Foreign Press criticises Israeli boycott of BBC

The Foreign Press Association in Israel criticised Wednesday the government's decision to boycott the BBC after it accused the British broadcaster of making programmes that bordered on anti-Semitism.

"Taking steps against a news outlet for the content of its coverage is a slippery slope that can lead to the illegitimate attempts to exert pressure, by limiting access and staff, on organisations or journalists whose reporting is deemed unfavourable to the government's policy," the association said in a statement.

"This runs counter to the precepts of freedom of the press in a democratic country."

Israel said Monday it had barred senior officials from appearing on the BBC, alleging the service "demonises Israel".

"No official, minister, or spokeman will appear on the BBC until further notice," said the head of the government press service, Daniel Seaman.

But the BBC would continue to be given access to press conferences at the prime minister's office "since we are a democratic country", Seaman added.

The BBC on Tuesday rejected the accusations of anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic bias as it expressed regret over the Israeli government's move.

The Israeli authorities had been particularly angered by a recent BBC documentary on the country's nuclear programme, entitled "Israel's secret weapon", which Seaman described as "the straw that broke the camel's back".


(c) 2003 Middle East Online.