ITV urged not to bring back Nadia Sawalha as ‘antisemitism’ dossier sent to channel

A group of prominent Jewish media figures have written to ITV urging them not to reinstate Loose Women presenter Nadia Sawalha, describing her as having “demonstrably peddled in antisemitic conspiracy theories, tropes and rhetoric to her social media following for years now with little or no accountability”.

The letter, which was signed by individuals including Danny Cohen, former Director of BBC Television and Claudia Rosencrantz, former Controller of Entertainment for ITV, discusses how “a recurring theme in Ms Sawalha’s social media feed is to point to Jewish covert influences that conspire with nefarious intent to manipulate authorities; or, as she posits on several occasions, specifically to ruin her (and her husband’s) reputations.

“If such racism were to be advocated against any other minority group, authorities would and indeed should be only too glad to act immediately to reaffirm its own anti-discrimination policy. What is clear on reviewing Ms Sawalha’s obsessive online vilification of Jews and the world’s only Jewish state, is that everyone will conclude that damage to her career is entirely self-inflicted. Free speech does not come at the expense of Jewish safety.”

The letter, addressed to ITV’s chairman, chief executive, and managing director, comes alongside a dossier detailing Ms Sawalha’s actions, together with that of her husband, Mark Adderley, via content featuring the two of them together. These actions include the spreading of conspiracy theories pinpointing Israel as being behind a variety of world events from the assassination of JFK to the killing of Charlie Kirk, as well as regularly airing the idea that Israelis see themselves as the “chosen people” – a trope regularly used by antisemites to suggest that Jews see themselves as superior to others. It also refers to a comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany, as well as Sawalha describing Israel’s “blood lust”. Other behaviour identified included a video featuring Sawalha in which the TV personality appeared to mock antisemitism allegations.

According to The Sun, ITV had planned to bring Ms Sawalha back to the daytime TV show this month, after she had not appeared since April. The paper describes what it calls “a bitter civil war among the show’s panel” over Sawalha’s continued involvement, citing an anonymous source saying that “at least one Loose Women panellist has told pals she has threatened an outright boycott if Nadia is allowed back.”

The letter from Jewish media representatives also questions whether ITV has followed its own code of ethics and conduct with regards to Sawalha, saying: “Your channel has a regulatory framework in place that by its own standards should by now have held Ms Sawalha to account… for example, as part of its ‘Commitment to Our Company’, it states: ‘Do not put anything in an email, message or social media that may damage your or our reputation.’ In ITV’s “’Commitment to the Communities in which ITV Operates’, the channel promises: ‘The trust of viewers, the wider public and our customers is central to everything we do. We will not hesitate to take appropriate disciplinary action against anyone who breaches that trust’.

Are we to trust that ITV has followed its own stated commitments in relation to Ms Sawalha? We are certainly not the first to highlight her racist rhetoric that brings the channel into disrepute. At best, ITV has been seen to have quietly removed Ms Sawalha from its screens in April, yet continues to emphasise her freelance stature (presumably to distance the channel from her views, or, to bringing her back in the future; while, at the same time, cross-promotes her social media accounts on its website page dedicated to the presenter). According to the network in respect of Loose Women, ITV ‘wouldn’t be without her.’”

Both Sawalha and Adderley have vehemently denied accusations that they are antisemitic.