The anti-Israel BBC requires root-and-branch reform - The Jewish Chronicle

A band chanted “Death to the IDF.” Thousands joined in. The BBC broadcast it live – with its director-general, Tim Davie, on site. There was no cut to the feed. No editorial override. Just a limp trigger warning about “strong language” and then business as usual. It was a moral collapse, televised.

Faced with a chant calling for the death of Jewish soldiers and the effective annihilation of the Jewish state, the BBC chose to carry on. Rather than act decisively, it issued a vague content warning and continued amplifying a message of hate – all on the taxpayers’ dime.

This is not just about one incident. It is about something deeper. Something long-running. Something institutional.

The BBC has a long and well-documented record of anti-Israel bias. It refused to call Hamas a terrorist organisation even after October 7. It has an uncanny habit of platforming contributors who make antisemitic or pro-Hamas statements – individuals somehow missed by the corporation’s vetting process, yet routinely exposed by external watchdogs after a cursory look at their social media. Time and again, the BBC violates the most basic standards of accuracy, impartiality and fairness – not only in its coverage of Israel, but at times even in its reporting on Britain’s own Jewish community. One especially egregious example: Ofcom found “significant editorial failings” when the BBC falsely claimed that Jewish children – the victims of an antisemitic attack on their school bus – had made anti-Muslim slurs, effectively portraying them as the aggressors. This latest scandal is not a blunder. It is the result of a culture that treats the Jewish state as uniquely suspect.

That is why an apology is not enough, even as the BBC now regrets not having cut the live feed of what the Corporation itself considers were “antisemitic” chants.

Nor would Davie’s resignation – though the culture secretary is right to suggest it may now be necessary – suffice. The rot runs deeper than one decision or one individual.

The BBC’s culture of anti-Israel bias needs root-and-branch reform – a culture that has been systemic, sustained and corrosive to public trust.

If the BBC wishes to continue enjoying the privilege of being the state broadcaster, funded by mandatory licence fees, it must uphold the highest journalistic standards – not betray them on national television.

As for Glastonbury: no amount of PR gloss can cover up what happened on that stage. It took the organisers a full day to condemn the chant.

One wonders why it took so long, and whether the condemnation would have come at all without public pressure. Their statement said that “we stand against all forms of war and terrorism”. But how sincere is that commitment when they booked a band named after an IRA torture method, whose member has been charged with terror offences? Or when they gave a platform to Palestine Action, a group under review for proscription under UK terror legislation? If Glastonbury wants to retain its cultural prestige and its relationship with the BBC, it must set and enforce red lines. That includes drawing a firm boundary against hatred dressed up as activism.

But there is a still more disturbing reality that this episode has laid bare. In parts of British society, and certainly in the world of arts, Israel has become the incarnation of evil itself – uniquely demonised, stripped of context, history and humanity. That ought to give us all pause.

Forget the endless semantic wrangling over what is or isn’t “antisemitism”. When hatred and demonisation are directed at the Jewish state, where the majority of the world’s Jews live, that, in and of itself, must be condemned. Whatever label we attach to it.

And whether intended or not, no politician, NGO, university, union or band can continue to vilify Israel and then feign ignorance of the effect it has on Britain’s Jewish community – already suffering under skyrocketing antisemitism. To incite against Israel in this climate is to pour petrol on a fire.

This must be a clarion call: to politicians, artists, journalists, campaigners and public institutions alike. Tone down the hyperbole. Check your facts.

Don’t run with every unverified accusation. And give a fair hearing to the other side, including the democratic state of Israel, which is fighting for its survival in a region still full of enemies.

This was not just an attack on Israel. It was an attack on Britain’s Jewish community – overwhelmingly Zionist, already under siege, and watching with horror as mainstream institutions normalise genocidal slogans.

If our public broadcaster can air chants calling for the death of Jewish soldiers and our cultural elite barely flinches, then we are in deeper trouble than we care to admit.

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