Board gives BBC bosses Pesach deadline to commit to tackling community concerns
After meeting with BBC chiefs, Board president Phil Rosenberg said:'We told them that the current situation was not good enough and needs to change'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
The Board of Deputies has called for the BBC to commits to a series of actions in relation to concerns about its reporting of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the wellbeing of Jewish staff during a meeting with Director-General Tim Davie.
A statement issued by Board president Phil Rosenberg said the corporation had been given seven areas of particular concern to address – including a commitment to a “thematic Review into the Corporation’s reporting on Israel-Gaza since October 7th, 2023.
At Thursday’s meeting with Davie, and other members of the senior leadership of the BBC, the Board issued an ultimatum insisting the corporation must commit to a clear series of actions ahead of the Passover Festival – beginning 12th April – at the latest.
The demands raised by the Board included: Formalising a commitment – with a timeframe – for an independent Thematic Review into the Corporation’s reporting on Israel-Gaza since October 7th, 2023.
A requirement for the BBC to consistently, across all its media platforms, inform their audience of the status of all organisations proscribed as terrorist groups by the British Government – including both Hamas and Hezbollah.
Calling for the BBC to rapidly change its current editorial policy of mistranslating the words “Yahud/Yahudi” – which mean “Jew/Jews” – as “Israeli/Israelis” when cited by Palestinians.
A ‘one-strike’ policy when its staff are found to have egregiously breached its rules of impartiality and or antisemitism.
A separate review of its BBC Arabic network, where multiple members of staff were found to have openly celebrated the mass-terror attack of October 7th and were briefly suspended – before being allowed to return to their jobs, which have included subsequent reporting on Israel.
A means of rapidly addressing serious editorial breaches.
And urgently addressing the serious deterioration in the health and well-being of Jewish staff, including a sense of pervasive hostility and isolation, over the last 18 months.
After the meeting Rosenberg said:“The Board of Deputies has met the Director-General and Senior Leadership of the BBC to discuss what it needs to do to address concerns about its reporting of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the wellbeing of Jewish staff.
“We told them that the current situation was not good enough and needs to change. We called for the Corporation to commit to a clear series of actions ahead of the Passover Festival – beginning 12th April – at the latest.
“The British Jewish community has long been sounding the alarm regarding BBC misreporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; not just for years, but for decades.
“The refusal by the Corporation to commit to proper change has led to the situation it now finds itself in – one where a significant number of errors in its coverage have been logged during the last 17 months and a situation where the son of a senior Hamas official narrated its recent Gaza documentary.
“The BBC leadership needs to grip the issue with a seriousness and urgency we have not yet seen.
“We found the BBC to be active listeners to our concerns. But the community will judge them on the actions they take to address these serious matters.
“The Festival of Passover begins in mid-April. We believe that this is enough time for the BBC to demonstrate its determination to begin the significant changes which need to take place in order for it to return to the high standards we all expect from our national public broadcaster.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We were pleased to meet the Board of Deputies and thank them for the constructive discussions. We will always listen to concerns that are raised with us.
“While we do not agree with the characterisation of some of what was discussed, we will give careful consideration to the issues raised and are committed to continuing an open and ongoing dialogue.
“The BBC sets the highest possible editorial standards across our output and we take our responsibilities for impartiality and trust in our content extremely seriously. Alongside this, the conduct and welfare of all of our staff is an absolute priority.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
