The BBC’s Arabic channel has been criticised after its YouTube channel asked viewers whether the killing of a 79-year-old Jewish woman by Hamas gunmen was “terrorism” or “resistance”.
A caption shown during an item discussing an attack by Hamas on the village of Ra’anana in Israel, which killed Edna Bluestein, posed the question: “How do you view this kind of operation, terrorism or resistance?”
The attack on Ra’anana, for which Hamas claimed responsibility, resulted in more than a dozen other people being injured. Some were stabbed, with others run over by vehicles.
Under the heading “What impact did the Ra’anana attack have on the Israeli scene and the course of the Gaza war: Point of discussion”, the caption accompanying BBC Arabic’s YouTube report on the attack stated: “Does resorting to running overs and stabbing reflect despair at the possibility of putting an end to the war on Gaza and the suffering of Palestinians in the West Bank? How do you view such an operation, terrorism or resistance? How do you expect the Israeli response?”
Critics say the way the debate was framed suggests the BBC considers it legitimate to describe Hamas gunmen as resistance fighters.
They say the tone of the report, broadcast on Jan 17 this year, was another example of the broadcaster being reluctant to describe the organisation, which runs the Gaza strip authority and was behind the attack on Jewish villages on October 7 which led to more than 1,300 deaths, as a terror group.
A spokesman for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) – which lobbies for a fair representation of Israel – said: “The fact that BBC Arabic’s YouTube channel asks its viewers whether the murder of a 79-year-old woman is ‘terrorism or resistance’ is in line with the BBC’s general insistence on avoiding the word ‘terrorism’ in relation to any attack on Israeli civilians, including the atrocities of October 7.
“This reflects the Arabic service’s inability to distinguish between content that may fall within legitimate discussion on a publicly-funded platform and that which does not.”
The row came as it emerged that many anti-Semitic comments posted on BBC Arabic’s YouTube channel appear to have been left unmoderated.
One BBC Arabic YouTube report about the October 7 attacks had 125,968 views, with 405 comments left by viewers – the vast majority of them offensive and violent towards Jews and Israelis, including one telling Jews that “your country is in Eastern Europe” and that Jewish homes attacked by Hamas had been “stolen from Palestinians”.
Another item, a hospital bed interview with a young Israeli woman who survived the October 7 attacks, was viewed 70,468 times and has attracted 376 comments to date, many of them offensive and violent, such as “crocodile tears” and “it is not your country”.
One comment, left by a viewer using the name muhammadali3346 in response to the interview, states: “Enjoy your stay while it lasts or while you draw breath, your reckoning is at hand, and man will it be a sight to burn in memories. You are in for the let down of your life.”
A BBC Arabic report broadcast on YouTube on March 21 about Israelis refusing to leave their homes despite gun battles raging in their town attracted comments such as “it is really funny” and “leave our country and go”.
Following complaints by Camera about comments left on a BBC report on its Facebook and YouTube platforms about fires in northern Israel in January, the BBC deleted a number of offensive comments from its Facebook page and blocked further comments.
However, other offensive comments left under the same item on the YouTube channel did not appear to have been edited or deleted, including one which states: “They were burning forests in the world and it was their turn, glory be to God”, left by saramorie7971.
‘Violent comments’
Camera said: “BBC Arabic has failed to moderate a disproportionately high number of offensive and violent comments on other videos featuring the stories of Israeli victims.
“Much of the ‘conflict-related’ online discourse in Arabic in general is infected with bigotry and hatred towards Jews which social media platforms should restrict rather than galvanise with inappropriate and incendiary questions. BBC Arabic’s approach towards the entire issue is flawed from the start.”
A BBC spokesman said: “BBC News Arabic reflects debates taking place across the Middle East including on polarising and sensitive subject matters around the Israel-Gaza war. As part of this reporting, we invite a wide variety of contributors to provide differing perspectives and routinely question views on air. BBC News Arabic output is subject to the same Editorial Guidelines as the rest of BBC News and takes its commitment to impartiality incredibly seriously.
“We always look to remove any offensive comments on YouTube as soon as possible. Like many other media companies including The Daily Telegraph, we face issues with comment moderation on social media sites. Although we deploy filtering software, this doesn’t always identify problems, so much of our moderation is manual. With millions of followers, we have not always been able to remove offensive comments as quickly as we would like. If they are brought to our attention, we will take action.”
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