Media Bias in the Israel-Palestine Conflict: Selective Outrage on Display

Saint Jeremy vs the Centrist Snake Pit

Naive souls may imagine the sainted Jeremy Corbyn suffered only at the hands of Fleet Street’s ravenous right-wing pack. But the martyr’s path was equally beset by serpents lurking in centrist grasses. For Labour’s leftward lurch threatened not just blue tribunes but their centrist mimics too.

In the complex and highly charged Israel-Palestine conflict, media bias has become a pervasive issue that transcends political ideologies. While it’s often assumed that centrist media outlets provide a more balanced perspective, recent events in Israel and Palestine suggest otherwise.

The treatment of Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, serves as a glaring example of how media bias can shape public perception.

Of course, the Daily Mail bayed for the bearded one’s blood nightly. What else should we expect from right-wing reactionary hounds? Yet Corbyn’s most insidious foes manned the minuscular mics at the Beeb, The Independent and the Guardian.

These dreary priests of the Overton Window anoint themselves champions of reason while fortifying the status quo’s walls. For them, Corbyn’s plans to rob the rich and lift the lumpenproletariat constituted thoughtcrime most foul.

This latest attack on Jeremy Corbyn, known for his progressive stance on social and political issues, comes after Channel Four felt it prudent to ambush the former Labour leader known for his vocal advocacy for Palestinian rights.

However, his principled approach has frequently drawn criticism from both right-wing and centrist media. The latest controversy revolves around Corbyn’s response to the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"I don't support any attacks. Therefore, I criticise them all. And that, I think, is the end of the matter."@PGMcNamara asks Jeremy Corbyn if he condemns Hamas' attacks on Israel. pic.twitter.com/AD7Qqc63ct

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) October 8, 2023

From this ambush media outlets, including centrist ones, went on to accuse Corbyn of failing to condemn Hamas after militants launched a surprise attack on settlements in southern Israel, resulting in a murderous outbreak and hostage-taking. Corbyn’s response was unambiguous:

“All attacks are wrong.” He reiterated his call for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine, emphasising its fundamental role in the ongoing conflict.

“I don’t support any attacks, therefore I criticise them all,” Corbyn declared, clarifying his position.

So began the nauseatingly familiar two minutes of hate. Sneering Oxbridge apparatchiks dutifully orchestrated the Two-Party Line’s droning chorus. Their task: nullify this scruffy heretic’s retrograde dreams by any means necessary.

The Independent carried the story with a nauseating headline ‘Jeremy Corbyn refuses to condemn Hamas after militant group carries out deadly attack on Israel‘

What delicious irony to watch nuance-obsessed centrists resort to knuckle-dragging smears. This commentariat clergy sold their souls for a sniff of the establishment’s steaming offal bowl. Their one true faith is power at any price.

Of course, empathy often depends on practical interests rather than principle. Gaza offers little material value to the West, so its inhabitants’ plight garners scant sympathy. Were resources at play, their agony would lead newscasts nightly. As it is, media yawns at the victims of bombardments and snipers.

We must also scrutinise why Israeli attacks on Gaza rarely inspire Western outcries. The ordeal of people imprisoned in an open-air ghetto their entire lives fails to register compared to rare losses on the other side. This stark double standard exposes claims of objectivity as hollow pretence.

Equally galling is the rhetoric of Israeli politicians, proclaiming “self-defence” while occupying foreign lands. This upends reality, casting the jailer as victim when prisoners resist. But the media dutifully parrots this distortion. Rarely are attacks called what they are – enforcement of subjugation.

Of course, the loss of civilian lives on any side is tragic. But the chronically lopsided attention reveals whose humanity ultimately registers in the West’s collective psyche. The prevailing dehumanisation of Palestinians enables ongoing oppression. Media bias reinforces an unjust status quo.

Those who cherry-pick which attacks to decry undermine moral authority. The messenger matters little if the principles guiding outrage switch according to identity. Credibility depends on applying consistent standards, not exempting favoured groups. Justice blinded by bias is not justice at all.

The fact is we now expect such spinelessness from craven clerks posing as journalists forever peering left and right for preferment. They’d happily march Corbyn into Room 101 if it earned a pat on the head from the lanyard gallery.

Corbyn’s right again…

“All attacks are wrong.”

He reiterated his call for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine, emphasising its fundamental role in the ongoing conflict.

“I don’t support any attacks, therefore I criticise them all,” Corbyn declared, clarifying his position.

For centrist media are no ideologues but cold calculators. They foresaw Corbyn’s socialism blighting their benefactors’ bounty and moved to protect their plate. Their only consistency is defending the rancid status quo that fattens their purse.

So flee the Daily Mail’s apoplexy, but beware the friendly visage masking sinister intent. Fear most the Judas Kiss as these vipers sink their fangs into any threat to conformity. Until power is pried from their clutching claws, the Corbyn dream remains entombed.