As our petition calling for a suspension of the licence fee grows, we will be protesting again outside the BBC this Thursday

In view of new developments relating to the BBC’s so-called documentary about Gaza that was tantamount to a Hamas propaganda film – including that licence fee funds did go to the family of a senior Hamas official, more on which below – we will be protesting again outside the BBC this Thursday.

• When: 19:00, Thursday 6th March
• Where: Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London W1A 1AA

There is no need to sign up. Placards will be provided.

We hope that you will join us.

Please also sign our petition calling for a suspension of the licence fee here, and read more below about why this is so important.

Last week, we put the BBC on notice

Thank you to everyone who joined our protest outside the BBC last week.

Together, we showed the BBC that its bias against Israel – which an overwhelming majority of British Jews believes fuels persecution of Jews – is intolerable, and that the prospect that licence fee monies went to Hamas was the last straw.

The crowd gathered outside Broadcasting House to call on the BBC to stop whitewashing terrorism and to hold our national broadcaster to account.

We were calling for answers:

Why did the Gaza film get aired?
Did money go to Hamas?

We needed transparency and accountability from the BBC.

First to speak was Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, who said: “The BBC has become a mouthpiece for terror. It cannot call terrorism by its name. The BBC has become a spokesperson for terrorists.”

Recent events have not occurred in a vacuum. For sixteen months, we have watched our national broadcaster provide ever more sympathetic coverage to a proscribed terrorist organisation.

Hence the need for a full inquiry into the BBC’s bias in its coverage of the Jewish state.

Next came David Collier, the investigative researcher who exposed the BBC in his investigation into the so-called documentary about life in Gaza.

“Last Monday night, the BBC aired a Hamas propaganda documentary. Four days later they took it down. But let us be clear about one key point: They did not take it down because it was raw Hamas propaganda. They did not take it down because it was full of distortion and lies. They did not even take it down because it featured continuity issues and children reading from their Hamas written scripts. All of those issues may be true – but the key point is this: The only reason the BBC took down its documentary is because they were caught and this time – they had no excuses to hide behind.”

Judging by the reaction, the crowd seemed to agree.

After a minute’s silence in memory of those slaughtered by Hamas on 7th October and in the sixteen months since, we then had the honour of hearing from Michael Marlowe.

Michael’s beloved son Jake was among the 1,200 murdered by the antisemitic terrorists that day.

“For decades, the BBC stood as the bastion of honest and trustworthy reporting. It was the world’s first port of call for global and national news, respected for its integrity and neutrality. But that BBC is long gone.”

Finally, the crowd heard from the broadcaster and comedian Josh Howie, who declared on stage that he will no longer be paying his license fee.

“Jews and non-Jews are here together to tell the BBC we’ve had enough. Together we declare: ‘No to a licence of hate’.”

It says something about the strength of feeling in the Jewish community that Josh – and he isn’t alone – is prepared to risk penalties by announcing his refusal to pay the licence fee.

We also asked protesters why they had come and what they thought of the BBC.

We also submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act asking whether any payments made by the BBC in relation to Gaza film went to Hamas or those associated with it.

It is time for transparency, and resignations.

The BBC must stop being allowed to mark its own homework. Currently the BBC reviews complaints about its coverage and appeals of those complaints, and only further appeals go to Ofcom. This is unique, as complaints regarding all other broadcasters go directly to Ofcom.

It is time to bring regulation of the BBC into line with other broadcasters.

Recent events have not occurred in a vacuum. As noted, for sixteen months, we have watched our national broadcaster provide ever more sympathetic coverage to a proscribed terrorist organisation, and that follows decades of biased coverage.

It is time for a full and independent inquiry into the BBC’s coverage of the Jewish state.

We are also very grateful to our friends in Sussex, who organised a local protest at BBC Sussex last week as well.

The protest and the wider scandal have been covered across the national press, our Chief Executive penned an op-ed for LBC and our spokespeople gave interviews to the broadcast media.

Subsequent developments

More revelations emerged about the documentary, including regarding other protagonists and cameramen, even as Gary Lineker, Miriam Margolyes and other usual suspects criticised the BBC for pulling the film.

It was also revealed that the BBC had mistranslated words like ‘jihad’ and ‘Jews’ in ways that downplayed violent antisemitism among Gazans.

