To read this article, click here.

[Excerpt:]

"It was organised by Just Journalism, a new website which, despite its professed aim "to promote accurate and responsible reporting about Israel", quickly reveals itself as strongly pro-Israeli. My fellow panellists were Jon Snow, the Channel 4 News presenter; Alex Brummer from the Daily Mail; and Robin Shepherd from the thinktank Chatham House. It quickly became clear that Snow and I, arguing that the media made the best of a difficult job, were in a minority of two in the room. There was little attempt at engagement or even courtesy; one audience member accused us of treason. At an equivalent meeting elsewhere in the country we would no doubt have been equally isolated. Two points struck me strongly, both well articulated by Shepherd, whom the audience applauded wildly. First, it is no use quoting Amnesty, Oxfam, Christian Aid, Human Rights Watch or the UN and its agencies, as though they are trustworthy, authoritative and rational. To pro-Israelis, they are not. NGOs, Shepherd said, are riddled with apologists for Palestinian terrorists. I asked him what did count as a reliable source. He admitted there weren’t any and journalists could only be "fair" if they treated NGO claims alongside those of Hamas, and "balanced" them with pro-Israel sources. (In fact, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have accused Hamas as well as Israel of war crimes, as the Guardian reported on its front page and spread last Tuesday – a point Melanie Phillips didn’t mention.)"