A TWEET drawing equivalence between Israel and ISIS that appeared on-screen during Monday’s edition of Q&A has caused communal outrage, and has drawn an apology from the national broadcaster.
The post in question stated, “Any young radical who joins ISIS or Israel should not be allowed into Australia.”
Meanwhile, two tweets objecting to the comment were not screened by the program makers.
Noting it had received complaints from both Jewish and -non-Jewish viewers, Peter Wertheim, executive director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, wrote on Tuesday to the ABC’s managing director Michelle Guthrie and director of corporate affairs Michael Millett, stating that, “Jewish Australians who are Israeli dual nationals are legally obliged to do national service in the IDF. Further, the IDF has clear rules of engagement which are at least as stringent in terms of international humanitarian law as those adopted by any other Western democratic military force.”
Read the report in the Australian Jewish News.