The British Press Complaints Commission has done it again. A recent decision justified a columnist for the Observer who wrote that he would not read pro-Israel letters written by Jews. "I have developed a habit when confronted by letters to the editor in support of the Israeli government," wrote Richard Ingrams, "to look at the signature to see if the writer has a Jewish name. If so, I tend not to read it."
Haaretz reported that the column "drew vehement responses from the Board of Deputies, the umbrella organization of British Jewry. Its director general, Neville Nagler, wrote in to the paper: '...I would be interested to know whether Richard Ingrams discriminates against an Arab-sounding name supporting the Arab cause.'" The Press Complaints Commission, however, determined that the article was "not a breach of journalistic ethics," and that it was not anti-Semitic, but only anti-Prime Minister Sharon.
Three months ago, the same Press Complaints Commission rejected an Israeli Embassy complaint regarding an anti-Sharon and anti-Semitic cartoon that appeared in the Independent.