BBC Arabic contributor called for “death to Israel” and described Jewish state as “occupied Palestine” live on air
A regular contributor to BBC Arabic reportedly called for “death to Israel” and described Jewish state as “occupied Palestine” live on air.
Mayssaa Abdul Khalek, a Lebanon-based reporter, also reportedly called for Arab states to attack Israel. These calls appeared on social media alongside links to her broadcasts for the BBC.
Ms Khalek, who identifies herself as a “BBC Arabic co-host”, also described a Hezbollah rocket attack on northern Israel as an attack on “occupied Palestine” in a live report in May 2021. Describing how a Lebanese man had died, she said: “he and a group of youths were hit by RPGs that Israeli military shot at them during their attempt to cross the border fence in front of the imperialist colony of Metula [a town in northern Israel]. These events also come after three rockets were launched yesterday from South Lebanon towards occupied Palestine.”
It is understood that she also used the phrase “occupied Palestinian territories” to describe Israel in a tweet linked to the same broadcast, in apparent contravention of BBC guidelines, but removed the post after being contacted by the JC.
In 2016, she wrote a post online beginning, “Death to Israel,” and continuing: “Is it your business to resist the Arab countries or Israel? Oh, sorry, Israel is an ally of your friend Russia, and they coordinate in the Syrian war.”
Other concerning social media activity includes her “liking” of a tweet commemorating Diaa Hamarsheh, a terrorist who killed after murdering a rabbi, a policemen and three civilians in the Isreli city of Bnei Brak. She has also reportedly spoken of “the enemy, Israel”,
Ms Khalek’s remarks were translated by CAMERA Arabic and reported by the JC.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Mayassa Abdel Khalek is not a BBC News Arabic co-host or presenter. She is a contributor invited on occasion to talk about Lebanon. In a live and brief interview held May 14th 2021, when Ms Abdel Khalek delivered her analysis on rockets fired from Lebanon on May 13th 2021, she should have been challenged when she described Metulla as a ‘colony’.
“Further, when Ms Abdel Khalek commented on the intended target of the rockets, the presenter should have disputed her remark that they were headed to ‘occupied Palestine’. They were presumably launched towards northern Israel, which the BBC wouldn’t describe as ‘occupied Palestine’.
“We do not ban guests from appearing on the BBC. Careful judgements are made and will continue to be made about the guests we invite on and the context in which we hear from them.”
In December, a Parliamentary inquiry into the BBC’s bias against Jews was announced, following a campaign by the JC. Campaign Against Antisemitism supported those calls.
Polling that we conducted in 2020 for our Antisemitism Barometer already revealed that two thirds of British Jews were deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints. It is likely that these figures would be even higher if polled today.
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].
Image credit: JC
