Connect with us

RSS

Mass Protests Continue Outside BBC Headquarters as Corporation Faces Intense Scrutiny for Gaza Documentary

Protesters outside the BBC headquarters in London on March 6, 2025. Photo: Nathan Lilienfeld/Campaign Against Antisemitism

Demonstrators gathered outside the London headquarters of the BBC on Thursday for a second week in a row to protest the corporation after it admitted to making “serious flaws” in its documentary about Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

The protest outside Broadcasting House was organized by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and took place following the BBC’s acknowledgment that licensing fee payments for “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” were given to the family of a senior Hamas official. Protesters held placards that said, “BBC I Refuse to Fund Terrorists,” and also signs that featured a masked face of a Hamas terrorist with a green ban across his forehead that said “BBC” in the center.

A spokesperson for CAA said the BBC “has allowed license fee money to go to the family of a Hamas terrorist in the production of what was essentially a Hamas propaganda film.” The spokesperson also cited recent polling published by CAA, revealing that a majority of Brits support the call for an independent investigation into the BBC’s actions.

“The BBC is trying to pretend that it is business as usual while hoping to get away with an internal report, but the British public is having none of it and does not want the BBC to mark its own homework,” the spokesperson added. “That is why we want the license fee to be suspended pending an independent investigation into this scandal and the wider issue of the BBC’s glaring bias. It is unconscionable to force people to pay a license fee that pays for biased reporting and has now even been handed to the family of a terrorist.”

British broadcaster and comedian Josh Howie – who is a presenter on GB News and “Headliners,” the GB News late night show – spoke at last week’s protest outside BBC headquarters and announced that he will no longer pay the BBC license fee. He gave a speech at the protest this week as well, and others who spoke on stage included Jewish actress Dame Maureen Lipman; Natalie Sanandaji, who survived the Nova music festival massacre on Oct. 7, 2023; and Mark Birbeck, founder of Our Fight UK, which is a group of mostly non-Jews who combat antisemitic sentiments in Britain.

Mere days after it debuted in late February, the BBC pulled “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” from its iPlayer streaming platform after it was revealed that the film’s narrator, Palestinian teenager Abdullah Al-Yazouri, is the son of Dr. Ayman Al-Yazouri, the deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. It was also discovered that the family is related to Hamas founder Ibrahim Al-Yazouri.

The BBC explained that it was not aware of Abdullah’s ties to Hamas prior to filming the documentary. The corporation apologized and insisted that it asked Hoyo Films, the London-based independent production company that produced the documentary for the BBC, “a number of times” about “any potential connections [Abdullah] and his family might have with Hamas.”

“Since transmission, they [Hoyt Films] have acknowledged that they knew that the boy’s father was a deputy agriculture minister in the Hamas government; they have also acknowledged that they never told the BBC this fact,” the BBC said. “It was then the BBC’s own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.”

Hoyo Films told BBC it paid Abdullah’s family “a limited sum of money” for him narrating the film and deposited the money into his sister’s bank account. The Telegraph revealed this week that the family of the senior Hamas official was paid close to £790 ($856), which is equivalent to about a month’s salary in Gaza. An organization of pro-Israel lawyers in the UK has demanded that counter-terrorism police investigate the BBC and two producers from Hoyo Films for possible terrorism offenses, such as funding terrorism in violation of the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000.

On Tuesday, BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC Chair Dr Samir Shah spoke at a Culture, Media, and Sport Committee hearing in the UK Parliament about the scandal involving the documentary. “We will get to the bottom of this and take appropriate actions,” Shah said. “There’s a dagger to the heart of the BBC’s claim to be impartial and to be trustworthy. We need to restore trust in the BBC.” He also said that the “mechanics of the filmmaking itself” need to be investigated and that the BBC’s investigation into the matter will confirm whether or not money paid for the documentary was ultimately given to Hamas.

James Frith, Labour MP for Bury North, told Davie: “It’s fair to assume that if the family of a senior Hamas leader is paid, that that money goes into the orbit of Hamas.” He simply replied, “I’ve told you what I know.” Even amid the scrutiny, Davie told committee members that the BBC is “the most trusted brand in the world.”

