Today’s theme on Harry’s Place, is London mayoral candidates and the British media.
Remember when Ken Livingstone interviewed Khaled Meshal in the New Statesman, as its guest editor?
Here is Ken at a PSC meeting in 2009 complaining about the “demonisation of Hamas” and boasting of his interview:
Ken joked (4:42):
“I thought Ivan Lewis was an Israeli lobbyist, I didn’t think he was a Labour MP! [laughter] Cos he’s one of that small group of Labour MPs who only ever seems to talk about the defence of the state of Israel, and denounce any Arab that may have a different point of view! And he came out and said, I had made a huge mistake in having this interview, and publishing it, and I assumed avalanche of denunciations and outrage, and how someone like me should never stand for mayor again or something! And then, it went completely quiet – a little bit in the Jewish Chronicle in the next week – and of course! – the last thing they wanted to do, what they realised is, a lot of denunciations would mean people would buy it! More of them would read it!
I wish there had been more denunciations! I wish great extracts of it, had been published in the Sun! And the Daily Mail! And the Express! They’re not gonna do that. So, do get hold of copies of that, and just take a few photocopies and circulate it amongst your friends, groups at work, in your community, so more people get to see that. The silence spoke volumes, of how they don’t want the Palestinians to express themselves through their elected leaders.”
Boris Johnson wants Rupert Murdoch to sponsor an academy.
Ken Livingstone wants Rubert Murdoch’s press to draw attention to his interview of a racist terrorist.
You choose.
