[VIDEO] 'Anti-Semitic' remark or Western media's hypocrisy? FM Qureshi's CNN interview sparks debate

[cricketjoshila]

He got called out mostly by networks like CNN and NYT. I thought you considered those networks to be fake news when they reported about India, what changed? Who else called out SMQ expect a few left leaning newspapers?

Dont you guys quote left leaning outlets repeatedly when India is concerned.

He made a anti Semitic remark. Lets be honest here, pakistan has far better ways of getting back at Israel then this buffoon running off his mouth on live TV.

Pakistan inherited the same civil service that India did, so very confident that your foreign office guys are far more capable than this guy.

 

[Zaz]

Hindu extremism is your favourite diversion, but the world isnt seeing Hindus killing people across the world, are they?

Your right Its seeing israelis do it, the chinese do it, usa do it but india doesnt kill anyone in kashmir

 

[Napa]

After a long time a FM who can stand his ground and not go around carrying his hat in hand looking for a place to sit down

NS didn’t have to go around hat in hand looking for a place to sit.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Dont you guys quote left leaning outlets repeatedly when India is concerned.

He made a anti Semitic remark. Lets be honest here, pakistan has far better ways of getting back at Israel then this buffoon running off his mouth on live TV.

Pakistan inherited the same civil service that India did, so very confident that your foreign office guys are far more capable than this guy.

What was it about his remark that you found anti-Semitic?

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

In this interview with Al Jazeera it is clear what Pakistan want to achieve in the region.

Not recommended for neo-Zionist warmongers!

 

[El Generico]

A Palestinian man was attacked in an apparent hate crime in Calgary. It’s good that world leaders all talk about the dangers of anti-semitism but I wonder if anyone going to pay attention to these hate crimes targeting Palestinians and Muslims.

http://globalnews.ca/news/7898875/calgary-charges-road-rage-hate-motivated-investigation/

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Dont you guys quote left leaning outlets repeatedly when India is concerned.

He made a anti Semitic remark. Lets be honest here, pakistan has far better ways of getting back at Israel then this buffoon running off his mouth on live TV.

Pakistan inherited the same civil service that India did, so very confident that your foreign office guys are far more capable than this guy.

Not really. Had Pakistan just made some generic statement no one would have noticed it in Israel, or even in Pakistan. However since this has some masala to it, it got attention. Other benefits are

1- This statement is popular in Pakistan. So there is a political benefit.
2- There is enough plausible deniability in his statement, as he mentioned Israel and not Jews.
3 - We dont have money to give to the Palestinians, the least we can do is give verbal support. Its not like Pakistan is neutral in this conflict, so why not verbally say what many people feel. Nothing wrong with this as long he does not push the envelope like Iran, by denying the Holocaust or saying Israel should be wiped of the map.

 

[Technics 1210]

It's no irony Hindutvas still follow the command of the white man. Rambling on promoting their right wing ideology but cannot outline what was antisemitic about the comments.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Friday said that said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a state of fear.

The foreign minister's statement came after the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) decided Thursday to create an open-ended international investigation into violations surrounding the latest Gaza violence, and into "systematic" abuses in the Palestinian territories.

The resolution, which passed with 24 of the council´s 47 members in favour, will spur an unprecedented level of scrutiny on abuses and their "root causes" in the decades-long Middle East conflict.

The text, which was presented by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, was debated during a special one-day council session focused on the surge in deadly violence this month.

FM Qureshi said that the OIC has achieved success in the meeting of the Human Rights Council yesterday, adding that if Israel has announced that it will not cooperate in the investigation, then they are being exposed.

“From Netanyahu's statement, it seems that they are in a state of fear.”

Opening the session on Thursday, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet voiced particular concern about the "high level of civilian fatalities and injuries" from the attacks on Gaza, and warned the Israeli attacks on the enclave "may constitute war crimes".

The Palestinian foreign ministry saluted the move and said it "reflects the determination of the international community to move forward in the path of accountability, law enforcement, and protection of Palestinian human rights."

But Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu slammed it as "shameful."

"Today’s shameful decision is yet another example of the UN Human Rights Council’s blatant anti-Israel obsession," Netanyahu said in a statement.