In an interview with the Middle East Eye published this week, Abdullah said he and his family have been targeted with online harassment because of the scandal involving the documentary, his mental health is suffering as a result of the controversy, and he fears for his safety. He said he also holds the BBC “responsible” for anything that happens to him. He claimed that the only money he or his family received was for personal expenses related to his involvement in the film.

“In the contract that was signed between the production company … and my mother, there wasn’t any payment for me or my family,” he told the Middle East Eye. “However, I had $1,000 transferred to my sister’s account, which were for personal spendings, nothing else.”

The Telegraph discovered last week that Safia al-Yazouri, who is believed to be Abdullah’s sister, celebrated the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attacks across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. On the day of the massacre, she reportedly wrote on Facebook, “Amen O Lord,” and included an emoji of two hands clasped in gratitude and another emoji of a heart in the color green, which is seemingly a nod to the Hamas terrorist organization’s main color.

Safia has also voiced support for other attacks against Israel, according to The Telegraph. In May 2023, she reposted a message on social media that applauded a rocket attack on Tel Aviv that closed Israel’s main airport and added a heart emoji. She has also posted a picture depicting a map of the Gaza Strip next to a bullet.

The post Mass Protests Continue Outside BBC Headquarters as Corporation Faces Intense Scrutiny for Gaza Documentary first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Iran Criticizes Arab-Islamic Summit Statement, Flags Objections After Doha Meeting

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, attends the emergency Arab-Islamic leaders’ summit in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: Hassan Bargash Al Menhali / UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERS

Iran has criticized the final statement of the Arab-Islamic Summit held in Doha on Monday as insufficient, in the wake of last week’s Israeli attack targeting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Qatar.

In a statement released shortly after the summit, Iran reaffirmed its “unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination,” while arguing that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot adequately address the Palestinian issue.

According to the Iranian delegation, “the only real and lasting solution is the establishment of a single democratic state across all of Palestine, through a referendum involving all Palestinians inside and outside the occupied territories.”

On Monday, Qatar held a summit of Arab and Islamic nations in the aftermath of last week’s Israeli strike on Hamas, with leaders gathering to express support and discuss regional responses.

The Sept. 9 strike targeting leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group in Doha marked a significant escalation of Israeli military operations, reflecting Jerusalem’s broader efforts to dismantle the terrorist group amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Expressing solidarity with Qatar, summit leaders condemned Israel’s strike, labeling it “cowardly, illegal, and a threat to collective regional security.”

In the final statement, the heads of state declared that “an assault on a state acting as a neutral mediator in the Gaza crisis is not only a hostile act against Qatar but also a direct blow to international peace-building efforts.”

Alongside the United States and other regional powers, Qatar has served as a ceasefire mediator during the nearly two-year Gaza conflict, facilitating indirect negotiations between the Jewish state and Hamas.

However, Doha has also backed the Palestinian terrorist group for years, providing Hamas with money and diplomatic support while hosting and sheltering its top leadership.

During the summit, Arab and Muslim leaders called for a review of diplomatic and economic relations with Israel while firmly opposing any attempts to displace Palestinians.

In the final statement, the heads of state also emphasized resisting Israel’s efforts to “impose new realities on the ground,” urged enforcement of International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants for Israeli leaders over war crime allegations adamantly denied by Jerusalem, and coordinated actions to suspend Israel’s UN membership.

Although Iran participated in the summit and endorsed the declaration, its delegation issued a separate statement shortly afterward clarifying that doing so “must in no way be interpreted, explicitly or implicitly, as recognition of the Israeli regime,” reaffirming its rejection of the Jewish state’s right to exist.

Iranian leaders regularly declare their intention to destroy Israel, the world’s lone Jewish state.

The statement also stressed that the Palestinian people have the right to employ “all necessary means to achieve their inalienable right to self-determination,” emphasizing that backing this cause is “a shared duty of the international community.”

As the heads of Arab and Islamic states convened for a summit on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned he did not rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders “wherever they are.”

During a diplomatic visit to Israel, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed strong support for Israel’s position, even as Washington previously voiced concerns over the strike in Qatar, a US ally.

Speaking alongside Netanyahu, Rubio said the only way to end the war in Gaza would be for Hamas to free all hostages and surrender. While the US wants a diplomatic end to the war, “we have to be prepared for the possibility that’s not going to happen,” he said.

