BBC Orders Staff To Complete Antisemitism Training Amid Mounting Criticism
The BBC is rolling out compulsory education programs on both antisemitism and Islamophobia, marking the first stage of a new internal push to address bias within the corporation.
Outgoing Director-General Tim Davie wrote to employees, saying, “The BBC is for everyone, and we are clear that everyone working here should feel they belong. As an organization we stand united against any form of discrimination, prejudice, or intolerance.” He emphasized that the antisemitism module is already active and that the Islamophobia component will go live in February, with a six-month deadline for completion. “I know that everyone will be committed to the training, ensuring the BBC is a role model as an inclusive and tolerant workplace,” he added.
The initiative comes only after months of internal pressure. Over 200 Jewish employees and contributors submitted a letter titled “Being Jewish and working at the BBC,” in which they warned that the broadcaster had become “a safe space to be Jewish” no longer. They later followed up, accusing executives of offering “words not action” after the Board allegedly failed to investigate claims of antisemitism.
Jewish communal leaders had also raised the alarm. The Board of Deputies of British Jews met with BBC Chair Samir Shah, Davie, and senior staff to discuss everything from antisemitism to persistent concerns about BBC Arabic and the network’s Middle East reporting. Board President Phil Rosenberg explained, “Over the last 18 months, the Board of Deputies’ engagement with the BBC has focused on the urgent need for change in both culture and content at the Corporation. We have always said that a key component of the cultural change required is a proper understanding of contemporary antisemitism, provided by credible organisations.”
Advocacy groups welcomed the new training, though many noted that it was long overdue. Danny Stone MBE of the Antisemitism Policy Trust stated, “Against a backdrop of rising antisemitism in the UK and across the globe, staff at our national broadcaster must understand how to spot and tackle anti-Jewish racism and support colleagues who face it. This training will assist in that effort.”
Dr. Dave Rich MBE from the Community Security Trust echoed that sentiment, remarking: “The BBC has faced serious challenges in its handling of antisemitism, but we have been encouraged by the open and collaborative way in which they have worked with CST, APT and their own Jewish staff to develop this important training.”
The network’s credibility has taken hit after hit over the past several years, especially regarding its coverage of Israel. The backlash intensified after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre, with critics pointing to a pattern of deeply flawed reporting. One notorious example came in November 2023, when the corporation apologized for wrongly alleging that IDF troops had deliberately targeted medical personnel at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital. Months earlier, the BBC had asserted—again incorrectly—that Israel caused a deadly hospital explosion later proven by the IDF to have been triggered by an Islamic Jihad rocket. The BBC ultimately acknowledged that “it was false to speculate” about the blast.
The problems didn’t stop there. Earlier this year, the broadcaster found itself under renewed scrutiny after discovering that a narrator in the BBC documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” was the son of a senior Hamas figure. Following widespread condemnation, the BBC conceded that the film contained “serious flaws.”
Amid the mounting controversies, Davie recently announced that he would step down, a decision that followed public outrage over an edited broadcast of President Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021 remarks. He will stay at the helm until his replacement is chosen.
{Matzav.com}
