Indy blurs victim and perpetrator in bullying of gay, Jewish pro-peace activist of Mid-East origin

As we've argued repeatedly, the Indy - which facies itself a progressive voice whose aim is to 'comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and to 'speaks truth to power' - has demonstrated its shameful moral confusion when covering acts of violence and intimidation against Jews by activists who are illiberal, anti-democratic and, more often than not, outright antisemitic.

On Thursday night at University College London (UCL), pro-Palestinian students engaged in the violent intimidation of speaker Hen Mazzig, an openly gay, Jewish peace activist.

After the CAMERA sponsored talk by UCL Friends of Israel Society (and KCL Israel) was finally held, Mazzig, a former IDF humanitarian officer whose parents were refugees from Tunisia and Iraq, was forced to flee the event in disguise with police protection after they informed him that, otherwise, they couldn’t guarantee his safety.  

Similarly, at one point during the evening, attendees at the event were forced to lock themselves in a room to protect against the threatening protesters from UCL Palestine Society.

In addition to the violent intimidation of Mazzig, two pro-Israel students were reportedly assaulted by the mob during the riot. 

Here’s a video from the event: (Video by Craig Dillon & Jacob Diamond).

The story exploded on social media since videos of the incident began to circulate, and has been reported by most major UK news outlets (with the exception of the Guardian).  It also prompted immediate calls, by MPs and the British Board of Deputies, for a university investigation.

Though most news outlets we surveyed covered the story fairly, the Independent again demonstrated its characteristic anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian bias by blurring victim and perpetrator in both their headline and lead sentence.

Here’s the headline of the Oct. 29th article by Rachael Pells.:

indy-headline

Now, here’s the opening sentence:

Police were called to an event at University College London after violent clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and members of a pro-Israeli group.

Though the strap line and quotes provided in the body of the article provide some clarifying information about the incident, the headline and opening sentence falsely suggest to readers that both parties were to blame. 

In contrast to the Indy, the Telegraph’s headline (Police called to UCL over ‘violent’ anti-Israel protest which left Jewish students barricaded in room) was much clearer.  Similarly, the headline chosen by Times of London editors (Jewish student ‘assaulted’ in protest at university) left no doubt which side engaged in the violence. The Evening Standard’s headline (University College London: Police called as Jewish students ‘trapped in room’ by pro-Palestine protesters) was equally clear.

The Indy – which facies itself a progressive voice whose aim is to ‘comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable and ‘speaks truth to power’ – has again demonstrated its stunning moral confusion when covering acts of violence and intimidation against Jews by activists who are illiberal, anti-democratic and, more often than not, outright antisemitic.

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