by Thinus Ferreira
The South African public broadcaster has removed SABC News anchor Juliet Newell from the air and unscheduled her after an interview and testy on-air exchange about the Israel-Gaza conflict with Dr Mamphela Ramphele.
Juliet Newell asked Ramphele "how does your statement likening the famine in Gaza, to the Holocaust - do you not see that as provocative?"
Ramphele responded by saying "What provocative? It is a Holocaust. Why can't I compare them?"
"The Holocaust happened, and it will continue to happen in different forms for as long as we make criticising this kind of behaviour a holy cow. It is a Holocaust by any definition if you look at the deliberate attack on children, on women, on unarmed citizens, and using starvation as a weapon of war. Tell me what that is?"
The SABC says in a statement "SABC News management took immediate action in line with the SABC's internal processes, and the presenter in question is currently not scheduled".
"The SABC editorial policies are aimed at building trust with the public and in ensuring that our content, in all its formats, continues to resonate with the prescripts of our public mandate, and more so in providing universal access to credible content."
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) in a statement says "As a publicly funded institution, SABC has a duty to report with integrity, accuracy, and balance".
"As a publicly funded institution, SABC has a duty to report with integrity, accuracy, and balance. We call on SABC to accurately describe the situation in Gaza as genocide, provide full coverage of South Africa's ICJ case against Israel, and stop adopting the framing or talking points of foreign governments at the expense of truth."
