BBC demanded teenagers subject to anti-Semitic abuse on Oxford Street must reveal their identity before it responds in legal action over a report that suggested victims were using ‘anti-Muslim insults’.
Last month, a video emerged of a group of men hurling abuse and spitting at a group of Jewish teenagers sitting inside a bus, before banging on the windows as it pulled away.
Police treated it as a hate crime. However, BBC News originally reported the incident and stated that “racial slurs against Muslims” could have been heard inside the bus.
It was criticized by British Jews, the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, and legal representatives on behalf of victims. They ‘categorically reject’ the slur and wrote to corporation asking them to challenge it.
BBC replied that they could not substantively move your case forward until your clients were identified.
According to the Jewish Chronicle, Lord Carlile, an internationally recognized legal expert, said that BBC demands were ‘wholly inacceptable’. Jonathan Turner was executive director of UK Lawyers for Israel and accused BBC of trying to intimidate children into dropping their claim.
The December Oxford Street incident was treated by police as a hate crime, and condemned both by the Prime Minster and the Mayor of London
After the teens boarded, the men could be seen screaming abuse at each other and gesturing towards the bus.
The resignation comes days after Rabbi YY rubinstein, a BBC programme contributor such as Good Morning Sunday or Thought For The Day, resigned by writing to the corporation.
His letter, which he released on Facebook, addressed a member of staff, only known as Gabby, and said: ‘The current crisis over anti-Semitism at the Corporation and its attempts to turn the victims of the recent anti-Semitic attack on Jewish children in London and claim that the victims were actually the perpetrators, was and is inexcusable. It was undeniably damning to see the denial and obfuscation that ensued.
“I don’t understand how any Jew with any pride in this name, or me, can associate with the Corporation any more.”
British Jews Board of Deputies commissioned an independent report from forensic audio specialists and a translator. It concluded that there weren’t any anti-Muslim insults.
It discovered that the phrase believed to be a slur is actually a Hebrew phrase called ‘Tikrah lemishuze dachuf’, which means: Call someone, it’s urgent.
Marie van der Zyl, President of the Board of Deputies, wrote in The Jewish Chronicle that the BBC’s “misreporting” was a “colossal mistake”, which she called “a insult to injury by accusing antisemitic victims of being guilty of racism themselves”.
“What makes this an even more serious failure is BBC’s response to its error.” She said. The BBC has doubled and tripled its efforts to correct the error, rather than admitting that it is wrong.
Ms Van der Zyl demanded that the corporation apologize publicly and indicated that the Board of Deputies would hold a meeting later in this month with Director General Tim Davie. It will consist of a ‘full and frank discussion of the matter’.
She claimed that this corporation’s behavior raises serious concerns about the BBC’s biases towards Israelis, as well as towards Jews generally.
The BBC maintained its reporting of the incident at the end of October. A spokesperson said that antisemitism was abhorrent. Our goal is to be fair and serve all the communities in our country including the Jewish community.
“Our story was an objective report which overwhelmingly concentrated on those the police wanted to identify, the people who directed abuse towards the bus.
“There was an inconsistency between the slur and what appeared to be coming from the bus. In order to determine if the slur was English-speaker, we consulted several Hebrew speakers.
“The short reference was made to it so that the most complete account was possible was published.
Rabbi YY Rubinstein was a BBC contributor, and quit this week.
Part of Rabbi YY Rubinstein’s resignation later, which he posted onto Facebook
MP Theresa Villiers, who is also vice-chairwoman of Conservative Friends of Israel, told the Jewish Chronicle that the ‘BBC’s reporting of this shocking incident falls below the standards of impartiality’ expected from it.
She said the situation had been ‘made worse by the corporation’s failure to correct its article and by its defensive and unhelpful response to the complaint from lawyers acting for the victims’.
John Whittingdale MP for Tory said the issue has “left a harmful stain on BBC, in the eyes of Jewish community”.
About 200 Jews marched outside Broadcasting House to protest the story. The truth is out!
Dame Maureen Lipman encourages people to sign the petition ‘because they care’ and ‘you will be demonstrating against me often-times employer asking that parity is granted with all victims of racism, prejudice, abuse’.
This was after the BBC was placed third, just behind Iran’s terrorist group Hamas.
The men banged on the windows and spat at the bus as it pulled away from Oxford Street
The footage captured the teens dancing to Hanukkah just moments before the attack.
Two weeks ago, hundreds gathered at Broadcasting House to protest the story. Participants held banners and sang ‘BBC News is the proof’. The truth is out!
The centre’s head Rabbi Marvin Hier said that the BBC had been guilty of a number of instances of antisemitism in the last year.
Sunday, he told Mail that people might think we would include neoNazi groups on the list. But the BBC is still there. Antisemitism can creep in to the reporting of a worldwide recognised organization making it more dangerous and perilous.
“People trust BBC worldwide and can rely on them for accurate reporting about global events.”
Rabbi Hier stated that the inclusion of the BBC in the annual list was the result of months-long discussions and intense debate.
He paid particular attention to the report of a group of anti-Israeli men attacking a bus that was carrying Jewish teenage passengers.
This attack occurred on Oxford Street, Central London. The video clip appeared to capture a group screaming threats, swearing, throwing abuse, and banging on bus windows.
This incident was treated by police as a hate crime, and condemned both by the Prime Minister (London) and the Mayor (London).