FM Qureshi’s address
Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the UN body to ensure the realisation of the fundamental rights of Palestinians and “hold the aggressor accountable through international inquiry”.

In his virtual address to the Special Session of the UNHRC on the ‘Grave Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem’, the foreign minister said the two-week aggression ignited violence and communal attacks against Palestinians, thus calling into question the tall claims of democracy and rule of law.

Emphasizing on ensuring Palestinians’ rights to life and self-determination, Qureshi said “condoning to violations only breeds arrogance and impunity”.

The foreign minister said Pakistan supported the UNHRC’s deliberations and decisions in accordance with the merits of the human rights situation in Palestine and also urged upon the others to do likewise.

As the apex UN body, he said, the UNHRC was mandated to guard human rights and human dignity and mentioned that today’s Special Session, requisitioned by 70 countries, was an exercise of this important mandate.

Qureshi said the people of Palestine had, once again, faced a relentless onslaught on their rights and dignity, in two weeks of brutal Israeli aggression.

He stressed that the violent repression compounded several aspects of the perpetual Palestinian tragedy in seven decades of illegal occupation.

In this regard, he mentioned the continuous killings of civilians and disproportionately affecting the vulnerable including women and children.

He pointed that continuing Israeli settlement activity was acting as a “driver and force multiplier of occupation and violence”.

Qureshi said the violence led to indiscriminate demolition of houses, hospitals, and schools causing innumerable hardships to the people. Also, the situation resulted in recurring forced displacements, making people refugees in their own land.

“False equivalence between the victim and the aggressor, on account of political expediency, is patently incorrect and morally reprehensible,” he said, adding that “This Council must act to rectify the wrong.”

GEO

 

[cricketjoshila]

Your right Its seeing israelis do it, the chinese do it, usa do it but india doesnt kill anyone in kashmir

Another diversion. This isn't going to change the real world perception.

 

[cricketjoshila]

The UNHRC has no powers. Unless the UNSC takes a decision, these are all useless monkey balancing.

 

[ahmedzee]

A Palestinian man was attacked in an apparent hate crime in Calgary. It’s good that world leaders all talk about the dangers of anti-semitism but I wonder if anyone going to pay attention to these hate crimes targeting Palestinians and Muslims.

http://globalnews.ca/news/7898875/calgary-charges-road-rage-hate-motivated-investigation/

Thank goodness that idiot got arrested. However Police is still treating it as road rage rather than hate crime.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Tuesday stressed that Pakistan is against genocide, not against Jews or Christians.

“We are against genocide. We are not against Jews or Christians, but against all oppressors of humanity,” he said, in an address to the Second Conference of Parliamentary Assembly of the Economic Cooperation Organization (PAECO) countries.

Pakistan’s stance on Israel’s violations of human rights was “not anti-Semitic, but anti-Zionist”, he added.

"We will raise our voices against anyone who resorts to oppression," the president said.

Alvi stressed greater trade and connectivity among the countries of Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) to attain the goals of cohesive regional development and prosperity.

The president said economic integration among regional states could act as an effective driver to foster sustainable peace and security.

The conference gathered speakers and representatives of the national parliaments of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The president emphasised the need for ECO countries to effectively tap into the region’s immense resources to nurture alliances for win-win economic stability.

“Your voices will be only heard at the global platform if you are economically strong and stable,” he said.

For this to be achieved, he said the states will require a viable regional integration through an open trade market which will lead to sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

Dr Alvi said the ECO region, with its eight million square kilometre land mass and 500 million people, comprised six percent of the world population and had the potential to become an economic power through institutionalised trade policy reforms.

In today's world where morality is becoming irrelevant next to the oppressor’s own whims and wishes, a strong leadership and approach promoting the ethos of humanity was direly needed, he said.

He spoke of the West’s double standards and hypocrisy in the name of “freedom of expression” where the incidents of blasphemy of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) were on rise in stark contrast to the intolerance against the mere mention of Holocaust.

He also said that labelling the freedom movement of Palestinians and Kashmiris as "terrorism" by Israel and India was an act of viewing the countries through the "prism of prejudice".

