Complaint
The speaker on this occasion was Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg. A listener complained that he had offered a partial perspective on events in Israel and Gaza and argued that impartiality required a balancing view from an opponent of Israel’s actions.
Outcome
The brief for Thought for the Day is to offer “reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news”. In the ECU’s judgement, the Rabbi’s comments fulfilled this brief and were not political in character. Consequently the ECU did not accept that impartiality required a balancing viewpoint to be heard.
Not upheld