Irish host censured for Israel 'cancer' slur
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland accepts Israeli Embassy's complaint, orders TV3 network to air apology for Vincent Browne's remarks
Vincent Browne hosts a news analysis, current affairs and politics program on Ireland's TV3 network, in which he has a habit of humiliating politicians. Browne has been described by The Guardian as an "acerbic host."
Over the years, he has lashed out at the Jewish state, saying that its mere existence was a crime. Several months ago, he said that "Israel is the cancer in foreign affairs."
The Israeli Embassy in Ireland filed a complaint, and pro-Israel British website HonestReporting named Browne as one of the winners of its 2012 Dishonest Reporting Awards for Special Achievement in Bigotry on Live TV.
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland censured Browne, ordering the station to air a live apology to the State of Israel.
According to the Irish Independent, Browne admitted that his choice of language could have been better but insisted that the criticism was justified as Israel was founded in 1948 by taking land from the Arabs.
"What I resent is the suggestion that because you’re critical of Israel, you’re automatically anti-Semitic. I don’t think that’s acceptable,” he said.
Israel's Deputy Ambassador to Ireland, Nurit Tinari-Modai, says that there has been a positive change in the attitude towards Israel recently, which led to the Broadcasting Authority's decision to accept the Embassy's complaint and order the station to air an apology.
"The new encouraging message is that in Ireland it is now harder to utter slander against Israel and get away with it," she said.
