Rachel Smalley: Lazy journalism

Rachel Smalley

Recently Rachel Smalley wrote a piece in the NZ Herald about the suspension of British politician, Naz Shah MP by the Labour Party for comments she'd made about Israel and Jews.  She had made remarks about moving all the Jews in Israel to the US and thereby solving the Middle Eastern Conflict. 

Smalley felt that Shah's comments hardly warranted a suspension and felt that "Israel is a country, it seems, that is above criticism."

Hardly.

She goes on to say that during the 2014 Gaza War, she had criticized Israel for attacking a UN School:  "And when I criticised Israel for that, the response was extraordinary. The letters, the emails, the abuse was quite unlike anything I'd had before - apparently I was anti-Semitic!"

Israel is subject to criticism all the time.  However, her critics should not be so precious that they and their own comments, might also come under scrutiny too. 

Both her comments regarding Shah and the UN School lacked context.  Shah made her comments in an environment when Labour and the comments of some of its more prominent leaders were coming under increasing scrutiny because they suggested a strong Anti-Semitic sentiment. 

The UN School in question was being used as a focus for Palestinian military activity.  Even during the conflict, the UN was publicly and repeatedly calling on Palestinians to stop using their facilities for weapons storage and as launch pads. 

It wouldn't have been difficult to carry out half an hour's desktop research to find out these things.

Lazy journalism.  Calling it an opinion piece or using some other excuse doesn't wash either. It's just lazy journalism.  Lazy journalism just leads to becoming a "useful idiot."