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BBC Criticized for Hiring New Boss From Canada Who Previously Said Not to Call Hamas ‘Terrorists’
The BBC logo is seen at the entrance at Broadcasting House, the BBC headquarters in central London. Photo by Vuk Valcic / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has come under fire for hiring George Achi in a senior position after he previously instructed journalists at Canada’s state broadcaster not to refer to members of the internationally designated terrorist organization Hamas as “terrorists.”
The BBC Press Office announced on Monday on its LinkedIn page that Achi is the new head of editorial quality and compliance for BBC World Service. He is currently director of journalistic standards at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC); previously worked as a reporter in Beirut, Caracas, and Ottawa; and was an editor at Montreal’s La Presse and at the Toronto Star. Later this year he will start his new position at BBC World Service, which serves a weekly audience of 320 million people around the world in 42 languages.
The post BBC Criticized for Hiring New Boss From Canada Who Previously Said Not to Call Hamas ‘Terrorists’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Algemeiner ‘J100’ Gala Honors Philanthropists David and Debra Magerman
David and Debra Magerman being honored at The Algemeiner’s 11th annual “J100” gala in New York City on Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
At The Algemeiner‘s 11th annual “J100” gala on Tuesday night, philanthropists David and Debra Magerman appeared as honorees.
After expressing appreciation to The Algemeiner‘s leaders, David said, “I also what to thank my wife, Debra. Her support for me, through all aspects of my life, enabled me to do all the things that I do. She is an equal partner in the merit of all the projects we do to support Torah education in Israel. But most of all I want to thank God. God is the source of all blessing. Baruch Hashem. Round of applause for Hashem, thank you!”
David said that one thing he had learned was “how much God runs the world and how much we are living through the realization of his plan.”
Recalling visiting Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 during Sukkot, David said that, afterward, “as we were flying back to America, I deeply regretted leaving. I had to get my kids back to America and I didn’t expect any of us to be particularly useful to Israel as the attack became a war. Frankly, being there we were a liability. But on the flight back to America, I booked my return trip to Israel and I committed myself to figuring out how I could be useful.”
David spoke about how the anti-Israel animus at the University of Pennsylvania inspired him to cease donations. “I called them out for revealing their true nature,” he said. “They were actively supporting evil and proving time and again that through that support they were showing their true selves. You can’t change your essence. I started a movement to push donors and students away from schools like Penn and that effort has led to a growing number of students and families considering college in Israel.”
The post Algemeiner ‘J100’ Gala Honors Philanthropists David and Debra Magerman first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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The Algemeiner’s CEO Dovid Cohen: ‘I Feel a Tremendous Sense of Responsibility to Stand Up, Be Heard’
The Algemeiner’s CEO Dovid Cohen speaking at The Algemeiner’s 11th annual “J100” gala in New York City on Jan. 14, 2025: Photo: FotoBuddy
At The Algemeiner‘s 11th annual “J100” gala on Tuesday night, the publication’s new chief executive, Dovid Cohen, expressed appreciation for the “warmth and support enveloped by all of you as I assume my new task as CEO of The Algemeiner.”
Cohen recalled The Algemeiner‘s founding on Feb. 25, 1972 as a weekly Yiddish newspaper that cost $0.25 with an initial edition that sold out.
“Very few things in life are cheaper today than they were 52 years ago. But The Algemeiner today is actually less expensive than that first edition,” Cohen said. “The Algemeiner went from Yiddish to English, from print to online, from a weekly to a daily.”
After describing his background in law, spirituality, writing, and podcasting, Cohen said, “We have a very solid foundation to build upon to take our work to an entirely new level of engagement.”
Noting the longtime refrain among Islamists characterizing Israel as the “little Satan” and the United States as “the big Satan,” Cohen expressed fear for the absence of moral clarity in American media and college campuses.
“I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to stand up and to be heard and to be sure that voices of clarity prevail over the voices of falsehood that we perpetually hear in the media,” Cohen said.
