The National Jewish Assembly (NJA) strongly condemns the BBC for its latest act of journalistic malpractice – actively sanitising Hamas propaganda and distorting the truth in its now-infamous documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. The decision to mistranslate calls for “jihad against the Jews” as “fighting Israeli forces” is not a mistake; it is a deliberate act of deception designed to mask Hamas’s genocidal ideology.
The BBC’s editorial decisions have, once again, revealed a systemic and institutional bias against Israel. The fact that the documentary’s teenage narrator was later exposed as the son of a senior Hamas official – and the programme still made it to air – is an outright scandal. Worse still, this is not the first time the BBC has been caught distorting translations. In 2015, its Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet justified translating “Jews” as “Israelis,” claiming that was what Gazans really meant. This pattern of deception suggests a calculated effort to mislead audiences and downplay Hamas’s deeply rooted antisemitism.
NJA Chairman Gary Mond stated: “This is not just another case of BBC bias – this is outright complicity in Hamas propaganda. The BBC has once again been caught actively distorting facts to shield a genocidal terror group from scrutiny while demonising Israel. Mistranslating ‘jihad against the Jews’ as ‘fighting Israeli forces’ is a brazen attempt to whitewash Hamas’s antisemitism. The BBC must be held accountable for its role in spreading terrorist narratives. Enough is enough.”
Even more egregious is the fact that taxpayer money – through the BBC licence fee – has potentially found its way into the hands of Hamas operatives involved in this production. As calls grow for an official investigation, the BBC’s evasive responses and hollow reassurances are no longer acceptable. The NJA fully supports Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s demand for full transparency and expects the BBC to account for every penny spent on this disgraceful documentary.
The BBC’s whitewashing of antisemitism has real-world consequences. It emboldens Hamas, fuels antisemitic sentiment in the UK, and distorts public perception of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The NJA stands with the thousands who protested outside the BBC’s headquarters, demanding accountability.
We urge the UK government to take decisive action – whether through an independent inquiry, financial penalties, or regulatory intervention – to stop the BBC from acting as Hamas’s propaganda arm. The British public deserves truth, not terror apologism.
