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ByTrevor Asserson, Trevor Asserson

Opinion

Capital question for press regulator

August 24, 2012 14:57
4 min read

For too long Israel's detractors have sought to use the legal process to broadcast the case against Israel. But recently, Asserson Law Offices, acting for media watchdog HonestReporting, showed that the legal process can and indeed should be used to make the case for Israel.

A free press is a fundamental element of any democratic society and this freedom is enshrined in law, in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, there must be limits to freedom. The law restricts the press from publishing defamatory material or statements which could incite racial hatred. In the UK, mainstream newspapers submit to a system of self-regulation operated by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) that restricts newspapers from publishing information which is "inaccurate, misleading or distorted".

In the event that a newspaper publishes something which falls into this category, members of the public can lodge a complaint with the PCC and the PCC will then decide whether the newspaper has acted in breach of the Editors' Code of Practice and whether to order appropriate remedial action.

The Guardian newspaper has long painted a picture of Israel that is at best distorted and sometimes slips into pure invention. For example, earlier this year, the newspaper claimed "Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel, Tel Aviv is". In response, HonestReporting lodged a complaint to the PCC claiming that the newspaper's statement regarding Tel Aviv was inaccurate and therefore in breach of the Editors' Code of Practice. The complaint was clearly correct.