Mick Hartley

Remember the Oxford Street Chanukah affair last December? A bunch of Jewish kids were celebrating Chanukah in a bus when they were abused and spat at by a bunch of youths of Asian ethnicity. The BBC reported that a "slur about Muslims" could be heard inside the bus:

At Gnasherjew they say that they asked the BBC journalist Harry Farley for proof, and he said the incident occurred 3 seconds in to the video: "We extracted the audio from the video & removed the background noise. What can be clearly heard (2.5 secs in) is "Tikra lemishehu, ze dachuf" (call someone it’s urgent). We are wondering why the BBC feels the need to demonize Jews at every turn?"

But of course, to the specially attuned ears of a BBC journalist, any Hebrew is going to sound like a slur against Muslims. 

As the Board of Deputies tweeted: "It appears that the BBC has a very serious case to answer here. Incorrectly accusing those experiencing antisemitism of being guilty of bigotry themselves is adding insult to injury."

The BBC refused to back down. And now, the JC reports:

Broadcast watchdog Ofcom has today slammed the BBC for failing to observe its own editorial guidelines over its reporting of a December 2021 antisemitic attack against a bus carrying Jewish children who were celebrating Chanukah.

The verdict is a victory for the JC, which has launched a petition calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the BBC over its coverage of Jews and Israel. The petition now has 7,800 signatures. 

The Ofcom report also marks a win for Board of Deputies, which commissioned a forensic report dismissing the BBC claim that one of the Jewish victims of the attack had described their attackers as "dirty Muslims" – an allegation that prompted widespread outrage in the community. The Board's report formed the basis of a complaint that the corporation had failed to properly report the incident.

Following the Ofcom ruling, senior parliamentarians and Jewish activists have reiterated the need for a parliamentary inquiry.

Lord Andrew Roberts told the JC: "This welcome decision by Ofcom greatly enhances the calls for a full parliamentary inquiry into BBC bias regarding Israel.

"The BBC, excellent in so many areas, does not recognise its own intense bias in this important one, but an inquiry would force it to examine itself critically, and root out a form of discrimination that it would be the first to highlight with any other group, ethnicity or nationality."

His remarks were echoed by Lord Austin. He said: “This is another reason why the parliamentary inquiry into the BBC’s coverage of antisemitism that the JC has called for is so necessary. The BBC’s reporting of this incident was disgraceful.

"They said the attack and abuse by the thugs outside the bus was 'alleged' but the disputed allegation of a slur inside the bus by frightened children was presented as a fact. And, as usual, the BBC’s senior managers refused to look at it properly. Perhaps if they had listened at the time they might have avoided this ruling.”