Complaint
A viewer complained that an item on the recent actions of Israeli security services in Jenin was biased against Israel because it devoted more time to the Palestinian perspective on events than the Israeli perspective. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the ´óÏó´«Ã½â€™s editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
Impartiality does not necessarily require devoting equal time to the representatives of different viewpoints, and a binary approach will often miss important elements in the mix – as in this case, the point made in the item that the anger of Palestinians in Jenin was directed against the Palestinian Authority as well as Israel. In the ECU’s judgement the item included an appropriate range of viewpoints about a complex situation which was not reducible to two opposed perspectives.
Not upheld