BBC’s director general has penned a message to staffers expressing regret over “antisemitic behavior by people who worked with us” as part of an apparent effort to rebuild fraught ties with Jewish staffers.
“As many of you may have seen, sadly in recent weeks we have been alerted to some antisemitic behavior by people who worked with us. I want to be clear that there can be no place at the BBC for racist abuse of any kind, whether towards our Jewish colleagues or indeed colleagues from any background or belief. Any form of antisemitism, Islamophobia or racist abuse is abhorrent, and we will always act whenever it occurs. We must play our role to build understanding and tolerance,” he writes in an email obtained by the Deadline entertainment news outlet.
“We will continue to talk to a range of groups across the organization as part of our shared commitment to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone, regardless of background or belief,” Davie adds.
The BBC itself has come under fire for its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and has had to issue several apologies since October 7.
In mid-November, the BBC apologized after one of its presenters said and then repeated that IDF soldiers who had entered Shifa Hospital in Gaza “were targeting people including medical teams and Arab speakers.”
The broadcaster was also slammed for its rush to report unverified and later disproved claims that an Israeli airstrike was responsible for a deadly explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital on October 17. The BBC subsequently apologized for that coverage as well, saying it had been too swift to assign blame.
Finally, in early January, the BBC apologized for a December report on its radio station in which it accused Israel Defense Forces troops of executing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
