BBC Gaza documentary controversy – more pro-Israel bias?
What is the BBC Gaza documentary controversy – more pro-Israel bias?
It seems the BBC has been asked to take the documentary Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone down from iPlayer after it was discovered that the film’s 13-year-old narrator, Abdullah, is the son of a minister in Gaza’s Hamas-run government, raising fears that it may be a vehicle for Hamas propaganda.
Does it, though?
If not, there’s no reason to block it – unless those making the request are simply trying to prevent the screening of a film that criticises Israel’s genocide.
The BBC itself says that it was not made aware of Abdullah’s relationship to Gaza agriculture minister Ayman Alyazouri until after the film was broadcast on BBC2 on Monday (February 17, 2025) – and insists that it had full editorial control of the filming.
This implies that the film complies with the BBC’s due diligence responsibilities and adheres to editorial standards and Ofcom rules – meaning there should be no reason to deny members of the public the opportunity to see it.
One last point: while Hamas is rightly proscribed in the UK as a terrorist organisation, Ayman Alyazouri is its agriculture minister, and This Writer is not convinced that guns and knives are the best tools for farming. It seems more likely to me that he would have them hammered into ploughshares, as the saying goes.
He might be a rabid murderer of innocents, for all I know – but his job title suggests otherwise and I think some people should hold off on their condemnatory judgments until they have some evidence to support them.
Meanwhile, a whistleblower at the BBC has claimed that the Corporation has direct instructions to safeguard Israel’s image:
Whistleblower reveals that the BBC has DIRECT instructions to safeguard Israel’s image.
Another “conspiracy” vindicated. pic.twitter.com/oz6ghgePD5
— ADAM (@AdameMedia) February 18, 2025
So if there is any bias, where do you think it lies – in whose favour?
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ahso the killing goes on