The BBC has rejected claims its Panorama documentary on the trainline running through Jerusalem was “biased and misleading” against Israel.
The corporation said that it received 24 complaints after The Train that Divided Jerusalem was aired on BBC1 on July 20.
The 30-minute film, presented by British Jewish documentary-maker Adam Wishart, was billed as exploring how the light rail, opened in 2011, had deepened resentment between Israelis and Palestinians.
One viewer, Edward de Mesquita, complained that the the programme “presented a heavily skewed impression that the Israeli administration of Jerusalem was divisive, racist and unfair to Arabs living there”.
READ: Why Panorama went off the rails
He added: “It repeatedly interviewed an Israeli woman who held totally unrepresentative views, and carefully selected information to incite the British public against Israel.”
In its response to Mr de Mesquita, the BBC said it believed “the film was balanced and fair” and was “careful to represent the views of both Israelis and Palestinians living in Jerusalem”.
It added: “The film was largely observational in style with Adam spending time with two main contributors, Rivka Shimon and Baha Nabata” — one Jewish, the other an Arab.
It also noted that Mr Wishart was an experienced filmmaker and that the programme took care to explain his background as a British Jew and how his grandparents had campaigned for the establishment of Israel.
Mr de Mesquita said he was “grossly disappointed” with the response, “which implies because the programme presenter is a British Jew, it makes the entire content acceptable”. He said: “Whether he is a Jew, an Arab or whatever else cannot be used as an excuse to justify misleading and dishonest reporting.”
The BBC told the JC that the The Train that Divided Jerusalem had been “watched by over a million and half viewers and explored the tensions in Jerusalem through the eyes of a British Jewish filmmaker, reflecting what he witnessed in the city and hearing from a range of voices expressing alternate views”.
