Re: Complaint by Mr Adam Levick (ref: AL/02/2017)

Date of complaint: 01/03/17

Article complained of: “It's too late to stop the senseless capture of
Palestinian land”, by Sarah Helm published on 13/02/2017 in the Guardian

1. Throughout this decision, Mr Levick will be referred to as “the complainant”

and the above mentioned article as “the article”. The former Press Complaints
Commission Code as “the Code”, and the Review Panel as “the panel”.

The Article

2. The article appeared in the opinion section of the newspaper and, as the title
suggests, comments upon the situation in relation to land and land ownership
in the West Bank. It does this largely through quotes from an interview with
Khalil Tufakji, a Palestinian cartographer.

The Complaint under Clause 1

3. Clause 1ii) of the Code states,

“Accuracy

The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate,

misleading or distorted information, including pictures.”
4. The complaint relates to the following words:
5. “He pointed out where a tunnel would be drilled through the Mount of Olives to
connect settlements – it seemed impossible but we are now driving through it.”

6. The complainant asserts that the sentence is inaccurate as there is no tunnel

through Mt of Olives but rather through Mt Scopus. He argues that the words
would be substantively misleading to the overwhelming majority of Guardian
readers, because there is no tunnel under the Mt. of Olives. He asserts that the
tunnel is through Mt. Scopus. He further complains that the result, in his view,
of this inaccuracy is to create the impression that a tunnel was drilled through
the cemetery that is located on Mt of Olives.

Conclusions

7. The panel finds as a matter of fact that Mt of Olives is generally accepted to be

a ridge comprising of three peaks: Mt Olives, Mt Scopus & the Mt of Corruption.
However, these three peaks are often described as Mt of Olives. It was noted
by the panel that even Jeff Daube (Head of the International Committee to
Preserve Mt. of Olives) the expert relied upon by the complainant, accepts that
“technically” Mt. Scopus is part of the Mt. of Olives ridge. Given that, most
readers would not be left with the impression that the tunnel was drilled through
the Mt of Olives cemetery, particularly as the cemetery was not mentioned in
the article.

8. The panel therefore unanimously reject this complaint.

DATED: 20/04/17

SIGNED:

Chair: John Willis

Panel member: Geraldine Prudler

Panel Member: Elinor Goodman