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The BBC Is Letting an Anti-Israel Journalist Report on Lebanon
Khiam, Lebanon, October 20, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Back in July 2016, we discussed two items of BBC content — audio and written — which were produced by the Beirut-based BBC journalist Rami Ruhayem to mark the 10h anniversary of the Second Lebanon War.
As we noted at the time:
…if conflict between Israel and Hizballah did break out again, BBC audiences would obviously be seriously lacking the background information crucial to their understanding of that event because reports like these two from Rami Ruhayem fail to provide them with information concerning relevant issues such as the failure of UN SC resolution 1701 to achieve its aims, the rearming of Hizballah and its use of communities in southern Lebanon as human shields and Iran’s patronage of the terror organisation which the BBC refuses even to describe in accurate terminology.
Two and a half weeks after Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel and perpetrated unprecedented atrocities, Rami Ruhayem wrote an email to the BBC Director General, Tim Davie, which opened as follows:
Dear Tim,
I am writing to raise the gravest possible concerns about the coverage of the BBC, especially on English outlets, of the current fighting between Israel and Palestinian factions.
It appears to me that information that is highly significant and relevant is either entirely missing or not being given due prominence in coverage.
This includes expert opinion that Israel’s actions could amount to genocide, evidence in support of that opinion, and historical context without which the public cannot form a basic understanding of the unfolding events.
There are also indications that the BBC is—implicitly at least—treating Israeli lives as more worthy than Palestinian lives, and reinforcing Israeli war propaganda.
As was reported at the time by the Jewish Chronicle:
A BBC correspondent has emailed staff across the corporation to argue that they should be using the terms “settler-colonialism” and “ethnic cleansing” in their coverage of Israel.
The letter, which has been shared widely with the broadcaster’s international staff, claims that the broadcaster may be “reinforcing Israeli propaganda meant to dehumanise the Palestinians” as the Jewish state commits “genocide”. […]
He wrote: “There is a lot more to be said, but these are the broad headlines. This is not about mistakes here and there, or even about systemic bias in favour of Israel. The question now is a question of complicity. It is a matter of public interest to rectify this with the utmost urgency.”
The corporation should use the terms “apartheid, ethnic cleansing and settler-colonialism” in its reporting, he added, and warned of a “flood of incitement” against Palestinians.
The theme of “complicity” also appears in Ruhayem’s pinned Tweet: a twelve-part post that he wrote just 10 days after the Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians.
On May 1, 2024, Rami Ruhayem wrote a follow-up email to the BBC Director General, which included the following:
There is a growing body of evidence indicating that the BBC may have been withholding vital information from the public, contributing to incitement against Palestinians, and spreading and reinforcing Israeli war propaganda.
As was the case in both his 2016 reports, Ruhayem also mentioned the “Dahiya doctrine” in that second email:
Another crucial piece of context for our purpose is the so-called Dahiya Doctrine, an Israeli military doctrine that was articulated in the wake of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, and put into practice later in Gaza. In the words of Gadi Eisenkot, at the time head of the Israeli Northern Command and currently a member of the war cabinet:
What happened in the Dahiya quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on. . . . We will apply disproportionate force on it and cause great damage and destruction there. From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases. . . . This is not a recommendation. This is a plan. And it has been approved.”
A report which was published on the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page on November 7, 2024, includes the following:
During the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, Israel flattened neighbourhoods in Dahieh, and two years later, revealed a military strategy drawn from that experience – what came to be known as the Dahieh Doctrine.
It was first articulated by then-Maj Gen Gadi Eizenkot in 2008 when he was head of the Israeli military’s Northern Command. This doctrine – as it came to be known – called for applying “disproportionate force” against civilian areas where Israel believes it is attacked from, with the goal of pressuring the people of Lebanon to turn on Hezbollah to undermine support for it.
‘From our perspective, these are military bases…,” he said at the time. “Harming the population is the only means of restraining [Hassan] Nasrallah,” he said, referring to the then-leader of Hezbollah. Nasrallah was killed in an air strike in Dahieh in September 2024.
Readers will probably not be surprised to learn that the report in question — headlined “What is Israel’s strategy in targeting Hezbollah’s civilian network?” — was written by Rami Ruhayem.
Ruhayem opens that report with descriptions of the pre-announced Israeli strikes conducted in October against an organisation involved in Hezbollah terror financing. As was reported by the Times of Israel at the time: [emphasis added]
Most of the strikes targeted branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, an unlicensed gray-market bank seen as one of the group’s main sources of cash. […]
Al-Qard al-Hassan, which is sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, including 15 in densely populated parts of central Beirut and its suburbs.
