Gaza.

BBC censor ‘Palestine’

Not long ago we exposed the apparent bias of a BBC story about a Jerusalem boxing club. The story was meant to show how Jews and non-Jews in Jerusalem came together for sport, but actually gave more weight to the Jewish side of the narrative, carrying quotes from a number of different Jews along with their pictures, whilst the Palestinian members of the gym were clearly not focussed upon in the same depth.

Now we learn that the BBC censored the very word ‘Palestine’ after it was rapped on a live radio show by UK artist Mic Righteous. This occurs at about 3 minutes into the video above.

In it’s defence on censoring the word ‘Palestine’, the BBC issued a statement: 

Charlie Sloth’s Hip-Hop Mix is predominantly a music based programme and decisions as to which tracks and artists get featured are based on artistic merit.

All BBC programmes have a responsibility to be impartial when dealing with controversial subjects however, and an edit was made in this instance to ensure that impartiality was not compromised.

Could it be that the issue was that the BBC did not think that political lyrics were appropriate for “a predominantly music based programme”? Does the BBC think fans of hip hop are not engaged in the political process and therefore do not want to hear political lyrics?

Hip Hop has a long history of political statement. From Grandmaster Flash talking about drug dealers:

A street kid gets arrested, gonna do some time
He got out three years from now just to commit more crime
A businessman is caught with 24 kilos
He’s out on bail and out of jail
And that’s the way it goes

To KRS One talking about institutionalised racism in the police force

Ya hotshot, wanna get props and be a saviour
First show a little respect, change your behavior
Change your attitude, change your plan
There could never really be justice on stolen land

And those who to listen to Eminem lyrics know that he is not averse to sending messages to the elite of American politics.

Standing up in particular for Palestine Lupe Fiasco raps what we all thought

Gaza strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say shit

 and in the UK Lowkey is a well known supporter of Palestinian rights.

Given this proud seam of political thought within the hip hop art form, it is only to be expected that controversial - and often political - things be said or rapped on a hip hop show, in fact, it would be disappointing if something controversial didn’t happen.

For the BBC though, it seems that misogynistic lyrics are fine. And lyrics depicting violence is fine. And lyrics talking about drug use are also fine.

But the word ‘Palestine’ is far too controversial to be heard in the early hours of a Saturday morning hip-hop radio show.

Somewhat ironic, or should we say, hypocritical, is that seconds after mentioning Palestine, Mic Righteous makes reference to floods in Pakistan and asserts that “nobody helps”. And yet this is not deemed too controversial.

Palestine, like Pakistan, is a geographic area. So we can see that the controversy does not come from naming a geographic area and the troubles within it, but from naming Palestine as a distinct geographic area and the troubles with it.

Perhaps, it was not the word “Palestine” but the word which Mic Righteous preceded it which was the controversial element. Is it really the phrase “Free Palestine” that is controversial? Because to admit that Palestine needed to be ‘free’ would be to admit that it’s status is not ‘free’ at the moment, which in turn would call into question the actions of Israel.

But no, a quick search for “Free Palestine” on the BBC website reveals 53 results. Similarly, searching for “Free Tibet” yields 184 results. The huge disparity in the numbers of these results alone may serve to buttress the argument that the BBC is biased against Palestinian viewpoints, but certainly proves that the phrase “Free Palestine” is not, in itself, banned across BBC output.

So, in the end, the reasons for censoring the word “Palestine” from the lyrics of a song rapped live during an early morning hip hop show are still cloudy. The word “Palestine” is available elsewhere across BBC output, as is the phrase “Free Palestine”. It would be a lot easier for us if the BBC showed a shred of consistency in what they do, but also if they valued the truth above what they would present as a “balanced” view.

Perhaps the truth is just too controversial?

In addition to the story mentioned above about the Jerusalem boxing club, the BBC has clear previous form in putting the Human Rights of Palestinians second to the apparent need for ‘impartiality’. 

In 2009 the BBC refused to show the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal, and has since then aired a programme about the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla which was later found to have breached editorial guidelines, though, predictably, the BBC believed that the show achieved “due impartiality and due accuracy overall”.

We send thanks to Mic Righteous - surely a rising star - for being brave enough to stand up in a BBC studio and say “Free Palestine” in the full knowledge that it would do him no favours commercially, and we send thanks to all hip-hop artists who support freedom of speech and political awareness amongst their fans, in spite of the ignorance of the BBC.