Brian of London is back! So the episode of the BBC motoring show Top Gear that was shot in Israel finally aired on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas in the UK) and it’s making headlines for all the right reasons. The hosts chose to wear burkhas for one segment and, predictably, the usual suspects are outraged! Tundra Tabloids has that video and the details.
I thought I’d give you just the bit from where they enter Israel (over land from Jordan). Pay particular attention to the words that the comic Messiah himself, JC, Jeremy Clarkson, uses to describe why they don’t just drive straight through Judea/Samaria to get to Bethlehem.
[JC Voice Over] Sadly though, for political reasons, we’d been advised to avoid the disputed West Bank, so we were now going in completely the wrong direction yet again and I decided to make the most of it. [Direct to camera] I hope the other two don’t mind but I fancy a small deviation to go and look at the Sea of Galilee. This was a good call because getting there meant driving through the Golan Heights.
Update: I just checked something. Searching for “disputed West Bank” on the BBC’s website gives a staggering 3 results. “occupied West Bank” gives … wait for it … drum roll please …. 545! Seems that JC really did stray a long way from the reservation with this one. I wonder if the BBC will be receiving complaints?
Oh, and notice the map they use… only REAL countries need apply.
Update 30/12/2010: Unfortunately the BBC have noticed my clip and asserted their copyright. Sorry. It was a nice piece while it lasts. If anyone can make me aware of another version of the clip I’ll fix with a new link.
[This is where the YouTube video was before the BBC killed it]
And a final point: how many people will die in the innevitable riots that will follow when extremist, fundamentalist Christians all over the world riot over this depiction of the baby Jesus.
Another Update: after I posted this it turns out that a couple of newspapers in the UK have managed to find some Christians upset by this image. Well I’m not surprised. My favorite line from the Daily Mail is “Angry Christians have taken to web forums to protest at what they say is an insult to Christianity.”
Page me when the first British Embassy is set alight by fundamentalist Christians
