It also requested the corporation to stop repeatedly hosting Abdel Bari Atwan, an Islamist pundit who has frequently praised terrorism.
Its 36 signatories included former Tory leader Lord (Michael) Howard, the government’s former terror czar Lord (Alex) Carlile and former BBC governor Baroness (Ruth) Deech, as well as historians Simon Sebag Montefiore and the newly-ennobled Andrew Roberts and playwright Steven Berkoff.
“We urge you urgently to take cogent and coherent steps to rectify this worrying trend across your platforms as a matter of the utmost urgency, and look forward to your swift confirmation that this is being done,” the message said.
But the BBC has not replied. At the beginning of September, a BBC spokesperson told the JC: “We’ll get something to you in due course.” There has been no further communication.
It followed the BBC’s contested coverage of an attack on Jewish youngsters on Oxford Street last Chanukah, which reported as fact the disputed allegation that the victims had used a racial slur. The BBC’s reaction to complaints triggered an ongoing probe by Ofcom.
In a statement to the JC in September, the media watchdog said: “[BBC’s complaint handling] raises issues under our due accuracy rules and we have launched an investigation.”
The JC has also repeatedly exposed apparent anti-Israel bias in the BBC’s Arabic output, including a significant investigation last year.
The JC petition calling for a parliamentary inquiry — which would call witnesses and issue a final report — is backed by Mr Berkoff, actress Tracy-Ann Oberman and influential literary agent Neil Blair, who represents JK Rowling. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also supports it. The Chief Rabbi’s office has raised the matter with Tim Davie, the JC understands.
A CAA spokesperson said: “The BBC has shown a failure to fix its problem with the Jewish community. As a publicly funded organisation, the BBC should welcome parliamentary scrutiny of its poor performance.”
To sign the petition visit thejc.com/BBCpetition.