The post The Algemeiner’s CEO Dovid Cohen: ‘I Feel a Tremendous Sense of Responsibility to Stand Up, Be Heard’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Bari Weiss Calls Douglas Murray a ‘Warrior in a Profoundly Important Battle’ at Algemeiner Gala
Free Press founder and editor Bari Weiss speaking at The Algemeiner’s 11th annual “J100” gala in New York City on Jan. 15, 2024. Photo: FotoBuddy
At The Algemeiner‘s 11th annual “J100” gala on Tuesday night, Free Press founder and editor Bari Weiss introduced author Douglas Murray, one of the evening’s honorees.
Recalling the phenomenon of girls adulating Elvis Presley and even fainting during his performances, Weiss said she “didn’t understand that kind of fever; then I walked alongside Douglas Murray in Tel Aviv. At a certain point I wondered if the Israelis crying, hugging him, thanking him, knew something I didn’t. Was this British-born, Eaton-educated gentile actually a descendant of King David himself? Forget Elvis — his was the sort of welcome normally reserved for war heroes. And in a sense that is exactly what Douglas Murray is.”
Weiss stated that Murray “is a warrior in a profoundly important battle and one that has been invoked many times already tonight. And that is the battle for truth against lies in this unending war for this thing we call the West. It is a war of ideas, of conviction, and of will necessary to keep not just this republic, but our civilization.”
The post Bari Weiss Calls Douglas Murray a ‘Warrior in a Profoundly Important Battle’ at Algemeiner Gala first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
“In his new role, he’ll work closely with the BBC World Service leadership team, ensuring the highest editorial standards are maintained at the international broadcaster,” the BBC Press Office said in its announcement.
“At this point, it seems that the BBC is completely unashamed of its editorial bias,” said the British volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) in a statement to The Algemeiner. “It is bewildering that, despite repeated calls for the broadcaster to call Hamas what it is — an antisemitic, genocidal terror group — the corporation has decided to double down and appoint someone who appears to have actively directed journalists not to describe terrorists in legally accurate terms. The fact that George Achi will be the Head of Editorial Quality and Compliance for the BBC World Service is pretty ironic and raises yet more questions for the BBC.”
In October 2023, shortly after the Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel — in which 1,200 people were murdered and 251 were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip — a memo leaked online showed that Achi told journalists at CBC to avoid referring to Hamas as a terrorist organization. He said in the memo, sent to CBC staff members, that referring to members of Hamas as “terrorists” is a matter of opinion and not fact. He made the comment even though Hamas is a designated terrorist organization in Canada — among several other countries — and after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referred to Hamas as a terrorist organization when condemning the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel.
“Do not refer to militants, soldiers or anyone else as ‘terrorists,’” read the memo written by Achi. “The notion of terrorism remains heavily politicized and is part of the story. Even when quoting/clipping a government or a source referring to fighters as ‘terrorists,’ we should add context to ensure the audience understands this is opinion, not fact. That includes statements from the Canadian government and Canadian politicians. Please use fact-checked language, avoid loaded qualifiers, and anything that sounds like opinion. The story, with its content, speaks for itself.”
After the memo was leaked online, conservatives in Canada called for CBC to be investigated.
The CBC responded at the time by claiming the leaked memo was taken out of context. “We have since been asked multiple times why CBC News would ‘ban’ the use of the word ‘terrorist.’’The answer is clear: we most certainly do not ban it,” said CBC News editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon. “But CBC News does not itself designate specific groups as terrorists, or specific acts as terrorism, regardless of the region or the events, because these words are so loaded with meaning, politics, and emotion that they can end up being impediments to our journalism.”
The BBC was also criticized for repeatedly not labeling members of Hamas as “terrorists” in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre. A reporter who quit his job at the public service broadcaster for that reason said, “The BBC’s refusal to use the correct terminology is unjustified.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the BBC for “its atrocious refusal to brand Hamas as a terrorist group.”