ABC Radio report: anti-Israel: Danby

MICHAEL Danby has accused ABC Radio’s Jerusalem correspondent of anti-Israel bias, following a report on an Australian arrested in Israel over ties to Hamas.

The Member for Melbourne Ports lashed Anne Barker’s report, which aired on the ABC’s AM program on Monday, labelling it unbalanced.

“Once again, the ABC’s Jerusalem correspondent, Anne Barker, has shown her anti-Israel bias in her reporting on the offences committed by an Australian citizen in Israel,“ Danby said.

Eyad Abu Arga last week admitted to spying for Hamas and now faces up to 30 months in an Israeli prison.

He admitted to being recruited in Saudi Arabia by Hamas officials and helping to plan an attack on Israeli civilians, which was set to take place in Tel Aviv.

“It seems Ms Barker fails to understand the extreme seriousness and significance of these offences,” Danby said.

“What would happen if people in Northcote or Footscray had missiles targeted at them from someone in New Zealand, who would be asked for a comment about that?” he said.

“How would Australians feel if only those professionally involved in defending admitted terrorists were interviewed by our national broadcaster?”

Abu Arga’s lawyer Leah Tsemel was the only source quoted in Barker’s interview, evidence according to Danby that the interview was unbalanced.

The Labor MP also accused Barker of playing down Hamas’s terrorist bona fides for her description of the organisation as “the militant group that Israel and many other nations regard as a terrorist organisation”.

“[Barker’s] report failed to include comments from anyone else. Barker minimised the role of Hamas,” Danby said.

Barker did however concede that Abu Arga had pleaded guilty to “research for espionage using a sophisticated panoramic camera, devising more precise ways to launch missiles, and determining whether a phone has been tapped”.

AJN STAFF