On October 20, the Jewish Chronicle launched a petition to demand a probe into the BBC’s coverage of Jews and Israel. The National Jewish Association (NJA) strongly endorses this petition and has circulated it to our entire membership base. Please follow this link to sign the petition.
Gary Mond, Chairman of the NJA, commented that “After years of blatantly biased and partial coverage that levels unfair criticism on Israel, the BBC appears to be following a worrying trajectory that not only misrepresents facts about antisemitic attacks here in the UK and abroad, but actively seeks opportunities to amplify the voices of those who praise Islamist terrorism.”
The NJA highlights the following examples of the BBC’s biased and flawed coverage of Jews and Israel:
- The BBC talks to proscribed terrorist organisations, and fails to mention that they have been labeled as such by the UK and other countries.
- The BBC unfairly criticised Israel in its coverage of the homophobic murder of Ahmad Abu Marhia by fellow Palestinians, even though there has been no suggestion that Israelis were involved. The BBC has even admitted to this mischaracterisation and has had to backtrack on its initial coverage.
- The BBC’s persistently gives prominence to the Israeli response to terror attacks, rather than the Palestinian terror actors whose actions prompted the response.
- The BBC routinely downplays or completely ignores the context around IDF activities, and selectively uses terminology to downplay the severity of Palestinian terrorism.
- The BBC repeatedly hosts Islamist pundits, who frequently praise terrorism and defend the actions of terrorists.
The NJA is encouraged by the community-wide support for the probe and endorsement from other leading organisations including the Campaign Against Antisemitism, and sincerely hopes that the BBC will rectify its demonstrably flawed coverage of Jews and Israel.
Heath Sloane
Press & Marketing Manager
National Jewish Assembly
