Board of Deputies ‘will not be associated with demonisation of the BBC’

Board of Deputies chief executive Michael Wegier has confirmed his organisation “will not be associated with any demonisation of the BBC”.

Wegier was asked about allegations that the slowness of the BBC’s response to the misreporting of the Chanukah bus incident in Oxford Street in November 2021 justified claims of some kind of antisemitic bias at the broadcaster.

Speaking to Roger Bolton for the Religion Media Centre’s Big Interview, the Board’s chief thanked the host for his “excellent” question. He added:”We believe the BBC is a wonderful organisation that contributes huge amounts to British life.”

But on the issue of the reporting of the Chanukah bus incident, in which the BBC claimed, without evidence, that Muslim male attackers were subjected to taunts, Wegier said:”We do think there was a specific problem in the newsroom that night. The BBC was slow to uncover what happened and to correct itself.

“And the BBC needed to be called to account for that act, but I also get very nervous and uncomfortable when people describe the BBC as an antisemitic organisation. The Board of Deputies has no truck with that position.”

Wegier’s comments come in the wake of claims the Jewish community is being “misled” over a so-called “parliamentary investigation” announced by a group of peers into the BBC and its reporting of issues around Jews and Israel.

In December, the Jewish Chronicle claimed a “victory” for its anti-BBC campaign by confirming the launch of a “probe” into the broadcaster, which was being led by Lord Ian Austin.

Wegier also spoke  of his“absolute faith” in Sir Keir Starmer’s “root and branch” approach to stamping out antisemitism in Labour.

But while insisting the Jewish community is “mainly very satisfied” with the Labour leader’s approach to tackling the problem, Wegier stressed that within some local Labour constituency groups and amongst some trade unions there is still evidence of denialism over the scale of the antisemitism crisis.

He said:”I have absolute faith, absolute belief,  in the commitment of Keir Starmer and his team to deal with the problem root and branch.

“I think the Jewish community is, generally, very satisfied with the work he has done so far. We do not think that the job is complete.

“There mains a problem in parts of the local constituent party and certainly in parts of the trade union movement where  the views of people who supported Corbyn are still prevalent and there remains some denial about what happened and the scale of it.

“But at the top of the party, there is I think, a view that he has done a pretty good job so far.”

Wegier, who declares himself to be a staunch “centrist” politically,  was asked about the controversy over the building of a national Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre next to parliament in Westminster.

“While there are Jewish voices who are opposed to the location of the Holocaust memorial — and I respect those people — the organised Jewish community, of which I lead professionally one of the main bodies, we are absolutely unified in our position,” he said.

Putting the memorial near Westminster would, the Board’s chief argued, be a “very, very public statement about the importance of the Holocaust”, as well as about Britain’s wartime involvement.

Wegier was also asked about claims that the allegation of antisemitism has been used to stop criticism of Israel.

Disagreeing with hardline government policies does not amount to antisemitism Wegier said, highlighting the huge pro-democracy demonstrations in Israel in recent weeks.

“There’s nothing remotely antisemitic about criticising the actions of the state of Israel. Where it becomes problematic is when people use the old myths of antisemitism in order to describe Israelis in a given way,” he added.