The National Jewish Assembly (NJA) is outraged by the BBC’s egregious violation of its own editorial guidelines, as exposed in a damning report revealing over 1,500 breaches during the early stages of the Israel-Hamas war. The report, which analysed a staggering 9 million words of BBC coverage, demonstrates a clear and disturbing bias against Israel, with the network disproportionately associating Israel with war crimes and genocide while downplaying the brutal terrorism of Hamas.
The study, conducted by a team of lawyers and data scientists, confirms what many have long suspected: the BBC’s coverage was not just careless, but dangerously misleading. Despite the network’s hollow promise to refer to Hamas as a “proscribed terrorist organisation” where possible, this was mentioned in a pathetic 3.2% of reports. Meanwhile, Israel was repeatedly demonised with accusations of genocide and war crimes, turning truth on its head and emboldening those who seek to delegitimise the Jewish state.
Steve Winston, NJA Managing Director, condemned the BBC’s conduct in no uncertain terms: “This is not simply an issue of bias; it’s a grotesque failure of journalistic ethics. The BBC has acted not as a neutral observer but as a willing participant in a campaign of vilification against Israel. Downplaying the atrocities of Hamas while amplifying false accusations against Israel is a disgrace, and the BBC has betrayed the public trust.”
Winston continued, “The fact that freelance journalists with open ties to Hamas were allowed to contribute to BBC programming without disclosure speaks volumes about the network’s standards—or lack thereof. This is not impartiality; it is propaganda, plain and simple.”
The NJA calls on the BBC to be held accountable for this gross dereliction of its duty to provide impartial and accurate reporting. We demand full transparency, and for those responsible for this appalling coverage to be named and held to account. The BBC’s credibility is in tatters, and nothing short of a full apology and systemic overhaul will restore any sense of trust.
The NJA will continue to stand against this blatant assault on truth and accuracy, ensuring that Israel and the Jewish community are represented fairly in the media.