In May 2021 the US Treasury Department described Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH – founded in the early 1980s) as Heznollah’s “financial firm,” stating:
While AQAH purports to serve the Lebanese people, in practice it illicitly moves funds through shell accounts and facilitators, exposing Lebanese financial institutions to possible sanctions. AQAH masquerades as a non-governmental organization (NGO) under the cover of a Ministry of Interior-granted NGO license, providing services characteristic of a bank in support of Hizballah while evading proper licensing and regulatory supervision. By hoarding hard currency that is desperately needed by the Lebanese economy, AQAH allows Hizballah to build its own support base and compromise the stability of the Lebanese state. AQAH has taken on a more prominent role in Hizballah’s financial infrastructure over the years, and designated Hizballah-linked entities and individuals have evaded sanctions and maintained bank accounts by re-registering them in the names of senior AQAH officials, including under the names of certain individuals being designated today.
In December 2020, AQAH was hacked and as was noted by FDD:
The hacked documents show that among the AQAH account holders are established and alleged Hezbollah money launderers and financiers with extensive business interests, especially in Africa.
Rami Ruhayem’s description of that organisation, however, tells BBC audiences that:
Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association (AQAH), a charity that offers interest-free microloans, had grown in prominence over the past decade amid US sanctions and the collapse of Lebanon’s banking sector. […]
Israel says AQAH finances Hezbollah’s military activities – a claim denied by the group, which says it has no role beyond offering small, interest-free loans to ordinary Lebanese, in line with Islamic law’s prohibition on charging interest.
Ruhayem’s journalistic curiosity clearly does not extend to finding out why AQAH’s account holders include Iranian organizations, companies and media organisations, as well as the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Such investigative journalism would of course only distract from the main purpose of his article, which is to persuade BBC audiences that Hezbollah’s social system has nothing to do with its military activities and therefore any attacks on elements of that system are illegal:
From an international humanitarian law perspective, experts say AQAH is not a lawful military target regardless of Israel’s claims that it plays a role in financing Hezbollah.
“International humanitarian law does not permit attacks on the economic or financial infrastructure of an adversary, even if they indirectly sustain its military activities,” according to Ben Saul, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism.
Mr Saul said the bombing “obliterates the distinction between civilian objects and military objectives” and “opens the door to ‘total war’ against civilian populations”.
Ruhayem, of course, refrains from informing his readers that the supposedly impartial “expert” Ben Saul has a long record of anti-Israel activism, or that since February, Saul been campaigning to prevent arms exports to Israel.
Neither did Ruhayem bother to clarify that his other “expert” contributor — Amal Saad — is a long-time Hezbollah apologist.
Rami Ruhayem’s efforts to persuade BBC audiences that “Israel is targeting the civilian population that is supportive of Hezbollah” and “striking that population in areas far removed from combat” should surprise no-one. Ruhayem, after all, publicly made his partisan position perfectly clear over a year ago and has repeated it since.
What should raise questions is the fact that despite Ruhayem’s openly anti-Israel position, his BBC managers — who are supposedly committed to the provision accurate and impartial news reporting — have twice in a period of three weeks considered it appropriate to publish his claims of “parallels between Israel’s onslaught in Lebanon and its year-long military campaign in Gaza” and his promotion of the talking point that the “civilian network” of a designated terrorist organisation is uninvolved in the conflict that organisation chose to initiate.
Hadar Sela is the co-editor of CAMERA UK — an affiliate of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), where a version of this article first appeared.
The post The BBC Is Letting an Anti-Israel Journalist Report on Lebanon first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Three-Quarters of Jewish Students Worldwide Report Concealing Religious Identity on Campus, New Survey Finds
College students hold dueling demonstrations amid Israel’s war with Hamas in April 2024. Photo: Vincent Ricci via Reuters Connect
The vast majority of Jewish students around the world resort to hiding their Jewishness and support for Israel on university campuses to avoid becoming victims of antisemitism, according to a new survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS).
A striking 78 percent of Jewish students have opted to “conceal” their religious affiliation “at least once” over the past year, the study found, with Jewish women being more likely than men to do so. Meanwhile, 81 percent of those surveyed hid their support for Zionism, a movement which promotes Jewish self-determination and the existence of the State of Israel, at least once over the past year.
Among all students, Orthodox Jews reported the highest rates of “different treatment,” with 41 percent saying that their peers employ alternative social norms in dealing with them.