By lying like this, the BBC is actually shielding Hamas and trying to brainwash audiences.

This is not impartial, and it’s not accurate. It is the BBC putting its thumb on the scales and breaching its editorial guidelines to cover for people who want Jews dead.

Interestingly, it also emerged that, in 2013, the BBC Trust dismissed complaints against the BBC for similarly translating the Arabic word for ‘Jew’ as ‘Israeli’, despite concerns that this whitewashed antisemitism. Among the trustees at the time of the ruling was apparently David Liddiment.

According to The Telegraph, Mr Liddiment was previously a founding member and creative director of All3Media. All3Media is the international distributor of – you guessed it – the ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’ so-called documentary at the heart of the BBC scandal over bias and terrorism.

This is why the BBC cannot be allowed to continue marking its own homework.

The Culture Secretary was pressed in Parliament about the scandal, and revealed that she had already sought assurances from BBC Director General Tim Davie that no money had gone to Hamas.

Days later, those assurances were still not forthcoming, which already said it all.

The bombshell

The BBC eventually admitted that licence fee funds were paid to the family of a senior Hamas official.

It has not yet been able to rule out that further payments to Hamas members were made as it continues to investigate where hundreds of thousands of pounds went.

The BBC released a statement that represented an exercise in desperate damage control, and shows why an internal review is no substitute for an independent investigation into this documentary and the wider bias at the BBC that allowed it to be made and aired.

Clearly those responsible must lose their jobs.

It is unconscionable that the British public should have to pay a licence fee to an organisation that gives that money to proscribed terrorists. It represents a shocking double standard in our law.

Pending an independent investigation, the licence fee must be suspended.

A criminal investigation?

The BBC’s apparent admission that licence fee funds went to the family of a senior Hamas official also clearly gives rise to concern about breach of terrorism financing laws.

That is why we are among those who have reported the BBC to Counter Terrorism Policing.

The Met Police told us: “We’re aware of a BBC documentary about Gaza and we have received a number of reports raising concerns. Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are currently assessing whether any police action is required in relation to this matter.”

We are grateful to the Met for giving this urgent attention, as it is clearly very significant and firmly within the public interest.

Ofcom weighs in

Now, Ofcom has weighed into the scandal, warning that it may open an investigation itself into the BBC.

Despite the BBC’s admission that licence fee funds went to a senior Hamas official’s family, amazingly it is still being allowed to mark its own homework with an internal review, rather than an independent investigation.

No other broadcaster would get away with this.

Ofcom’s intervention cannot come soon enough. It is time to do away altogether with the BBC’s unique and absurd right to regulate itself, and make Ofcom the first port of call for complaints about the BBC.

Our petition

We have launched a petition, calling for a suspension of the licence fee, pending a full, independent investigation.

It is utterly unconscionable that we should still be required to pay a fee that apparently may go to a proscribed terrorist organisation sworn to the destruction of the Jewish people.

A national treasure has become a national embarrassment.

You can sign the petition here.

It’s about time: Met imposes restrictions on Swiss Cottage anti-Israel protests

You may recall that we recently invited those local to Swiss Cottage to reply to the consultation regarding the weekly anti-Israel protests there.

Thank you to those who were able to do so.

Finally, after more than a year, the police have moved the weekly protests taking place in Swiss Cottage, an area with a significant Jewish population.

These protests have been taking place every week on Friday evenings. As the Jewish community has been ushering in Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, they have had to listen to calls for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state, support for Hamas and the 7th October attack, blood libels and more.

We welcome the move from the Met Police. What took so long?

Campaign Against Antisemitism lights London orange for the Bibas family

Over the past week, cities and landmarks around the world lit up orange in memory of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were brutally murdered by Hamas and have now been laid to rest.

Disappointingly, London did not light up a landmark.

We fixed that.

On Saturday night, Campaign Against Antisemitism lit up Trafalgar Square in Central London to honour the Bibas family, murdered by antisemitic terrorists.

May their memory be a blessing.

The BBC’s admission that licence fee money went to the family of a senior Hamas official is outrageous.

It must be the final straw for the Jewish community, and the final nail in the coffin for a licence fee that the Jewish community has been forced to pay to an institution whose bias has put the safety of British Jews at risk.

We must make our voices heard again. Please sign the petition, and please join us to protest outside the BBC this Thursday.

We look forward to seeing you then.