Continue Reading

RSS

“Your Name Was Included”: UC Berkeley Cooperating With Trump Administration, Admits to Disclosing Names

Students attend a protest encampment in support of Palestinians at University of California, Berkeley during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Berkeley, US, April 23, 2024. Photo: Carlos Barria via Reuters Connect

The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is cooperating with the Trump administration’s inquiry into campus antisemitism, providing materials containing the names of some 160 people identified in disciplinary reports and other official documents.

As first reported by The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s official campus newspaper, the university’s Office of Legal Affairs notified every person affected by the mass disclosure, writing to them on Sept. 4.

“Last spring, the [US Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR]] initiated investigations regarding allegations of antisemitic harassment and discrimination at UC Berkeley. As part of its investigation, OCR required production of comprehensive documents, including files and reports related to alleged antisemitic incidents,” chief campus counsel David Robinson wrote. “This notice is to inform you that, as required by law and as per directions provided by the UC systemic Office of General Counsel, your name was included in report as part of the documents provided by OGC [Office of General Counsel] to OCR for its investigations on Aug. 18, 2025.”

He added, “These documents contained information about reports or responses related to antisemitic incidents.”

Anti-Israel activists told the Californian that the university is helping the Trump administration hunt witches.

“I think the message was sent to anybody has who has ever been accused of antisemitism, which of course, includes a lot of Palestinians,” one said, claiming that he has been falsely accused. “Whenever we teach about Palestine, it usually leads to an investigation. I think they flagged and sent all of that information to the federal government.”

Students for Justice in Palestine, infamous for its ties to jihadist terror organizations, also criticized the move, charging that the administration had promised to conceal their identities and thereby obstruct the government’s inquiry.

“Chancellor Rich Lyons should not have given assurances that he wouldn’t be giving our information to the federal government,” the group said. “Beyond that, he should never have bowed down so easily. I would think that a university that prides itself on being this liberal haven would at least stand up to a fascist like Donald Trump.”

UC Berkeley came under scrutiny in 2024 after a mob of hundreds of pro-Palestinian students and non-students shut down an event at its Zellerbach Hall featuring Israeli reservist Ran Bar-Yoshafat, forcing Jewish students to flee to a secret safe room as the protesters overwhelmed campus police.

Footage of the incident showed a frenzied mass of anti-Zionist agitators banging on the doors of Zellerbach. The mob then, according to witnesses, eventually stormed the building — breaking windows in the process, according to reports in The Daily Wire — and precipitated the decision to evacuate the area. During the infiltration of Zellerbach, one of the mob — assembled by Bears for Palestine, which had earlier proclaimed its intention to cancel the event — spit on a Jewish student and called him a “Jew,” pejoratively.

Other incidents, including the university’s employment of a lecturer who tweeted antisemitic images — one of which accused Israel of organ harvesting, a blood libel — the rewarding of academic benefits for participating in anti-Zionist activity, and the banning of Zionist speakers from Berkeley Law, have raised concerns about anti-Jewish hated on campus. In 2017, The Algemeiner ranked UC Berkeley as number five on “The 40 Worst Colleges for Jewish Students.”

In August, an Israeli professor sued the university, alleging that school officials denied her a job because she is Israeli — a claim its own investigators corroborated in an internal investigation, according to her attorneys at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.

Filed in the Alameda County Superior Court, the complaint is seeking justice for Dr. Yael Nativ, who taught in UC Berkeley’s Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies as a visiting professor in 2022 and received an invitation to apply to do so again for the 2024-2025 academic year just weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel.

A hiring official allegedly believed, however, that an Israeli professor in the department would be unpalatable to students and faculty.

“My dept [sic] cannot host you for a class next fall,” the official allegedly told Nativ in a WhatsApp message. “Things are very hot here right now and many of our grad students are angry. I would be putting the dept and you in a terrible position if you taught here.”

Berkeley’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) later initiated an investigation of Nativ’s denial after the professor wrote an opinion essay which publicly accused the school of cowardice and violations of her civil rights. OPHD determined that a “preponderance of evidence” proved Nativ’s claim, but school officials went on to ignore the professor’s requests for an apology and other remedial measures, including sending her a renewed invitation to teach dance. After nearly two years, the situation remains unresolved.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

Continue Reading

RSS

Israel Issues Travel Warning Ahead of Jewish Holidays Amid Rising Attacks, Discrimination Targeting Israelis Abroad

A flag is flown during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, outside the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, Nov. 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

Israel has issued a travel warning ahead of the upcoming Jewish high holidays and the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, atrocities, alerting citizens of heightened terrorist threats against Israelis and Jewish communities abroad.

