Anti-semitism on the BBC has turn into ‘normalised’ following October 7 atrocity, whistleblower claims
Incidents of anti-Semitism are happening on a daily basis at the BBC and have become ‘normalised’, a whistleblower has claimed.
The experienced member of staff, who is Jewish, has given a detailed account of the anti-Israel attitude of many at the corporation and how concerns have been dismissed by managers.
Writing anonymously for The Telegraph, the staffer said: ‘Anti-Semitism exists in the newsrooms of Britain’s public service broadcaster. It has done for years, and it is alive and well today, refuelled by the events of Oct 7 and after.
‘I have experienced it first hand, too much, in my career at the corporation, both before and since the Hamas attacks.’
The writer also accused director general Tim Davie of failing to tackle the problem, despite emailing all staff in February to say there was no place for racist abuse of any kind at the BBC.
The whistleblower wrote: ‘To regain the confidence of Jewish employees, a start would be for the BBC board to issue a clear directive to staff that using the term Zionist negatively in the workplace is unacceptable – but that would risk uproar.’
The writer added that recent incidents showed the ‘BBC does not have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism’, adding that ‘it has more of a lackadaisical policy.’
During the summer, 200 Jewish employees across the BBC co-signed a letter to the board expressing ‘very serious concerns about anti-Jewish racism’ and provided documentary evidence to back it up.
The experienced member of staff, who is Jewish, has given a detailed account of the anti-Israel attitude of many at the corporation (file image)
Cars abandoned in the road near the Nova festival in the aftermath of the October 7 atrocities
Hamas swept into Israel on October 7, killing some 1,170 people and taking 251 hostage
‘The response of Dr Samir Shah, the BBC chair, was to accept that ‘on a small number of occasions, staff conduct has fallen below expectations,’ but dismissed the signatories’ call for a formal investigation. In other words, nothing to see here, you’re overreacting.’
The whistleblower did not include the ‘severest examples’ of abuse for fear of identification, but gave details of treatment even before the October 7 massacre that triggered the war in Gaza.
While getting coffee, the whistleblower claimed one journalist said to the writer’s face: ‘My sympathies lie with the Palestinians.’
The whistleblower commented: ‘Would anyone say to an Indian colleague: ‘My sympathies lie with Pakistan,’ or vice-versa? Of course not, it would be unthinkable.’
On another occasion, the whistleblower said a senior reporter told an editor: ‘Israel is an apartheid state. It’s a fact.’
The whistleblower added: ‘The editor accepted the statement without so much as a raised eyebrow. Israel, of course, is no such thing, and as a Jew to hear it said with conviction at such a level of seniority is deeply offensive, stomach-churning.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘We are deeply concerned to read this article about the experiences of a member of staff; it’s unacceptable that anyone should face this in their workplace. We deplore anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination or harassment.
‘We urge the writer to discuss this with their manager, or if they feel unable to do so, to contact our confidential bullying and harassment helpline or use our whistleblowing service so that these issues can be investigated and addressed, and the staff member can receive the appropriate support.’
