Complaint
A listener complained a guest was permitted to argue without challenge that the deaths of Gazan civilians and the destruction of Gaza were reasonable.聽 The complainant said this was evidence of pro-Israel bias and an attempt to prevent criticism of Israel over the deaths of civilians.聽 The ECU considered whether the programme met the 麻豆社鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The guest, Aaron David Miller, was introduced as an expert in the region with significant experience in advising on previous conflicts.聽 He spoke about Israel鈥檚 stated goals and the difficulties associated with achieving those goals.聽 The complainant took the view this was to argue for accepting more civilian deaths.
The ECU did not agree this was the meaning of what was said or how the contributor鈥檚 comments would have been understood by listeners.聽 Mr Miller was reflecting on what he considered to be the impossibility of Israel achieving its stated goals 鈥渨ithout causing an exponential increase in the taking of innocent Palestinian lives鈥.聽 He explained none of the experts he had spoken to had proposed a solution to this concern.聽
The ECU also believed it would have been clear to the audience Mr Miller was expressing a personal view, rather than making statements of fact.聽 It judged the programme as a whole, which included a report on an attack on ambulances outside a hospital in Gaza City, made the scale of the death and destruction in Gaza clear and ensured due impartiality was achieved.
Not Upheld