The taxpayer-funded broadcaster stands accused of ‘whitewashing terrorism’. (Image: PA)
Jewish protesters will stage a demonstration outside the BBC for “whitewashing terrorism with pro-Hamas propaganda”.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism [CAA] is set to besiege Broadcasting House, accusing the national broadcaster of taking a pro-Palestinian stance in its coverage of the -Hamas war.
The sparked outrage after it emerged Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone, a documentary aired on Two, was narrated by 13-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri who described life in the enclave during the conflict. He is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
A CAA spokesman said: “The has no shame and Britain has had enough. For over 16-months, we have watched our national broadcaster provide ever more sympathetic coverage to a proscribed terrorist organisation, hiding behind claims of impartiality. There is nothing impartial about giving credibility to the claims of terrorists. Providing a platform for terrorists’ propaganda, downplaying their crimes and continuing to refuse to call them terrorists is the putting its thumb on the scale.
“It is extremely partial and inaccurate. It is a breach of the ’s editorial guidelines and a betrayal of licence fee payers. Enough is enough. It is time for the to stop whitewashing terrorism. There must be an independent investigation into its bias in relation to its Middle East coverage.”
On October 16 last year protestors carry Israeli flags and placards demonstrate at the BBC (Image: Getty Images)
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is set to meet bosses, including director-general Tim Davie and chairman Samir Shah, in the wake of the outrage.
CAA and its supporters are set to stage their protest outside the in central London on Tuesday night.
The apologised for “omitting detail” about the narrator and his relationship with a Hamas leader. Still, it said: “The film remains a powerful child’s eye view of the devastating consequences of the war in Gaza, which we believe is an invaluable testament to their experiences, and we must meet our commitment to transparency.”
It added: “There have been continuing questions raised about the programme and in the light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company. The programme will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place.”
Anti-Semitic hate crimes are increasing, and one in 10 18-24-year-olds now has a favourable view of Hamas, with the rise of open prejudice and hate in the UK sparking panic that Jews are being targeted with impunity.
CAA chief executive Gideon Falter told the Express: “Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organisation committed to eradicating Jewish people. It managed to murder 1,200 of them on October 7, 2023. Hamas’s main sponsor is the tyrannical Iranian theocracy whose regime denies the Holocaust while it plots another.
“Their supporters have taken over our streets week after week and the effects are being felt in schools and universities, in hospitals and cultural institutions, on television and online.
“As a society, we have failed to learn the real lessons of the Holocaust, and, after months of unprecedented levels of antisemitism with no end in sight, our country is failing its Jews.”
Anti-Semitic hate crimes have overtaken Islamophobic incidents, with more reported abuses of Jews than Muslims.