PRESS RELEASE 
The Palestine Return Centre
 

2nd August 2006 

 

BBC's Panorama: The War on Palestinian Orphans

 

The Palestine Return Centre strongly objects to the grotesque representation of UK-based charities that are dedicated to helping needy Palestinian families in the Occupied Territories, in the latest BBC Panorama programme. "Faith, Hate and Charity" by John Ware has deliberately painted an ominous image of charities that for years have extended a helping hand to Palestinian orphans and widows. 

 

"Ware's programme has failed to live up to the most basic standards of journalistic integrity," said Majed al-Zeer, the general director of PRC in London. "Moreover, it's difficult to view the programme and its harmful messages separate from the current Israeli onslaughts in Lebanon and the Occupied Territories; as if the intended message is to demonize Palestinians at a time where Israeli aggressions have resulted in uncountable deaths and unimaginable destruction," he added. 

 

Indeed, Mr. Ware's message was hardly confined to that of "investigative journalism", but exceeded it to an unwarranted attack on Islam, depicting it as a religion of hate whose primary messages are those of death and mayhem. Even more, the program, basing its allegation on highly questionable information apparently supplied by Israeli and American intelligence agencies made it crystal clear that funds generated to helping needy Palestinians were in fact being channelled to groups with insidious political and ideological objectives; not one single evidence, except of the personal 'observations' of Mr. Ware himself was offered to cement the programme's shaky argument throughout. 

 

Using bizarre production technique, and no solid evidence in attacking charities with a clean record * according to the British government's own investigations * Mr. Ware's final message was that of defamation, hoping, perhaps to deny many Palestinian families their only and last source of income. Not only has the international community failed to provide any meaningful support to the Palestinian people, now some in the media wish to see an end to the few remaining channels of support. Who will benefit from such unwarranted campaign? We ask. Who will stand up to aid thousands of Palestinian families, the most vulnerable amongst them, the orphans, in their hour of need, if charity work is disrupted? Expectedly, Mr. Ware hardly appreciates the urgency of such questions.

 

The Palestine Return Centre calls on the BBC not to allow such compromised journalism from finding its way to millions of viewers across the UK and elsewhere, especially as the viewers were hardly presented with alternative viewpoints for the sake of balance and journalistic integrity. PRC is of the opinion that at times of wars and conflicts, such hatful and ideologically tainted views can only further animosity towards Palestinians and those dedicated to helping them. We fear that this was precisely the intentions of Mr. Ware's programme. 

 

END 

 

ACTION REQUESTED: You are urged to contact the BBC, demanding that the corporation shuns, and for good, such mediocre journalism. Please express your deep concern that such programmes could discourage charitable work in Palestine, which will inevitably further aggravates the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Territories as a result of Israel's ongoing war and occupation