Israeli lobby seeks to ban Press TV due to truths it brings to public
A former UK Member of Parliament says efforts by Israeli lobby to ban Press TV are due to the truths the Iranian state media shows to world people and also the embarrassment it causes for the pro-Israeli groups.
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Chris Williamson, who hosts a Press TV program titled Palestine Declassified, said the lobby in the UK Parliament is trying to "whitewash Israeli criminality."
"What we see here is a shameless attempt by the Israel lobby in the Parliament to whitewash Israel's criminality and lawlessness and of course, they are very concerned about the fact that Palestine Declassified is shining a light into the murky corners of Israel's activities and indeed on the lobby that seeks to avoid any criticism of their suppression of the Palestinian people," he told Press TV in an interview aired on May 3.
A smear campaign by pro-Israel groups, namely the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCHD) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), has been at work to remove accounts of Iran's leading broadcaster Press TV from social media platforms in Britain.
Palestine Declassified provides an in-depth look at the Palestine issue.
The Israel lobby is trying to close down @PDeclassified because we are exposing the extraordinary lengths they go to in order to whitewash the reality of Israel's brutal apartheid system.
"Palestine Declassified is very effective," Williamson said. "Scrupulous" research is conducted for the content that the program offers, he said.
"Obviously they are embarrassed by the truth that we are bringing to the wider public and of course, the traction that Palestine Declassified is picking up," said the host, noting that the program has reached well over 11 million people. So they are doing this to "close down" the program's "success", he said.
Andrew Percy, Vice Chairman of Conservatives Friends of Israel in the British Parliament, parroted the claims made by the pro-Israel groups while addressing a parliamentary session last week. He accused Palestine Declassified of inciting hatred against British Jews.
Williamson dismissed the accusation, saying, "The program does not promote hate in any respect."
"He [Percy] should consider apologizing for maligning me and for impugning the reputation of Palestine Declassified and Press TV," the host said.
This is not the first time Press TV is being targeted by the West. The channel was taken off the air in the UK in July 2013 following allegations leveled by the media regulator Ofcom. The channel was also forced off the air in the same year in North America following US-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The broadcaster, which has a large number of viewers across Western countries and a considerable number of followers on social media, has denounced the measures as “media terrorism.”
The channel has stood strong in keeping its slogan, The Voice of the Voiceless, despite years of pressure from Western states.
