BBC apologises for antisemitic errors in Arabic articles
The pieces included the false claim that Jews spit on Christians as part of a 'holiday ritual'
The BBC has issued two separate apologies over antisemitic content published by its Arabic service – including a video that falsely claimed Jews spit on Christians as part of a “holiday ritual” and an article that appeared to equate ancient Jewish rebels with 9/11 suicide bombers.
One of the pieces, a BBC Arabic video report published on 5 October 2023, alleged that religious Jews spit at Christians during Sukkot as part of traditional observance. The caption originally read: “Spitting and assault on Christians and harassment of Muslims on the Jewish holiday.” It was later amended to: “Some observant Jews consider spitting on Christians a holiday ritual.”
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) challenged the broadcast shortly after publication, noting the claim was both inaccurate and inflammatory. While there have been incidents involving fringe groups within the Charedi community, spitting is not a practice sanctioned or accepted in Jewish law or tradition.
But it took nearly 19 months for the BBC to formally acknowledge and apologise for the error.
In a written statement to Camera this month, the broadcaster said: “We apologise for the errors and thank you for your patience in waiting for this reply/confirmation of corrections that were made in October 2023.”
A second BBC Arabic article, published on the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, drew further outrage. Titled “The story of suicide bombers throughout history: from the fanatical Jews, through Assassins, to the Jihadists”, the piece describes the Sicarii – a militant Jewish group active during Roman occupation – as the earliest example of suicide attackers. It went on to link them to modern jihadist tactics.
Camera disputed the comparison, arguing that while the Sicarii did commit mass suicide at Masada, they did not carry out suicide attacks. After multiple complaints and more than 400 working days, the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit agreed the original article contained a “material inaccuracy”.
“Although the Sicarii may have preferred suicide to capture, there was no evidence of their using suicide as a means of an attack,” the ECU said in a final ruling dated 10 April 2025.
Despite that admission, it took another week before BBC Arabic changed the headline to remove the phrase “fanatical Jews”. The revised title now reads: “The story of suicide bombers throughout history: from Assassins to Jihadists.”
A Camera Arabic spokesperson told Jewish News: “While Camera’s efforts eventually led the BBC to acknowledge and correct its errors – with the national broadcaster even issuing an official apology in one of the two cases – both corrections came far too late, 19 months after the fact.
“This unacceptable delay, combined with the Arabic editors’ initial approval of such absurd claims, underscores a broader failure by BBC Arabic to responsibly cover stories related to Jewish and Israeli affairs.”
As of 9 June 2025, Camera says six other complaints about BBC Arabic content remain unresolved – all filed before the 7 October Hamas attacks.
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