The president expressed confidence that the Muslim world would join hands in giving the world a strong message on Islamophobia.

GEO

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

LONDON: Reacting to the alleged antisemitic remarks made by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith on Tuesday said that she had left Pakistan due to such antisemitic attacks.

Taking to Twitter, Goldsmith wrote, “I left Pakistan in 2004 after a decade of antisemitic attacks by the media and politicians.” She maintained that at the time she had been receiving weekly death threats and protests outside her house in the country.

Despite the passage of over 16 years, such antisemitic attacks against her still continuing, she said.


PM Khan and Maryam traded antisemitic remarks during their recent political rallies ahead of the polls in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

In his speech, talking about the pictures of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who went abroad in 2019 for treatment, attending his grandson Junaid Safdar's polo match in the UK, PM Khan said, "The poor should go to jail and the powerful get NROs and go park themselves abroad and watch their grandson’s polo match."

“The common man cannot play polo. You need a lot of money to keep a horse and play polo. So tell us where this dear grandson got this money from. It's your money" he had said.

Following his statement, Maryam also launched an antisemitic tirade and said, "He is Nawaz Sharif’s grandson, not Goldsmith’s. he’s not being raised in the lap of Jews."

https://www.geo.tv/latest/360914-jemima-goldsmith-slams-antisemitic-remarks-by-maryam-nawaz

 

[BouncerGuy]

Antoinette Lattouf: ABC presenter sacked over Gaza post ignites row in Australia

On 20 December Antoinette Lattouf signed off from the Sydney radio show she was hosting with a promise she'd be back the next day.

"Can't wait," she told listeners.

But the veteran journalist and presenter did not return to the airwaves. Later that afternoon she was sacked, with her boss saying the order had come from "above".

She was only three days into a week-long stint filling in as host of the local Mornings show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Just hours earlier she insists she was told it was going well.

But behind the scenes, her appointment to the coveted role had attracted ardent lobbying from pro-Israel groups who accused her of antisemitism and bias.

Lattouf - who is of Lebanese heritage - says she fears the ABC buckled under external pressure, sacking her based on political opinion and race. She has launched a wrongful termination case.

The broadcaster vehemently denies this and says Lattouf was let go because she broke its directions on social media by re-sharing a Human Rights Watch (HRW) post about the Israel Gaza war.

Her dismissal has triggered a wave of public outrage and created turmoil at the public broadcaster - raising questions over its independence and reviving concerns over how it supports staff, particularly those who are culturally diverse, when they come under attack.

Criticism over activism

Lattouf is believed to be the first Arab-Australian woman to be a reporter on commercial television, and today is a regular staple on Australian airwaves or in its local newspapers.

But the 40-year-old has also made a name for herself as an activist on issues like racism, discrimination in media and mental health.

Before she was hired by the ABC, Lattouf attracted criticism for social media posts on the Israel Gaza war which decried the impact on Palestinian civilians.

In some posts she accused Israel of targeting and killing journalists in Gaza, something echoed by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists but which Israel denies.

She also drew ire for an article she co-authored in which online verification experts questioned video which purported to show pro-Palestinian protesters chanting "gas the Jews" at a march in Sydney.

The ABC has stressed the critical importance of impartiality and also has strict social media requirements. It bans posts which could damage its reputation.

Lattouf has long been a regular contributor to the ABC, and agreed to curtail her social media use when she started her presenting stint.

But she says she was told sharing information from "reputable" sources like human rights groups was fine, and so on 19 December shared a post from HRW which said Israel was using starvation as a tool of war. Israel denies the accusation.

Lattouf's post came hours after the ABC itself had covered the HRW report, and Lattouf claims other ABC employees had also shared the post. She also alleges other staff have written "far more inflammatory" social media posts in the past but remain employed.

"The difference between them is they are white and I have an Arab background," she told the BBC.

She wants a public apology from the ABC, compensation, and a similar role back on air.

But in its reply to Ms Lattouf's legal action, the ABC said her case was "entirely misconceived", and she was taken off-air "because she failed or refused to comply with directions that she not post on social media about matters of controversy".

She was paid for all five shifts, it added.

