CAA submits complaint to BBC over journalist for antisemitic tweets including “Hitler was right”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has submitted a complaint to the BBC in connection with an employee who allegedly tweeted “Hitler was right“, and other antisemitic themes.

Tala Halawa, a Palestine Affairs Specialist at the BBC Monitoring Service, posted a series of antisemitic tweets in 2014, including one that read: “#Israel Is more #Nazi than #Hitler! Oh, #HitlerWasRight #IDF go to hell. #PrayForGaza”

In another tweet, Ms Halawa appeared to dismiss antisemitism as “melodrama”, and, in a further tweet, said that “#Zionists can’t get out of our blood.”

In yet another tweet, Ms Halawa asserted that “ur media is controlled by ur zionist government in order 2 produce ignorant people [sic].”

She has also shared the graphic that caused Naz Shah MP to be suspended from the Labour Party several years ago, as well as an image of a child being burned on a menorah.

It was also reported that Ms Halawa posted on Facebook: “They [Zionists] are crying the holocaust every single moment but they’re practicing it every single moment as well.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

The social media posts date from prior to Ms Halawa’s employment at the BBC, which is investigating.

The is reported to have said: “These tweets predate the individual’s employment with the BBC but we are nevertheless taking this very seriously and are investigating.”

After receiving an online backlash, Ms Halawa has since locked her Twitter account.

Campaign Against Antisemitism recently wrote to Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director-General, after our concerns over another BBC journalist’s social media activity were dismissed by BBC Arabic’s Head of Daily Output.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.