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UK Lawyers Report BBC to Counterterrorism Police for Possible Payments to Hamas
A Palestinian Hamas terrorist shakes hands with a child as they stand guard as people gather on the day of the handover of Israeli hostages, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
An organization of lawyers who support Israel in the United Kingdom has reported the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and two film producers from a London-based production company to counterterrorism police for possible terrorism offenses, which include allegedly giving money to the family of a senior Hamas official.
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) announced on Monday that it submitted the reports in connection to the documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone,” which the BBC screened on Feb. 17 and produced alongside Hoyo Films. It was recently revealed that the film’s Palestinian narrator, 14-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri, is the son of Hamas Deputy Minister of Agriculture Dr. Ayman Al-Yazouri. The BBC admitted last week that Hoyo Films made licensing fee payments to the family of the film’s narrator, knowing that he was the son of a Hamas official.
“It is amazing that the BBC thought it could treat anti-terrorism legislation with such disdain and ignore its obligations to report its suspicions to the police,” said UKLFI Director Caroline Turner in a released statement. “Not only did the BBC fail to carry out its own investigations into the family connections of the child, as it has admitted in its statement, it also failed to inform the police of its suspicions, and allow the police to investigate, as it was obliged to do.”
A spokesperson for BBC said Hoyo Films failed to tell the corporation in advance about Abdullah’s family connection to Hamas, even though the BBC asked “a number of times” about any potential ties the child narrator and his family might have with the US- and UK-designated terrorist organization. Investigative journalist David Collier discovered that the younger Al-Yazouri and his father are also related to Hamas founder Ibrahim Al-Yazouri.
“During the production process, the independent production company was asked in writing a number of times by the BBC about any potential connections he and his family might have with Hamas,” the BBC said. “Since transmission, they 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. It was then the BBC’s own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.”
UKLFI noted that because the BBC asked Hoyo Films repeatedly about any potential ties the film’s narrator had to Hamas, “it was clear that the BBC had suspicions that its money may be used for funding terrorism.” What that in mind, the British association of lawyers reported the BBC to counterterrorism police for “being concerned or entering into an arrangement whereby money is made available to another, and they have reasonable concerns that it will be or may be used for the purposes of terrorism,” which is an offense according to the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000.
UKLFI also reported BBC for a second offense.
“If a person believes or suspects another person has committed an offence of entering an arrangement to pay money which may be used for terrorism, in the course of their business, they have a duty to disclose this to the police according to Section 19 of the Terrorism Act of 2000,” UKLFI explained. “It is an offence not to disclose it. Since it is unlikely that the BBC reported their suspicions to the police, UKLFI has also reported the BBC for this Section 19 offence.”
Turner said the BBC “has either been duped by the Hamas propaganda machine or has co-operated with it – or both.”
“We hope that if the BBC is found to have breached counter-terrorism law, the police will treat the BB’’s executives like any other criminal, and will prosecute it accordingly,” she added.
UKFLI also reported the documentary’s two film producers from Hoyo Films to counterterrorism police for possible terrorism offenses and for violating the UK’s Fraud Act of 2006. The producers are being accused of fraud for false representation and “by failing to disclose information to another person where there is a legal duty to disclose the information.”
The post UK Lawyers Report BBC to Counterterrorism Police for Possible Payments to Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
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US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.