Editorial in the Guardian: "In Israel They Murder Each Other a Great Deal"

"The Israeli Defense Forces murder people because they don't like their political style..."

What does the IDF have to do with the recent assault on Italian PM Sylvio Berlusconi? Absolutely nothing. But that didn't stop The Guardian's Associate Editor Michael White from making the following comment during a discussion on BBC Radio London's Breakfast Show concerning the physical vulnerability of political leaders:

"In Israel they murder each other a great deal. The Israeli Defense Forces murder people because they don't like their political style and what they've got to say and it only means that people more extreme come in and take their place."

(The full segment from the BBC Radio London Breakfast Show with Joanne Good and Paul Ross, 8am, Monday 14 Dec. can be heard by clicking here (3 mins 30 secs in) or here for a limited time only on the BBC website at approximately 1hr 16 mins in.)

These are extremely serious and baseless accusations and perhaps offer a disturbing insight into the mindsets of The Guardian's senior staff as well as those BBC presenters who simply grunted in agreement.

Does the IDF target terrorists and their leadership in order to defend Israeli citizens from terror attacks? Certainly. Does the IDF engage in deliberate murder in order to silence dissent in the same style as a police state or dictatorship? Certainly not.

Accusing the IDF of murdering people because they disagree with their "political style" is an absolutely outrageous slander. How can the paper's Associate Editor represent The Guardian on a public platform, spreading slanderous accusations while expected to produce reliable and credible material in a mainstream newspaper?

Please send a complaint to The Guardian's readers' editor Siobhain Butterworth - reader@guardian.co.uk - and demand that The Guardian takes action against Michael White who is unfit for the task of Associate Editor if he publicizes such ridiculous untruths. Despite Michael White's language, please remember to be civil when addressing your complaint.

You can also send a complaint to the BBC, which allowed such a slur to go unchallenged, through the BBC Complaints website - www.bbc.co.uk/complaints - remembering to include the full details of the BBC radio show in question. For detailed instructions on how to navigate the BBC Complaints website, click here.

(From the "Honest Reporting" website)