‘Kidnapped’ in Gaza

A BBC correspondent's book--now available in the United States--details his Gaza kidnapping and collects balanced reportage from the Middle East and Central Asia.

By Ralph Seliger

Along with millions of others around the world, I was appalled by the kidnapping of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston in the Gaza Strip on March 12, 2007. As his disappearance lengthened, I was stricken with the fear that he'd be murdered by his captors--members of a fringe [RETURN TO ARTICLE]

  • Reader Comments

     Page 1 of 1 pages

    There’s that word again, “balance.”  You’re hearing it everywhere in the media these days, and it is dutifully repeated when forced to confront or address yet another Israeli atrocity.  Even a book review addressing the systematic brutalization of the Palestinians must be “balanced” with at least “one” terrorist attack mentioned at the end, creating the false impression of equality in guilt.

    Israeli barbarism, particularly during their recent debacles in Lebanon and Gaza, has opened the eyes of many previously exposed to 50 years of unflinching media support for any and all Israeli positions, a period during which I might add, the words “balance” and “fair-minded” were conspicuously absent.

    When considering the “original sin” of Zionism (taking the land of the indigenous population without their consultation or consent), the systematic expansionist policies that followed the creation of Israel (despite the party in power and irrespective of resistance level activities), the horrendous military and economic inequity between the parties, not to mention the nearly 100-1 casualty ratios, the cry for “balance” and “fair-mindedness” in coverage rings hollow indeed.

    The desire for peace so eloquently stated by Mohammad Adwan at the end of the piece will require addressing these fundamental realities, not by pretending to be “fair-minded,” or by agreeing to some illusionary “balance.”

    United States Posted by Imran on Apr 3, 2009 at 11:54 AM

    That word “balance,” is not in the article. It was an editor’s choice in summarizing the article at the top. The book’s author, Alan Johnston, leans toward the Palestinians in his sympathies.

    But he is “fair-minded,” a quality we generally want in a journalist.  He notes with sadness that both sides are flawed in how they relate to the other. This is not a game to him in which there’s one team that he roots for and the other side that he hates. He understands the complexities of this conflict, which according to Imran is a bad thing.

    United States Posted by rseliger on Apr 27, 2009 at 10:58 AM
     Page 1 of 1 pages

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