“This survey exposes a devastating reality: Jewish students across the globe are being forced to hide fundamental aspects of their identity just to feel safe on campus,” ADL senior vice president of international affairs Marina Rosenberg said in a statement. “When over three-quarters of Jewish students feel they must conceal their religious and Zionist identity for their own safety, the situation is nothing short of dire. As the academic year begins, the data provides essential insights to guide university leadership in addressing this campus crisis head on.”
The survey said additionally that 34 percent of Jewish students reported knowing a Jewish peer whom someone “physically threatened on campus,” while 29 percent reported difficulties in attaining religious accommodations from their professors, confirming months of reports that Jewish students face both social and institutional discrimination at universities.
Tuesday’s survey comes amid a flood of data illustrating the severity of the campus antisemitism crisis.
Earlier this month, another survey commissioned by the ADL and the Academic Engagement Network (AEN) found that 73 percent of Jewish faculty witnessed their colleagues engaging in antisemitic activity, and a significant percentage named the Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) group as the force driving it.
Of those aware of an FSJP chapter on their campus, the vast majority of respondents reported that the chapter engaged in anti-Israel programming (77.2 percent), organized anti-Israel protests and demonstrations (79.4 percent), and endorsed anti-Israel divestment campaigns (84.8 percent).
Additionally, 50 percent of respondents said that anti-Zionist faculty have established de facto, or “shadow,” boycotts of Israel on campus even in the absence of formal declaration or recognition of one by the administration. Among those who reported the presence of such a boycott, 55 percent noted that departments avoid co-sponsoring events with Jewish or pro-Israel groups and 29.5 percent said this policy is also subtly enacted by sabotaging negotiations for partnerships with Israeli institutions. All the while, such faculty fostered an environment in which Jewish professors were “maligned, professionally isolated, and in severe cases, doxxed or harassed” as they assumed the right to determine for their Jewish colleagues what constitutes antisemitism.
Administrative officials responded inconsistently to antisemitic hatred, affording additional rationale to the downstream of hatred. More than half (53.1 percent) of respondents described their university’s response to incidents involving antisemitism or anti-Israel bias as “very” or “somewhat” unhelpful, and a striking 77.3 percent thought the same of their professional academic associations.
In total, alleged faculty misconduct and administrative dereliction combined to degrade the professional experiences of Jewish professors, as many reported “worsening mental and physical health, increased self-censorship, fear for personal safety,” and a sense that the destruction of their careers and reputations was imminent.
Higher education institutions in the US are showing some signs of recognizing the problem.
This week, administrators from across the US will amass in Washington, DC for a three-day symposium on combating campus antisemitism. Organized by AEN, which promotes academic freedom unfettered by boycotts and ideology, the event will be attended by administrators representing dozens of institutions such as Harvard University, Barnard College, and George Washington University, all of which have drawn scrutiny for responding to campus antisemitism in ways that critics — including Jewish community leaders and senior US officials — have described as insufficient if not dismissive.
Dozens of conversations and seminars will be held over the three-day event, with many being led by AEN faculty, as well as staff from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and experts from the Jewish Federations of North America and the American Jewish Committee.
“College administrators are the ones tasked with recognizing and addressing antisemitism on campus, as well as setting the tone for behavioral expectations and campus culture,” Miriam Elman, executive director of AEN, said in a statement. “Today’s antisemitism, though, often takes forms that can be less familiar or harder to identify, making it all the more important to provide campus leaders with the tools, training, and support they need to recognize and respond effectively.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Norway to Donate Proceeds From Israel Soccer Match to Doctors Without Borders in Gaza
Alexander Sørloth of Norway scores the 1-2 goal during the FIFA World Cup Qualifier football match between Israel and Norway on March 25, 2025, in Debrecen. Photo: Photo: VEGARD GRØTT/Bildbyran/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
The governing body of soccer in Norway announced on Monday that profits from an upcoming Norway-Israel qualifying match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will go to the international NGO Doctors Without Borders to support humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip.
The Norwegian Football Federation, also known as the Norges Fotballforbund (NFF), made the announcement ahead of the sold-out game on Oct. 11 scheduled to take place in Oslo. Roughly 23,000 tickets were sold for the game at Ullevaal Stadium. The organization first announced in mid-August that it would donate profits from ticket sales for the match to a humanitarian cause that helps Palestinians in Gaza, but its selection of Doctors Without Borders was not publicized until Monday in a statement on NFF’s website.
