Civil Service investigating complaints against GPO head

I am amazed at all of you. Your country is in a state of war and no other would tolerate much less put up with the one sided biased anti-israel press coverage I have witnessed for so many years. Mr. Seaman has a thankless job and has to deal on a daily basis with people who malign Israel and her people. This is not some political science course or abstract quiz, this is a life and death struggle and yet I watch you constantly attack each other for personal gain. Let the man do his job, and stop the the emotional tirades because some journalist, including the one who wrote the article, think that the world revolves around them. Mr. Seaman is a principled man who has fought for his country and will continue to do so. You should have more men like him today!

I am amazed at al of you. Your country is in a state of war and no other would tolerate much less put up with the one side biased anti-israel press coverage I have witnessed for so many years. Mr. Seaman has a thankless job and has to deal on a daily basis with people who malign Israel and her people. This is not some political science course or abstract quiz, this is a life and death and yet I watch you constantly attack each other for personal gain. Let the man do his job, and stop the the emotional tirades because some journalist, including the one who wrote the article, think that the world revolves around them. Mr. Seaman is a principled man who has fought for his country and will continue to do so. You should have more men like him today!

As I said, Seaman is a sociopath. That means that there is no logic in his behaviour, which is motivated purely by sadism and megalomania. He is totally arbitrary in deciding who to abuse: I know that one very anti-Israel French reporter is quite buddy-buddy with him, while at the same time he refused to renew the press card of a respected Israeli-European journalist simply because he did not like him. He has never hidden the fact that he bases his decisions regarding the disbursement of press credentials on his personal feelings rather than on the journalist's credentials. He is so widely disliked that, when he showed up at a going-away party for a foreign journalist that was held at a Jerusalem pub, the other guests asked him to leave. There's an interesting summary of Seaman's doings here: http://simplyjews.blogspot.com/2007/01/danny-seaman-other-side-of-hasbara.html

Whether you are right or left, if someone isn't doing their job, there should be consequences. Like Mara, I've met many journalists with varying perspectives - some quite sympathetic to Israel - but they have all had problems working with Danny Seaman, and they all say he is hostile towards them and their work. His unprofessional, erratic behavior does Israeli "hasbara" no favors. It's would be comical that he is the first official Israeli many journalists meet upon arriving in the country if it weren't so sad.

The Juournalists that have been receiving the thin end of Mr. Seaman tongue, to me is unacceptable; but one has to ask a question? Why is he so abusif is some instances and not other, as you yourself are not testifying for being receiving his tongue and lashing? It makes, and especially in a democracy, two to create an abheration, abuse. I doubt, knowing some of my friendly friends Journalists, that they always are soooooo innocent. Lets give reality call: we all are human, and we doo get carried away, some of the time...most of the time; it is the characteristics of the person and hers or his "geography".

If you base your criticism on Seaman's performance on his loosing positive description of Israel because he is not being nice to foreign journalist, then you are talking about bribing those same journalists, so that they might reports well on Israel. Well, the Palistinians apparently are being very nice to the same journalists, just see the "women" jpurnalists' output. No, no, I am not being any of what you think, I love my wife and my 5 girls; the facts, statisclly speaking, talk for themselves. Back to your criticism: if Seaman is not following the rules and regulations according to the law, you opening the doors wide open for abuse, by the so-called free-lance Journalists. Europe is having a problem with the Afganistan reporting, Chechnia, is broddle of corruption that gives you spin of all kinds.

Louis, Daniel Seaman's job is NOT to test the knowledge of foreign journalists in Israel. His job is to facilitate their ability to do their job - by giving them press cards and informing them of and / or expediting their access to events on the ground. If he does not like what they write, that is just too bad - it's the price of living in a democracy. Israel is not North Korea - we do not control what the press writes. If you don't like what the BBC reports, then write to the BBC. I am an Israeli journalist and I know many foreign reporters based here. I have also seen how Danny Seaman speaks to them and treats them and I can assure you that he is a total disgrace to Israel. He threatens them, curses them and lies to them. He makes their job very difficult. He gives them the worst possible impression of Israeli society. He is quite simply a sociopath. And then you wonder why foreign reporters have a negative impression of Israel?!

Yes, I think Daniel Seaman should be fired. I think that he is much too lenient in issuing foreign press permits. I think that every foreign pressman and photograher should be required to pass a written test on the history of the Middle East before he is even considered for a permit. Monday afternoon about 2 weeks ago I heard the following on the BBC: "...Israel invaded the Golan Heights in 1967..." If that's the kind of balanced (!?) history that the BBC spreads, then I think that all of their reporters should have had their permits revoked and they should been sent home immediately until the head of the Middle East department was fired. So Mr. Seaman, you are not doing your job.

You sound just like Seamen himself. You in your posting are merely promotiong a one sided point of view. And immediatly jump to the defense of Israel with out gathering all the facts. There are two sides to every story my friend not just the one sided propogands that we are fed on a daily basis.

That Daniel Seaman got what was coming to him. They don't come more corrupt than this man. Anyone remember the fact that he was meant to step down about 5 years ago and is STILL at the head of the GPO putting the fear into the lives of journalists? Send him packing already

SJ in Tel Aviv accuses Seaman of being a joke and says "Journalist should be free to report the facts and present both sides of the story". I don't know where SJ gets his news, but I've never heard an accusation that Seamen tells journalists not to report both sides. In fact, the European press is more joke than media. Many spend most of their time parroting what Palestinian spin experts tell them without bothering to check their facts or report the Israeli side. Seaman is no softie, his job isn't easy. But pandering to the large number of propagandists who pass themselves off as journalists is not what he's paid to do. He's paid to make sure that real journalists cover the news properly. Anybody who has followed the stories about Seaman over the past 6 years know this. Some FPA members don't like being called on the carpet for being outed as propagandists (like BBC reporters who cry on tv mourning Arafat, or Reuters, who refuses to use the word "terrorist"), so they're complaining.

Daniel Seaman is a joke as GPO. Sewing the seeds of hatred against foreign journalist can hardly win Israel any favours ! Journalist should be free to report the facts and present both sides of the story not bunch of lies and propoganda fed to them from this idiot. Its about time this clown was sent packing.