Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director-General, has acknowledged “some antisemitic behaviour” at the corporation.
In a staff-wide e-mail sent on Friday, Mr Davie wrote: “As an organisation, we must stand united against any form of abuse, prejudice or intolerance. As many of you may have seen, sadly, in recent weeks we have been alerted to some antisemitic behaviour by people who worked with us. I want to be clear that there can be no place at the BBC for racist abuse of any kind, whether towards our Jewish colleagues or indeed colleagues from any background or belief. Any form of antisemitism, Islamophobia or racist abuse is abhorrent, and we will always act whenever it occurs. We must play our role to build understanding and tolerance.”
The e-mail continued: “When we come to work at the BBC, each of us brings our different experiences, beliefs and perspectives. This is our strength, and that diversity of views is critical to a creative organisation that serves the public. Together, we have an incredibly powerful opportunity and role to help bring people together at a time of polarisation and division.”
“We will continue to talk to a range of groups across the organisation as part of our shared commitment to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone, regardless of background or belief,” he added.
The e-mail comes following a wave of controversies at the BBC. Asif Munaf, a doctor who appeared on the current series of “The Apprentice” on the BBC, has reportedly spoken of ‘the Zionist antichrist’, the ‘slimy Zionist PR machine’, ‘odiously ogre-like Zionists’, ‘Zionist doctors’, ‘weaponising the Holocaust’ and more.
The national broadcaster also sacked one of its schedulers, Dawn Queva, earlier this month after posts were discovered on her Facebook account calling Jews “Nazi Apartheid parasites” who funded the “holohoax”. The posts have since been removed.
Responding to Mr Davie’s e-mail, a Jewish employee at the BBC reportedly said: “I’ll believe it when I see it. Heard him say the same stuff before, but still the same behaviour and attitudes are being tolerated and explained away. Of course, it’s good to see this in writing from Tim, but it actually makes me want to cry that it’s just in writing and not in practice.”
92% of British Jews rate the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish interest as unfavourable, according to our representative polling.
