HOW WOULD THE WORLD REACT IF ISRAEL HAD KIDNAPPED BBC REPORTER?

Kidnapped BBC Correspondent Alan Johnston: Israel To Blame For Palestinian Suffering (MEMRI)

The Palestinian Jaysh Al-Islam organization, which claims to be the kidnapper of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, has circulated on Islamic websites a video in which Johnston claims that he is being treated well by his abductors, accuses Israel of causing suffering to the Palestinian people, and condemns the U.S. and Britain for their activity in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the end of the video, the organization reiterates its demand that Britain release the Muslim prisoners it is holding, first among them Abu Qatada Al-Falastini.

What If Israel Abducted Johnston? (BACKSPIN)
Charles Moore wonders how the world would react if Jews kidnapped Alan Johnston and released a video parallel to the one that recently surfaced:

If Mr Johnston had been forced to broadcast saying, for example, that Israel was entitled to all the territories held since the Six-Day War, and calling on the release of all Israeli soldiers held by Arab powers in return for his own release, his words would have been scorned. The cause of Israel in the world would have been irreparably damaged by thus torturing him on television. No one would have been shy of saying so.

But of course in real life it is Arabs holding Mr Johnston, and so everyone treads on tip-toe. Bridget Kendall of the BBC opined that Mr Johnston had been "asked" to say what he said in his video. Asked! If it were merely an "ask", why did he not say no?

Throughout Mr Johnston's captivity, the BBC has continually emphasised that he gave "a voice" to the Palestinian people, the implication being that he supported their cause, and should therefore be let out. One cannot imagine the equivalent being said if he had been held by Israelis.

Well, he is certainly giving a voice to the Palestinian people now. And the truth is that, although it is under horrible duress, what he says is not all that different from what the BBC says every day through the mouths of reporters who are not kidnapped and threatened, but are merely collecting their wages.