Swift backlash

The case sparked an immediate uproar in Australia.

HRW wrote to the ABC Chair, Ita Buttrose, saying it was "troubling" that its "factual" material had been deemed "controversial'", something it said could have a "chilling effect" on Australian journalism.

The media union also called the decision to remove Lattouf "incredibly disturbing", while Minister for Industry Ed Husic said people expressing a "peaceful" view "shouldn't feel like their jobs are on the line".

Protestors have graffitied ABC offices in Perth and Melbourne, and crowdfunding for Lattouf's legal fees has already raised over A$90,000 (£40,100; $62,500).

Others, defending the broadcaster's decision to sack her, argued she shouldn't have been hired for the role in the first place - given her history on the issue.

But a series of leaked WhatsApp chats have in recent days have dramatically intensified the storm.

Dozens of messages from two groups seen by the BBC show a concerted letter-writing campaign against Lattouf in the days before she was fired.

The hundreds of members in both groups - one called Lawyers for Israel and another called J.E.W.I.S.H Australian creatives and academics - were encouraged to write directly to ABC boss David Anderson, the ABC board and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.

"It is important ABC hears not just from individuals in the community but specifically lawyers so they feel there is an actual legal threat," wrote one member of Lawyers for Israel, Nicky Stein, something she later admitted "a bit cheeky".

Some letter-writers claimed they had received direct responses from board chair Ita Buttrose and when news of Lattouf's exit spread, many congratulated themselves.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," one person said.

"No doubt the PP [pro-Palestinians] will start whinging now about censorship and the Jewish lobby controlling the media," another wrote.

And when she launched her legal case in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) one person called her lawyer, who is Jewish, a "traiter".

Several members of the Lawyers for Israel chat have denied the group - which included Jewish community leaders - was controlled by any bodies or intended for organised lobbying.

Ms Stein told the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) it was simply "a group of lawyers concerned about Israel and rising antisemitism".

Staff revolt

The WhatsApp messages sparked a livid meeting of the ABC staff union, attended by about 200 people.

One of the broadcaster's most senior journalists, global affairs editor John Lyons, reportedly said the release of the messages marked "one of [the ABC's] darkest days".

"When I read those WhatsApp messages, for the first time ever… I felt embarrassed to work for the ABC," he said, according to the SMH.

"I was embarrassed that a group of 156 lawyers could laugh at how easy it was to manipulate the ABC."

The meeting culminated in a rare vote of no confidence in the ABC boss David Anderson.

Union members made a list of demands, giving the editorial leadership team until Monday to respond. They have previously threatened a walkout if their concerns aren't addressed.

The ABC board responded by calling its own emergency meeting and passing a unanimous vote of confidence in Anderson.

"Any suggestion I would not defend our position when external pressure is applied - regardless of where that pressure is coming from - is offensive and incorrect," he said in a statement.

He agreed to meet staff - but "in the coming weeks".

The case has reopened old wounds for the ABC.

It has revived concerns about how it treats diverse staff, after an ugly saga last year in which pioneering Aboriginal journalist Stan Grant quit over what he called a failure to protect him from racist attacks.

And it's also fed uneasiness about the broadcaster's independence. Advocates worry that politicised appointments to the ABC board, its government-dictated funding model, and increased - often frenzied - scrutiny is jeopardising its work.

The saga also comes as the broader Australian media grapples with tension over the impartiality of its coverage of the Israel Gaza war.

Most notably, ABC political reporter Nour Haydar left the public broadcaster this month over its coverage of the war, as well as its treatment of culturally diverse staff. The ABC has defended its impartiality and said it is "continuing to progress" on diversity matters despite having its "most representative" workforce ever.

Lattouf says its these broader themes that make her case so important.

"It is not just about me. It's about free speech, it's about racism… and crucially, it's also about a fair, independent and robust ABC," she told reporters last week.

After a failed mediation meeting, the ABC is now attempting to have Lattouf's case thrown out, arguing it didn't actually sack her.

The matter is back at the FWC in March, and Lattouf says she's in it for the long haul.

"I'm willing and prepared to fight for as long as it takes," she said.
​

BBC