“The money will be earmarked for the organization’s emergency relief work on the ground in Gaza and the surrounding areas affected by the war,” the NFF said. One of Norway’s largest investment companies had pledged to donate an additional 3 million Norwegian kroner – which is almost $307,000 – to Doctors Without Borders, according to the federation. The NFF did not disclose the name of the company but said both the NFF and Doctors Without Borders know the identity of the donor.
NFF President Lise Klaveness said that as a member of FIFA and the UEFA, the Norwegian governing body of soccer “has to deal with Israel participating in their competitions.”
“At the same time, we cannot and will not be indifferent to the humanitarian suffering that is taking place in the region, especially the disproportionate attacks against civilians in Gaza,” she added. “We want to give the profits to an organization that saves lives in the Gaza Strip every day and that contributes with active emergency aid on the ground, and that is what Doctors Without Borders does.”
The NFF previously shared that extra security measures will be taken at the match on Oct. 11, including limited capacity, to ensure the safety of everyone in attendance.
Also on Monday, Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation, said in an interview with national public radio that his organization “will coordinate with UEFA to implement some humanitarian initiatives” surrounding Italy’s game against Israel on Oct. 14. The Italians will host Israel in Udine.
Klaveness and Gravina are both part of the UEFA’s 20-person executive committee, which also includes Israel Football Association President Moshe Zuares.
When the NFF announced last month that it will donate profits from the Norway-Israel match on Oct. 11 to a humanitarian cause, Zuares’s organization urged its Norwegian counterpart to “make sure the money is not transferred to terrorist organization.” The Israel Football Association also said it “would be nice” if the Norwegian Football Association condemned the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
“We do not usually advise associations regarding the use of match revenue, even if it is obtained thanks to a match against our proud national team, but we will deviate from our custom this time,” the Israeli Football Association said in a statement. “It would be nice if some of the amount were directed to try to finding a condemnation by the Norwegian FA of the Oct. 7 massacre that claimed the lives of hundreds of Israeli citizens and children, or action in favor of the release of 50 hostages – and please, make sure that the money is not transferred to terrorist organizations or to whale hunting.”
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In Show of Support, Belgian PM Attends Concert of Israeli Conductor Disinvited From Music Festival
Lahav Shani, future chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, stands on stage after receiving the Golden Medal of Honor from the City of Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa via Reuters Connect
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever attended a concert by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra over the weekend in a sign of solidarity after a Belgian music festival rescinded its invitation to the orchestra because its future chief conductor is from Israel.
Organizers of the Flanders Festival Ghent canceled a scheduled performance by the Munich Philharmonic set for later this week due to concerns regarding Tel Aviv-born conductor Lahav Shani, and his “attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv.” Shani is the chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and will take over as chief conductor of the Munich orchestra for the 2026/27 season.
The cancellation of the concert sparked widespread criticism and accusations of discrimination and antisemitism. The move was condemned by senior German and Belgian politicians, including Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter and the prime minister of the Belgian region of Flanders. De Wever, who also previously criticized the decision, wrote in a post on X that he traveled to the German city of Essen on Saturday to attend a performance by Shani and the orchestra, and to “strongly condemn” the decision.
“Let me be very clear: there will never, ever be any room for racism and antisemitism in this country. That is where I draw the line,” the prime minister wrote in a post on X, which included a picture of him shaking Shani’s hand.”I therefore strongly condemn the recent cancellation of the Münchner Philharmoniker by the Flanders Festival Ghent, solely on the basis of the origin of conductor Lahav Shani. I insisted on conveying this message to him personally and expressing my appreciation for his contribution to the power of music.”
After being booted from the Flanders Festival Ghent last week, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra was invited to perform on Monday at the Konzerthaus Berlin as part of the Berlin Music Festival. The short-notice invitation and guest performance was organized as a joint effort by the Berlin Philharmonic (also known as the Berliner Philharmoniker), festival organizers, and in cooperation with the Konzerthaus Berlin. Shani conducted the orchestra in a performance of Beethoven’s violin concerto and extracts from Richard Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde.”
In a released statement, the board of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation expressed “full solidarity” with Shani, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and violinist Lisa Batiashvili, who was scheduled to perform alongside them at the Flanders Festival.
“Lahav Shani has been closely associated with our orchestra since his debut in Sept. 2020,” the board said. “During this time, we have come to know him as a thoughtful artist and a person who – especially with regard to the Middle East conflict – has repeatedly spoken out in favor of peace, dialogue, and reconciliation. Excluding an artist from a festival because of his nationality is wrong and contradicts our understanding of music and culture. We are convinced that, especially in these times, music should build bridges rather than deepen divisions.”