95bFM Advocates call out ‘inappropriate’ and ‘inaccurate’ anti-Palestine rhetoric
29 June, 2023
By Jessica Hopkins
Amid RNZ's pro-Kremlin edits controversy, ACT Party Leader David Seymour has accused the public broadcaster of “Palestinian-friendly” framing and “propaganda”. But members of Aotearoa's Palestinian community and advocates argue our media's coverage is more often biased against Palestinians.
ACT Party Leader David Seymour has compared Palestine defending itself against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, with China's abuse of Uyghur people in Xinjiang, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
These comments come in response to an RNZ staffer making Russia-sympathetic changes to wire copy.
On 95bFM’s The Wire, ACT MP Simon Court doubled down on Seymour’s pro-Israel stance, accusing RNZ of “making stuff up”.
In particular, Court criticised RNZ for changing ‘six Palestinian gunmen’ to ‘six Palestinians’ in their re-publication of a Reuters story. The story has now been updated by RNZ to remove these edits.
“For our state broadcaster to publish material that includes Russian, Palestinian, and Chinese propaganda is appalling. New Zealanders should be able to trust our state broadcaster to be totally and utterly impartial,” said Court.
Palestinian New Zealander and descendant of Palestinian refugees, Tameem Shaltoni, told The Wire that Seymour and Court's comments are “completely inappropriate” and “inaccurate”.
He says these claims are “ironic” as he believes there is more coverage from an Israeli perspective in New Zealand media.
“Just last week, the Israeli army shot a three-year-old Palestinian in the head, and he lost his life. Sadly, there was nothing about it in the news in New Zealand at all.”
For decades, Israel has been forcing thousands of Palestinians out of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, to create settlements that exclusively home Jewish Israeli people, displacing Palestinian communities in the process.
A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry determined Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory breach international law.
Shaltnoi says Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank live under cruel occupation and apartheid conditions.
“To suggest Palestinains who have been living under these conditions for 75 years somehow have a propaganda machine similar to global powers and are able to manipulate the news in New Zealand, a small corner of the world, is absurd."
When Palestinians are mentioned in the news in a negative way, Shaltoni says this affects the community here in Aotearoa, and politicians and media have a responsibility to protect them from hate.
“We are just normal people, everyday New Zealanders. People think of us as some sort of terrorists. It affects our jobs, children, and overall belonging to society. Most of us are migrants, refugees, and Muslims, which is another layer on top of that."
Activist John Minto from the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) told The Wire that Western media are "simply awful" in their reporting of what goes on in the Middle East.
RNZ republishes reports from international media like Reuters and the BBC, which Minto says give a "Eurocentric view" of the Middle East.
"They don't explain the fact that Palestine is occupied by the Israeli military which controls every aspect of Palestinian lives. They don't report on the racist laws that discriminate against Palestinians.”
Minto called out the double standard of New Zealand polticians including ACT MPs criticising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but not Israel’s forced eviction of Palestinians.
“We call out Russia but we're not calling out Israel. That’s the problem. Israel is getting away with blue murder.”
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