On Sunday, the National Security Council (NSC) urged travelers to stay alert, cautioning that the two-year anniversary of the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel could trigger attacks by Iran-backed or Hamas-linked terrorist groups targeting Jews and Israelis abroad.

“The recent period has been characterized by continued efforts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets by the various terrorist organizations (most of them led by Iran and Hamas),” the NSC said in a statement.

“Oct. 7 may again serve as a significant date for terrorist organizations,” the statement read.

Israeli officials warned that the threat mainly stems from Iran and its terrorist proxies, which have increasingly targeted Jews and Israelis beyond Israel’s borders.

In recent months, the NSC reported that dozens of plots have been thwarted, even as violent incidents — including physical attacks, antisemitic threats, and online incitement — have continued to rise.

“With the war ongoing and the terror threat growing, we are witnessing an escalation in antisemitic violence and provocations by anti-Israel elements,” the NSC said in its statement.

“This trend may inspire extremists to carry out attacks against Israelis or Jews abroad,” it continued.

According to the NSC, Iran remains the leading source of terrorism against Israelis and Jews worldwide, acting both directly and through proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

“Iranian motivation is growing in light of the severe blows it suffered in the framework of ‘Operation Rising Lion’ and the growing desire for revenge,” the NSC said in a statement, referring to the 12-day war with Israel in June.

Amid rising tensions over the war in Gaza, Israeli officials have previously warned of Iranian sleeper cells — covert operatives or terrorists embedded in rival countries who remain dormant until they receive orders to act and carry out attacks.

In light of this reality, the NSC also warned that social media posts revealing ties to Israeli security services could put individuals at risk of being targeted.

“We advise against posting any content that suggests involvement in the security services or operational activities, including real-time location updates,” the statement read.

This latest updated warning comes amid a growing hostile environment and a shocking surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes targeting Jews and Israelis worldwide.

Across Europe, Israelis are facing a disturbing surge of targeted attacks and hostility, as a wave of antisemitic incidents — from violent assaults and vandalism to protests and legal actions — spreads amid rising tensions following recent conflicts in the Middle East.

On Saturday, a 29-year-old Israeli and his sister were attacked by three Palestinian men while on vacation in Athens, Greece.

According to local media reports, the two siblings were walking through the city’s center when three unknown individuals carrying Palestinian flags approached them, shouting antisemitic slurs.

The attackers assaulted the Israeli man, a disabled Israel Defense Forces (IDF) veteran, scratching him, throwing him to the ground, and striking him with their flagpoles, while his sister attempted to intervene and protect him.

Greek authorities arrested all five individuals involved in the incident. According to the Israeli man’s father, his son was placed in a cell with 10 Arabs, where he was reportedly beaten again and feared for his life.

In a separate antisemitic incident earlier this year, a group of Israeli teenagers was physically assaulted by dozens of pro-Palestinian assailants — some reportedly armed with knives — on the Greek island of Rhodes.

After leaving a nightclub, the teens were followed to their hotel, where they were violently assaulted, leaving several with minor injuries.

In another example of rising anti-Israel sentiment and hostility toward Jewish communities, one of Britain’s most prestigious military academies, the Royal College of Defense Studies, announced Sunday that it will bar Israeli students from enrolling next year, citing concerns over the war in Gaza.

In Belgium, two IDF soldiers attending the Tomorrowland music festival were arrested and interrogated by local authorities following a complaint from the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), an anti-Israel legal group that pursues legal action against IDF personnel, accusing them of involvement in war crimes.

According to HRF, the soldiers were seen waving the flags of the IDF’s Givati Brigade, which they claimed has been “involved in the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and in carrying out mass atrocities against the Palestinian population.”

In France, a 34-year-old Algerian man was sentenced to 40 months in prison for threatening passengers with a knife and making antisemitic death threats after boarding a train at Cannes station.

In another incident earlier this year, a Jewish man wearing a kippah was brutally attacked and called a “dirty Jew” in Anduze, a small town in southern France.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News