CAA takes out full-page ads in Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and Mail on Sunday calling for suspension of the licence fee
This weekend, we launched a full-page advertisement campaign in the Sunday newspapers calling for the suspension of the TV licence fee, pending an independent investigation into the BBC in relation to the Gaza film scandal and wider issues of bias against the Jewish state in its coverage.
The striking ads, which appeared in The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday thanks to the support of a generous donor, observed that a majority of the British public supports the launch of an independent investigation, according to polling commissioned by Campaign Against Antisemitism and conducted by YouGov, more on which below.
It is unconscionable to force people to pay a licence fee that for years has funded biased reporting and has now been handed to the family of a Hamas terrorist. The licence fee must be suspended pending an independent investigation.
Thousands of people have already signed our petition at suspendthelicencefee.com, and now celebrities are adding their voices too, with 200 figures from the entertainment industry signing an open letter calling for an investigation into the BBC, including Ozzy and Sharon Osborne, Debra Messing and Mayim Bialik.
Everyone has had enough of BBC bias and handing licence fee money to a Hamas terrorist’s family has to be the final straw.
New polling on the BBC
New polling commissioned by Campaign Against Antisemitism and conducted by YouGov shows that 57% of the British public back an independent investigation into the BBC Gaza film scandal; only 21% do not.
The majority of the British public (58%) does not trust the BBC to investigate itself (only 28% do); and only 49% trust Ofcom compared to 33% who do not.
You can find the full results and methodology here.
BBC bosses hauled before Culture Committee
Earlier in the week, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee heard from Dr Samir Shah, Chair of the BBC, and the Director-General of the BBC, Tim Davie.
The hearing came as the BBC is engulfed in scandal following its publication of the so-called documentary, ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’.
Rupa Huq, Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton, appeared to doubt the BBC’s decision to remove the documentary and remarked: “There might be a danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Gosport and Chair of the Committee, addressed Dr Shah regarding Ofcom’s announcement that it may intervene in the BBC’s investigation, remarking that “trust matters” and asked: “Can the BBC mark their own homework?” She added: “A film like this has huge value but we have to be able to trust what we are seeing.”
Dr Shah responded: “We have literally marked our own homework,” and noted that the BBC’s system of doing an investigation “is not in itself a bad thing” but admitted that “Ofcom’s position is right.” He also said: “We will get to the bottom of this and take appropriate actions.”
James Frith, Labour MP for Bury North, asked: “Will the scope of your inquiry confirm if the money paid for the documentary ended up with Hamas?” Mr Davie responded: “Yes, of course.” Mr Frith noted: “It’s fair to assume that if the family of a senior Hamas leader is paid, that that money goes into the orbit of Hamas.” Mr Davie insisted: “I’ve told you what I know.”
Dr Shah further admitted, “This is a really, really bad moment,” and agreed that the “mechanics of the filmmaking itself” needed to be investigated. He said that “There’s a dagger to the heart of the BBC’s claim to be impartial and to be trustworthy.” He added: “We need to restore trust in the BBC.”
Mr Davie opined at one point: “This was a serious failing, but we have trust numbers that we’re very proud of. We’re the most trusted brand in the world.”
As expected, Mr Davie and Dr Shah delivered the expected answers to the Committee. But no amount of spin can cover for either the scandal of this so-called documentary and the wider problem of bias at the BBC, or the outrageousness of the BBC marking its own homework with an internal review instead of an independent investigation.
No other broadcaster would be permitted this latitude, and no other regulated industry would allow this. It bears restating: licence fee funds went to the family member of a senior member of a proscribed terrorist organisation. How can it possibly be business as usual at the BBC?
Outside scrutiny must be allowed into the BBC’s clique to see what has been done with the public’s money. The licence fee must be suspended pending an independent investigation.
Second protest outside Broadcasting House
For the second time in as many weeks, last Thursday evening we protested again outside Broadcasting House.
The hundreds in attendance heard from our Chief Executive, Gideon Falter; broadcaster and comedian Josh Howie; actress and columnist Dame Maureen Lipman; Nova music festival survivor Natalie Sanandaji; and Mark Birbeck, founder of Our Fight UK.
Last week, our protest demanded that the BBC stops whitewashing terrorism. This week, we gathered to tell the BBC: “We refuse to fund terrorists with our licence fee!”
Gideon Falter told the crowd: “A national treasure has become a national embarrassment.”
Josh Howie, who at last week’s protest announced on stage that he will no longer pay the BBC licence fee, told demonstrators this week: “We have no choice. We are all compelled to be here—compelled by decades of racism, compelled by the distortions, the omissions and the outright lies—all in service of creating a warped biased hateful narrative that has been directed at our community by the BBC. And just as much, we are also compelled to be here by the decades of inaction, dismissal and denial by the BBC of that racism.”
Dame Maureen Lipman asked: “Where is the balance? As always, all I ask for is a level playing field.”
Natalie Sanandaji, who survived the Nova music festival massacre on 7th October, told the crowd: “This is not just a case of poor judgment. This is an active betrayal of the trust that the public has in institutions like the BBC. The BBC is supposed to be a respected, reliable source of news for the British public. The BBC is supposed to uphold standards of fairness and responsibility. And yet here they are, amplifying the voices of those connected to the very people who are responsible for the deaths of our friends, our families, our communities.”
Mark Birbeck said: “There are a lot of people like me that feel that first and foremost, journalism should be about truth and transparency.”
We also asked those who came to the protest about how they feel about the licence fee.
Thank you to everyone who came to the protest last Thursday, and the protest before that.
If you were not able to make it, you can still make your voice heard by signing the petition calling for a suspension of the licence fee.
Gazan small-boat migrant arrested after Campaign Against Antisemitism exposé makes national front pages
An investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism has revealed that a man who posted on TikTok on Friday about his arrival in the UK was a member of a Hamas-endorsed unit involved in serious violence on the Gaza-Israel border who wants to “die for the sake of Allah”.
The man, who goes by Abu Wadei, posted a video on TikTok showing the final steps of his journey from Gaza to Britain, in a dinghy. Our investigative teams urgently looked into who he is.
We identified him in a video in which he took the microphone at a rally, apparently in Gaza. He told the crowd that he is a member of the “tyre burning unit”, which was active in the Hamas-endorsed violent border riots in 2018 and 2019. He then railed against Jews, adding that his “loftiest aspiration” is to “die for the sake of Allah”.
At the same rally, men chant a battle cry referring to a massacre of Jews: “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” The “Khaybar” chant is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE. The chant has been heard in numerous anti-Israel rallies in Britain and abroad.
We also found photographs of Abu Wadei apparently at a conference addressed by Yahya Sinwar, the deceased leader of the antisemitic, genocidal terrorist group Hamas.
Our exposé was widely covered in the national media, including the front page of The Mail on Sunday and double-page coverage in The Sun on Sunday.
We told the media that anyone who may have a track record of being in any way affiliated with Hamas or promoting antisemitic rhetoric must not be permitted to endanger this country. If jihadis who want ‘to die for the sake of Allah’ can enter the United Kingdom from Gaza with relative ease, that poses a serious threat to national security.
Following our exposé and the wide coverage, the Home Office confirmed today that Abu Wadei has been arrested.
We welcome the reported arrest of Abu Wadei. It is evident that he poses a threat to the safety of the Jewish community and to the British public more widely. Clearly he should not be at liberty in the UK.
We are now asking the Home Office to confirm that this case will be expedited and we are seeking assurances on the anticipated timeframes. We are also asking why nobody seemed to have worked out who he was until our investigators exposed him.
