The Press Council, the watchdog on ethics in the British press, has rejected a complaint about allegations in the Sunday Times that Israel had tortured Arab prisoners. Following a complaint by Labor MP Eric Moonman, chairman of the Zionist Federation, and after hearing evidence on his behalf from Jerusalem Post journalist David Krivine, the Council said that it was not its function to decide whether the allegations in detail were true but considered that Sunday Times editor Harold Evans had reasonable grounds at the time for believing them.
Moonman made his complaint to the Press Council following the June 19, 1977 front page report by the Sunday Times’ insight team. The articles caused worldwide controversy, and the paper published a strong denial by the Israel Embassy. Moonman, who is also chairman of Labor’s Parliamentary newspaper group, today condemned the Press Council’s refusal to uphold his complaint and called for publication of all the evidence placed before it.
Moonman said he would ask Prime Minister James Callaghan to consider altering the procedures of the Press Council, as they did not give an ordinary complainant a fair chance and were “heavily weighted” against the complainant. He stressed: “The Council was…only interested in whether the editor of the Sunday Times believed them (the allegations) to be true.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
