HOW ISRAEL SHOULD RESPOND TO BRITISH JOURNOS' BOYCOTT

Israel Should Honor British Journalists' Boycott - Zev Chafets (NYPost)
It's not every day that a community of Western journalists takes such a clear stand against the pretense of neutrality. The National Union of British Journalists accompanied its boycott decision with the sort of anti-Zionist rhetoric usually heard only in Tehran. A more image-conscious group than the NUBJ would have postponed its endorsement of the Palestinian jihad until the release of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston from his captivity in Gaza....

Israel now faces a unique problem. No open society in history has ever been boycotted by Western journalists. Some in Jerusalem will be tempted to denounce it as a declaration of war by the British media. But I think this is shortsighted.

Israel, I believe, should not only respect the British boycott, but join it.

There are some journalists who — while prepared to forego Israeli dairy products and such — will find it difficult to break their habit of access to the story. The government of Israel can make this easier by removing temptation. It should ask all British correspondents stationed in Israel to leave, either by way of Ben Gurion Airport or, if they prefer, via Gaza.

And it should withhold visas and accreditation from members of the National Union of British Journalists (and the media companies that employ NUBJ members) until the journalists of Britain decide to resume at least the fiction of impartiality.