BBC should be keeping up with the Germans - The Jewish Chronicle

There’s a tendency in the UK to regard ourselves with moral superiority over the way we deal with antisemitism, especially when it comes to our European peers. We think we’re nothing like the French, as Jews are free to practise in London more openly than Paris; we’re nothing like Eastern Europe, with its shameful history of rampaging Cossack pogroms and the Pale of Settlement; and, we think to ourselves, we’re certainly nothing like Germany, with its evil legacy and modern-day neo-Nazi descendants.

But when it comes to keeping our own house in order, this arrogance may be somewhat misplaced, especially when it comes to Germany. While in Berlin this week, I spoke to Dr Felix Klein, the Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism (and contender for holder of the longest job title in Europe). He told me that his priority is tackling a rising tide of antisemitism in Germany’s liberal middle classes, what he termed “the anti-racist antisemites” — the people who consider themselves open-minded, tolerant and welcoming of all. Sound familiar?

Dr Klein told me that he’s concerned about this type of antisemitism, expressed first as anti-Israel sentiment, which then becomes something more virulent and hard to confront. Again, many will recognise this very battle being fought in the UK, where the Jewish community is still accused of trying to silence all criticism of Israel.

When I asked Dr Klein about his most important achievement since taking his post in 2018, he told me it concerned the German state broadcaster ZDF, the equivalent of our BBC. Given the campaigning the JC has done to counter bias at the Beeb, my ears pricked up.

Recently, concerned with the level of anti-Israel prejudice in the ZDF’s programming, Dr Klein made a recommendation. In a free country you can’t legislate away bias, so he suggested appointing a former journalist to act as an in-house watchdog for the antisemitism that can seep into reports on Jews and Israel. The idea, to help avoid the sort of foot-on-rake mishaps the BBC suffers over and over again, is in the pipeline and will hopefully make a real difference.

In recent months, as highlighted by our JC campaign, the frontlines of the battle against antisemitism have been drawn outside Broadcasting House. The BBC stands accused by Jewish parliamentarians and public figures of being woefully lacking in its coverage of Israel and Jewish issues. Usually one to defend the corporation in the face of bias, even I have struggled to make excuses for the more egregious examples, especially the errors around the reporting of the Oxford Street Chanukah attack and the implication that Jewish children provoked their own abuse.

This latest in a long series of BBC-based rows that has dominated our national discourse has been rumbling on for almost a year now — a year in which the BBC has bungled its way through an explanation, an apology and a humiliating Ofcom ruling, which found it lacked accuracy and impartiality.

Various suggestions have been mooted as to how to confront this clear blindspot in our national broadcaster. In the last month, 10,000 readers of the JC have called for a parliamentary inquiry, suggesting the appetite for action is quickly reaching a critical mass. It’s tempting, I think, for the BBC to look at our campaign — a well-meaning call on the BBC to change — and get defensive, its default stance.

After years of attacks from right and left, from leavers and remainers, the BBC clearly sees a bunker mentality as the safest response. In some cases, probably correctly. When faced with ministers who, at times, want to chip away at a national institution, who can blame them for keeping shtum, knowing that they’ll outlast any Culture Secretary that tries to clip their wings?

But in this instance, the BBC’s silence has been a callous reinforcement of the Baddiel hypothesis. It’s hard to imagine the public being satisfied with such a lacklustre response over accusations of anti-black racism or homophobia. With each passing week, the silence gets louder. The BBC may find itself suffering worse consequences than it had admitted there was a problem a year ago.

My solution? Loathe as I am to admit it, the Germans may hold the answer. This problem with the BBC is only going to be solved when the corporation actually listens and makes a change. Perhaps the best solution is for it to appoint a BBC antisemitism watchdog. Perhaps by being inside the bunker, whoever it is might actually get people to listen.

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