The row over the BBC‘s Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone documentary has just deepened.
Five hundred people from the entertainment world, including Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, Riz Ahmed, Ken Loach, Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett, and Game of Thrones actor Indira Varma, have put their names to a letter to BBC bosses calling on the corporation to “stop censorship on Palestine.”
The letter comes after the BBC removed from iPlayer the doc after it emerged that it was narrated by the son of a Hamas minister, information that the BBC said the doc’s producers failed to relay. The letter, which was also signed by actors Khalid Abdalla, India Amarteifio, Miriam Margolyes, Ruth Negga, and Juliet Stevenson, did not deny the narrator’s links to Hamas but said his father, Dr Ayman Al-Yazouri, served as Gaza’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, a “civil service role concerned with food production.”
“Conflating such governance roles in Gaza with terrorism is both factually incorrect and dehumanising,” read the letter, which can be viewed in full below. “This broad-brush rhetoric assumes that Palestinians holding administrative roles are inherently complicit in violence — a racist trope that denies individuals their humanity and right to share their lived experiences.”
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Sent to BBC Chair Samir Shah, Director General Tim Davie and content boss Charlotte Moore, the letter is titled ‘UK Media Industry to BBC: Stop Censorship on Palestine’ and has been signed by 500 industry figures. It calls How to Survive a Warzone “an essential piece of journalism, offering an all-too-rare perspective on the lived experiences of Palestinian children living in unimaginable circumstances, which amplifies voices so often silenced.”
The letter goes on to say that “calls to remove the documentary from iPlayer and social media set a dangerous precedent.” “As media professionals, we are extremely alarmed by the intervention of political actors, including foreign diplomats, and what this means for the future of broadcasting in this country,” it added. “If every documentary made in conflict zones were subjected to this level of politicised scrutiny regarding contributors, filmmaking in these areas would become virtually impossible.”
According to the letter, capitulating to such attempts to remove it from iPlayer signals that Palestinian children’s stories are only valid if their families pass arbitrary “purity tests,” that “racialised smears against Palestinians outweigh journalistic ethics and public interest” and that independent filmmakers can be “scapegoated and censored for political purposes.”
Lineker’s signature is a big one. The outgoing Match of the Day host, who is the BBC’s top-paid presenter, caused an enormous furor two years ago when he tweeted comparing the government’s immigration policy to 1930s Germany. The subsequent fallout led to the BBC’s social media rules being redrawn for flagship content presenters.
Lineker will believe that signing the letter falls within these rules, despite it being critical of his employer on a sensitive political matter. The rules state that presenters are “free to express opinions about the issues that matter to you,” but should not “take up an official role in campaigning groups.” The letter, which contains 12 anonymous signatures from BBC employees, was partly coordinated by The Britain Palestine Media Centre.
The BBC announced in November that Lineker will leave Match of the Day at the end of the current Premier League season. He will continue to present for the BBC until the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including hosting live FA Cup coverage.
We understand the BBC Board is due to meet on Thursday and How to Survive a Warzone will be on the agenda.
‘Gaza: How to Survive A War Zone‘ Letter In Full
Dear Samir Shah, Tim Davie and Charlotte Moore,
We are UK-based film & TV professionals and journalists writing in support of the BBC documentary Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, which aired on February 17 on BBC TWO and was subsequently made available on iPlayer. This film is an essential piece of journalism, offering an all-too-rare perspective on the lived experiences of Palestinian children living in unimaginable circumstances, which amplifies voices so often silenced. It deserves recognition, not politically motivated censorship.
Racist Assumptions & Weaponisation of Identity
A campaign has sought to discredit the documentary using the father of 14-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri, one of the film’s child protagonists. Dr Ayman Al-Yazouri served as Gaza’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, a civil service role concerned with food production. Conflating such governance roles in Gaza with terrorism is both factually incorrect and dehumanising. This broad-brush rhetoric assumes that Palestinians holding administrative roles are inherently complicit in violence—a racist trope that denies individuals their humanity and right to share their lived experiences.
As industry professionals who craft stories for the British public, including for the BBC, we condemn the weaponisation of a child’s identity and the racist insinuation that Palestinian narratives must be scrutinised through a lens of suspicion. We urge you to reject these tactics, protect vulnerable voices, and reaffirm your commitment to stories that hold power to account. Our screens and our society depend on it.
Child Safeguarding & Ethical Standards
The letters of complaint disregard core safeguarding principles by demanding intrusive scrutiny of Abdullah’s background. Children must not be held responsible for the actions of adults, and weaponising family associations to discredit a child’s testimony is both unethical and dangerous. The BBC’s duty of care to Abdullah, and all minors in conflict zones, must prioritise their safety, privacy, and dignity. Publishing unverified claims about his family risks exposing him to harassment or harm, in direct violation of the BBC’s International Safeguarding Policy.
Beneath this political football are children who are in the most dire circumstances of their young lives. This is what must remain at the heart of this discussion. As programme-makers, we are extremely alarmed by the intervention of partisan political actors on this issue, and what this means for the future of broadcasting in this country.
The BBC’s Responsibility
We call on you to reject attempts to have the documentary permanently removed or subjected to undue disavowals. Capitulating to such attempts to block its reinstatement on iPlayer would signal that:
- Palestinian children’s stories are only valid if their families pass arbitrary “purity tests.”
- Racialised smears against Palestinians outweigh journalistic ethics and public interest.
- Independent filmmakers can be scapegoated and censored for political purposes.
The BBC is ultimately responsible for ensuring its programming meets editorial and compliance standards. Jamie Roberts and Yousef Hammash, of Hoyo Films, are experienced journalistic filmmakers who prioritised the safety of their contributors and production team.
Censorship & Intimidation
Calls to remove the documentary from iPlayer and social media set a dangerous precedent. As media professionals, we are extremely alarmed by the intervention of political actors, including foreign diplomats, and what this means for the future of broadcasting in this country.
If every documentary made in conflict zones were subjected to this level of politicised scrutiny regarding contributors, filmmaking in these areas would become virtually impossible.
Silencing a child’s firsthand account of survival in Gaza, where over 13,000 children have been killed since October 2023, is not about compliance but about erasing Palestinian suffering. The BBC must resist political pressure aimed at suppressing narratives that humanise Palestinians.
A broadcaster cannot allow bad-faith attacks to dictate its editorial decisions. Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone is an important, well-executed documentary that license-fee payers have the right to watch. The BBC should stand by it with confidence.
Yours sincerely,
The post Gary Lineker, Riz Ahmed, Ken Loach Join Hundreds In Signing Open Letter Condemning BBC “Censorship On Palestine” As Gaza Documentary Row Deepens appeared first on Deadline.
