The BBC has changed its recent article on clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police following a complaint.
Stephen Spencer Ryde, a London-based activist, objected after a July 26 report about rioters throwing stones and fireworks at Israeli police officers on Temple Mount failed to explain that the Jews present were there to mark Tisha b'Av.
In a letter to Mr Ryde, the BBC confirmed that after considering his points, it had added a line stating that the riot “occurred on the Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the Biblical Jewish Temples on the compound, and which traditionally draws larger numbers of Jewish worshipers to the site.”
Mr Ryde said he was glad that the article had been altered, but that the corporation’s response “wasn’t stunning”.
“They phrased it as Jews just happening to meet up in that area, making it seem like an aggressive operation rather than just Jews going there to pray,” he said.
If the change had not been made, Mr Ryde believed “it would’ve appeared that the police just went on to the Temple Mount for no reason. From this point of view it was done in defence of people who had a right to be up there.”
