The BBC has apologised for years of “unacceptable” handling of complaints about anti-Israel bias in its Arabic output, which activists say represented a “disdainful” attitude towards Jewish concerns.
It is an early victory in the JC campaign to restore impartiality to the broadcaster. Our petition demanding a parliamentary inquiry into its coverage of Jews and Israel is approaching 6,000 signatures and can be signed at theJC.com/BBCPetition.
Since the Gaza war in May 2021, BBC responses to complaints about Israel coverage have taken up to a year, with some ignored completely.
Even when complaints are acknowledged and upheld, issuing corrections is often delayed further or in some cases is not done at all.
The BBC Charter requires a framework that provides “transparent, accessible, effective, timely and proportionate methods” of fixing problems.
