SKY NEWS: ISRAEL = NORTH KOREA

Immoral Nuclear Relativism (HonestReporting)
North Korea's nuclear test prompts false comparisons with Israel's own nuclear capabilities.

One is an ultra-repressive communist dictatorship in South-East Asia; the other is the only real democracy in the MidEast. One recently tested a nuclear device and has previously shared missile technology with Syria and Iran; the other stands with the West on the frontline of the battle against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Two states that could hardly be further apart. However, the usually sound Sky News chose to run a feature on Israel's purported nuclear capabilities in the aftermath of North Korea's alarming nuclear test. Correspondent Ian Woods states that "nowhere did any [Israeli media] reports mention what is the country's worst kept secret. Israel is a member of the nuclear mafia."

This so-called "mafia" includes the USA, UK, Russia, France, China, India and Pakistan, while Iran aspires to join this club. Yet, Sky prefers to concentrate solely on Israel. While Woods' report is neither ground-breaking nor particularly controversial, HonestReporting finds it somewhat strange that Sky has attributed any moral relativism between North Korea and Israel.

Indeed, it is perfectly legitimate to disagree with nuclear weapons in anyone's hands. HonestReporting, however, calls on subscribers to be alert for dubious comparisons between Israel and North Korea in the media, as well as anti-nuclear campaigns designed specifically to single out Israel at the expense of the other members of the nuclear club. This particularly applies to Iran, in whose hands nuclear weapons would represent an existential threat to Israel and a danger to all states in the region.

For more on the issues surrounding Israel's purported nuclear capabilities see Mitchell Bard's Myths & Facts.