The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in a biased nutshell

Is the BBC's Middle East editor somewhat stacking the deck by deciding to take questions live on Twitter on Rosh Hashonah one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar? Rosh Hashonah is a day when all religious Jews and most not that religious Jews will be in synagogue and not looking at Twitter or the BBC website.

Either Jeremy Bowen doesn't know that today is Rosh Hashonah, being more concerned with Muslim/Arab affairs and religion than Jewish/Israeli matters, or this was a deliberate move to avoid receiving hard questions. Whatever the reason it is a fine example of the lack of sensitivity to Israel and Jews regularly shown by Jeremy Bowen and the BBC.

Remember this is the same Jeremy Bowen who the Editorial Standards Committee of the BBC Trust published a report into three complaints about in April 2009. The complaints included 24 allegations of breaching BBC guidelines on accuracy and impartiality of which three were fully or partially upheld.

If you think that I am being over-sensitive and that the chosen date doesn't matter or is a coincidence then ask yourself if you think that Jeremy Bowen would have held a similar exercise during Ramadan?

On Yom Kippur (the holiest day in the Jewish calendar) in 1973 the armies of Egypt & Syria with support from elsewhere attacked Israel, deliberately choosing the day when they hoped Israel's defences would be at their weakest. Is Jeremy Bowen simply following anti-Israel tradition?


UPDATE: I have posted the above as a question to Jeremy Bowen at the above mentioned link. I wonder if the BBC will use it or if Jeremy Bowen will explain his choice of day.