Did you catch this, PB?
BBC slammed for 'anti-Jewish' broadcast
By DOUGLAS DAVIS
London, England
The Board of Deputies, the representative body of British Jewry, last week complained to the BBC over the "violently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish language" contained in poetry broadcast on the BBC Radio program, Poetry Proms.
The poems were broadcast during the intervals of the evening Proms, the annual season of summer promenade concerts, on August 13 and 20. The poems were also posted on the BBC Proms Web site.
In the poems, written by Jean Breeze and Michael Rosen, the actions of Israelis were likened to those of the Nazis, and victims of the Holocaust are asked why they "have not learnt their lesson?"
The BBC has told the Board of Deputies it will not be possible to give a response to the complaint before the end of September, some six weeks after the broadcasts.
Neville Nagler, director-general of the board, expressed surprise that the BBC commissioned such poetry and broadcast it "at such an inappropriate time." He added that the long delay in responding to the complaint indicates that "the BBC does not take seriously complaints from the British Jewish community."
"This is deeply concerning at a time when anti-Jewish rhetoric is increasing," he said.
jpost.com |
