Second protest held outside BBC HQ over Gaza documentary
Demonstrators chanted, waved flags and listened to speeches from figures including actress Dame Maureen Lipman outside Broadcasting House in central London
A protest has been held outside BBC headquarters after it emerged that a documentary on Gaza featured the son of a senior Hamas figure.
Demonstrators chanted, waved flags and listened to speeches from figures including actress Dame Maureen Lipman outside Broadcasting House in central London.
“We are gathering to tell the BBC: We refuse to fund terrorists with our licence fee,” organiser Campaign Against Antisemitism posted on X.
“Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen the BBC engulfed in scandal, following the broadcast of its so-called documentary… which was tantamount to a Hamas propaganda film.”
“Where is the balance?” Dame Maureen told the crowd. “As always, all I ask for is a level playing field.”
One placard at the protest read: “BBC, I refuse to fund terrorists.”
Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was removed from BBC iPlayer after it emerged that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
The broadcaster has apologised for the making of the programme, about children living in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war, after conducting an initial review and it has now launched a further internal probe.
The BBC said it is “seeking additional assurance” from production company Hoyo Films after it admitted “they paid the boy’s mother, via his sister’s bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration”.
Other accusations have been made that parts of the documentary were mistranslated, and more children who appeared in it were linked to proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy accused the BBC of failing to show enough urgency in its review of the documentary.
But presenters Gary Lineker and Anita Rani, and actors Riz Ahmed and Miriam Margolyes, are among more than 500 media figures who condemned the withdrawal from iPlayer.
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.
