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    • BBC accused of pro-Israel bias as Hamas war in Gaza continues – Israel News
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    BBC accused of pro-Israel bias as Hamas war in Gaza continues – Israel News

    Harry Posted on

    More than 100 BBC staff have signed a letter addressed to BBC Director-General Tim Davie demanding that the broadcaster “remain committed to fairness, accuracy and impartiality” in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas War, the Independent reported on Friday.

    The letter accused the BBC of failing to consistently provide “fair and accurate evidence-based journalism in its coverage of Gaza”.

    The signatories demanded that the BBC include the following statement in every article: “Israel does not allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza; stating clearly when there is insufficient evidence to support Israel’s claims; making it clear in article headlines where Israel is the perpetrator; Including regular historical context before October 2023; and we strongly challenge Israeli government and military representatives in all interviews.”

    The October 2023 date mentioned in the letter likely refers to October 7, when Hamas launched a massacre in southern Israel. Nearly 1,200 people have been killed by occupying terrorists, and Hamas has kidnapped more than 250 people, kicking off the war in Gaza that has created a humanitarian crisis, according to UN officials.

    The BBC rejected the signatories’ collective claims, saying the broadcaster “seeks to meet our responsibility to provide the most reliable and impartial news”.

    A spokesperson told Independent“We are transparent when we make mistakes or change the way we report. “We have also been very clear with our audiences about the restrictions on our reporting, including no access to Gaza and limited access to parts of Lebanon, and our ongoing efforts to get reporters into those areas.”

    A pro-PALESTINE protester has slammed the BBC for admitting it was wrong to blame Israel for the Al Ahli Hospital explosion; Another banner in London called for ‘Resistance against the Zionist entity’. (Source: REUTERS/HANNAH MCKAY)

    “I have never witnessed staff confidence this low in my entire career,” one staff member told the British newspaper. “I have colleagues who have left the BBC in recent months because they do not believe our reporting on Israel and Palestine is honest. “Many of us feel paralyzed by the level of fear.”

    “Palestinians are always treated as an unreliable source, and despite the IDF’s well-documented history of lies, we consistently prioritize Israel’s version of events,” another staff member said. “If possible, we prefer to leave Israel out of the news or cast doubt on who may be responsible for the airstrikes. “The level of verification expected for anything related to Gaza far outweighs the norms of other countries.”

    Responding to concerns raised, the BBC said: “This conflict is one of the most polarizing stories to cover and we know people feel very strongly about how it was portrayed not just on the BBC but across all media. The BBC holds itself to very high standards and we are the most trusted “We strive to fulfill our responsibility to provide unbiased news, weighing the words we use, fact-checking, and seeking a wide range of interviews and expert opinions.”

    While a spokesman acknowledged that “the BBC does not and cannot reflect a single world view”, he insisted that the Independent receives an almost equal share of complaints suggesting bias towards Israel is bias against Israel.

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    They added: “This doesn’t mean we assume we’re doing anything right, and we continue to listen to all criticism from inside and outside the BBC and think about what we could do better.”

    BBC accused of anti-Israel bias

    As the spokesperson noted, the BBC has been repeatedly accused of having an anti-Israel bias and having a problem with systemic antisemitism.

    More than 200 BBC staff, contractors, suppliers and contributors have written to the board and BBC chief Samir Shah demanded an investigation into the broadcaster’s alleged “anti-Semitic racism” in July.

    Shah rejected the request for an investigation and claimed that the company had been “successful” in creating “an inclusive work environment where people of all backgrounds feel welcome, safe and supported.”

    “However, when we made mistakes, I am satisfied that the executive acted appropriately and dealt with matters in accordance with the guidance given to my colleagues,” Shah said. “Following your correspondence, I asked the administrator to review the documents you sent and see if there are any issues that have not been taken into account before.”

    The Telegraph also published a report last month based on research led by British lawyer Trevor Asserson. publisher violated its own editorial rules more than 1,500 times during the reporting of the war.

    The research found there was a “deeply worrying pattern of bias against Israel”, with Israel associated with genocide 14 times more often than the Hamas terror group in BBC news analyzed.

    “Our analysis reveals a significant departure from this standard, particularly in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, where the broadcaster showed clear bias towards one side. Asserson stated that this bias is even more evident in the BBC’s Arabic content. “Such behavior not only breaches the BBC’s Royal Charter, but also calls into question its suitability for continued public funding.”

    As Asserson notes, the BBC’s Arabic service has come under fire repeatedly. Former guests of BBC Arabic have claimed they were mistreated while communicating with the broadcaster.

    Yoseph Haddad is an Arab-Israeli person with a large online presence. Requested in March “They fail to comply with journalistic standards; Their coverage is uneven. While discussing sexual violence and rape, one of the news anchors stopped me mid-sentence and scolded me, claiming there was no evidence.

    “In another example, I mentioned viral videos of Gazans complaining that Hamas was hiding among them and using them as human shields, and the news anchor flatly denied the existence of these videos. Their questions are pre-formulated specifically towards me or Israel; they rarely want to reveal the truth; Rather, they are trying to mess with me personally. And of course they don’t mention Hamas as a terrorist organization, which also applies to their English-speaking channels.”

    Idit Bar, a researcher and lecturer on the Arab world and the Arabic language, told Jerusalem PostOhad Merlin He said he had a similar experience with Haddad in March.

    Bar claimed that he took less time to speak than his fellow panelists, saying, “Sometimes presenters take the liberty of responding to my comments to other panelists, rather than being somewhat neutral and allowing others to respond.”

    “The last thing they are interested in is listening to Israeli guests. Sometimes facilitators add their personal opinions as if they were a fact or part of the formulation of their questions. “Sometimes, when I finished a comment, they added a personal comment against me without even allowing me to respond and immediately moved on to the next question,” he testified. “When I come back, they do everything they can to prevent me from completing my point, either by repeatedly interrupting me or moving on to another topic. For example, I showed one of the moderators a screenshot of a Palestinian flag flying next to a Nazi flag and added that some Palestinians sympathized with the Nazis. The moderator immediately interrupted me and changed the subject: ‘What about the siege? “So what about the attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque?”

    OHAD MERLIN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF contributed to this report.



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