right regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid<\/a><\/strong><\/span> from effective measures of accountability in accordance to international law.<\/span><\/p>\n Channel 4<\/em>\u00a0claimed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in May 2019 that there is technically still \u201cno mention\u201d of the IHRA definition or its examples in Labour\u2019s 2019 rule book.<\/span><\/p>\n With all of the above in mind, critics are questioning how Ware \u2013 an apparent apologist for Israeli apartheid<\/a><\/strong><\/span> \u2013 can fairly cover this topic; especially since he made what some view as serious allegations against Corbyn in a previous Panorama<\/em> episode. The BBC<\/em> is supposed to be conducting impartial journalism and educating the UK public. Instead, the organisation seems to have used public money to do precisely the opposite. Those fighting for a better world should ensure their family and friends understand the BBC<\/em>\u2018s agenda.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/BBCPanorama.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cOne-sided narrative\u201d<\/h3>\n
\u201cShoddy reporting and overt political bias\u201d<\/h3>\n
\u201cPro-Israel\u201d<\/h3>\n
Demonisation of the official opposition<\/h3>\n